From the Presbyterian News Service –
Bastions of hope
J. Herbert Nelson
praises North Carolina’s ‘Moral Mondays’ protest movement
MAY 19, 2014
GRAHAM, N.C.
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Left to right: the Rev. Paul Ridolfi, the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, the Rev. Frank Dew, Barbara Clawson. —Emily Odom, photo credit |
Returning to Salem Presbytery, the home of his first call,
the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson had a message for the state of North Carolina.
Preaching on Romans
12:1-5, on the call to live out a transformative life, Nelson commended the
people of North Carolina for presenting themselves as a “living sacrifice”
through the ongoing witness of Moral Mondays, a protest movement organized
last year by the North Carolina NAACP to fight against cuts to social programs,
education reforms and changes to voting laws in the state.
“We are challenged
today to be called one nation under God with freedom and justice for all,” said
Nelson, addressing the ever-widening gap between rich and poor. “If we are
going to overturn the tables in the temple in this present day, all 50 states
have to begin to do what was started here in North Carolina. You are the
bellwether for the South, you are the bastion of hope.”
Nelson, director of
the PC(USA)’s Office
of Public Witness in
Washington, D.C., was speaking at the 102nd stated meeting of Salem Presbytery on
May 17.
“Our struggle today
is against [corporate] structures and powers because our values are so aligned
to them,” said Nelson. “And yet the very calling of faith is a calling out of
that relationship into a new one with Jesus Christ…that is counter-cultural to
the dynamic of the world. Therefore in order to be transformers of the church,
we have to be transformers of our own lives as people in the church.”
Nelson lifted up the
Romans text as a charge to the church to exercise its “appropriate priestly
service,” specifically advocacy on behalf of the nation’s struggling and
declining middle class.
“We’ve got to put on
our walking shoes today,” he said. “I’ve got to have shoes, you’ve got to have
shoes, all of God’s children got to have shoes. We’ve got to call for a new
ethical and moral movement that protects the rights of people, not the rights
of corporate stockholders.”
Nelson called upon the church to take action. “The challenge of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) today is to stand up…until the kingdom of God is built up.”
Following the
morning session, the Peace and Justice Task Force of Salem Presbytery hosted
Nelson at a lunch, which was also attended by the Rev. Rosemary C. Mitchell,
mission engagement advisor for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Mitchell’s role
is to link individuals, congregations, and mid councils with the work of two
mission agency ministries, the Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.
She also seeks to build financial support for these ministries, which have been
identified as priorities for the mission agency.
“Both of these
advocacy ministries, which have been active since the 1940s, are integral to
being Presbyterian in our Reformed tradition,” Mitchell said. “Although Presbyterians
have been deeply involved in advocacy for generations, a whole new generation
is just now discovering this work.”
Nelson’s visit to
Salem Presbytery began on the evening of May 16 with a screening of the
documentary film, “Inequality for All,” hosted by the Rev. Frank Dew at the New Creation Community Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Following the
movie—which presents commentary by former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, on
the growing abyss between the haves and have-nots in American society—Nelson
offered a biblical and theological reflection connecting the film’s
observations to the work of the Office of Public Witness. He concluded his
visit on Sunday, May 18, by preaching two services at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greensboro.
The Rev. Emily Enders Odom is communications
associate in the Office of Communication of the Presbyterian Mission Agency and
a frequent contributor to Presbyterian News Service.
