Many of us no longer need to be convinced that doing justice is central to following Jesus.  We have read and accepted as part of our faith the words of the prophets and Jesus himself about God’s concern for the poor.  Now we are seeking concrete ways to encourage the oppressed and stand up for the least of these. 

In wanting to be part of the solution, we have learned much about the pervasiveness of injustice in our world.  That free trade is not fair.  That the minimum wage is too low and that most low-wage workers lose a chunk of their meager earnings to wage theft.  That our nation’s immigration debate would take on an entirely different tone if the skin tone of the people seeking legal status were lighter. 

But in spite of our knowledge and best efforts, many of us still feel powerless to fight back in the face of such entrenched brokenness.   We try to hold on to hope, but sometimes it slips away with heaviness and even depression filling the space.  Injustice is the mountain before us, and it seems like there are no footholds in sight. 

This year’s Grand Rapids Justice Conference is geared for the already convinced who want to take the next step in their journey.  We are bringing in Alexia Salvatierra, a nationally-recognized community organizing trainer who will be teaching us the core skills of community organizing--a proven, powerful and creative response to addressing the world’s injustices.  With plenty of dialogue and time to think through how these skills can strengthen our work on the issues we care about most, Alexia will share with us the lessons she has learned from her years of experience.  Alexia’s special gift is seeing how faith integrates into each step of the community organizing process. 

Saturday, April 6, 2013
  
Tabernacle Community Church 
2530 Eastern Ave SE, Grand Rapids

  9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Registration begins at 8:00 am

$10 for pre-registration; $15 at the door      
Free childcare with pre-registration