"Show Me What Democracy Looks Like!"
There are a lot of good contenders, but I think my favorite thing to shout in the street is "show me what democracy looks like!" If you shout it at the right moment at a rally or a march, some other folx in the crowd will take up response chant: "THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!" It's especially powerful when you're, you know, protestors taking over a street or a lobby or a state capital building, peacefully demonstrating the clarity of God's call for justice.
But democracy can look a lot of ways.
I'm loving digging into the Narrative Lectionary this year, and one of the joys of this journey is that we are going right from the birth of Jesus and surrounding stories, right into the early days of Jesus' ministry. Sunday we're talking about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness, and from there we are right into Jesus' preaching and teaching. So it's a good season to consider beginnings, it's a good season to consider wresting with how the Spirit calls us to engage with political powers (as Jesus contends with in the desert), and it's a good season to think about call. Because Sunday we also mark the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birth - a man who showed us, as profoundly as anyone in the 20th century, what justice can look like, what God's love often looks like, what democracy looks like.
And meanwhile.
Meanwhile, the Washington Legislature just started another term. This is a longer term, which means we'll have a little more than three months to bring our voices to our legislatures, to lift up issues that are important, and to make meaningful impacts on the future of our state.
Here I should say: I don't think it's easy to follow everything that happens in a legislative session. There are confusing processes, there's different committees in each of the houses, and it's hard to know where to start. But fortunately, one of the ways democracy looks to me these days is it looks like a place where I need good allies. I need co-conspirators, policy wonks, troublemakers and agitators who know what's up in Olympia and can point me in the right direction.
Perhaps you already know who you'll be listening for this season, but if not, let me once again suggest two of our close partner organizations at First Congregational:
The Faith Action Network works across issues and across faith traditions to work for economic justice, racial justice, and environmental justice in Olympia. I love hearing from them about housing, violence prevention, economic fairness, and more- you can learn more and sign up for their action alerts here:
https://fanwa.org/advocacy/legislative-agenda/
I also love the Earth Ministries Network. They are, in some ways, pretty similar to FAN, but they do focus entirely on environmental justice and creation care. They work with a broad coalition of green groups across the state, and they are among the best at tracking crucial issues related to Creation in Olympia. You can learn more and sign up for their alerts here:
https://earthministry.org/advocacy/2023-legislative-priorities/
I suppose that signing a letter, posting a statement of support, or even calling a legislator directly about an important bill isn't as fun as stomping around in the street chanting slogans. But one informs the other, and both are, in my mind, crucial to our call if we hope to carry on the work of Dr, King, and respond to the on-going call of the Spirit. So, I'll tell you what: one of these days, you're (hopefully) going to get an email about a bill you care about. There's going to be some reason you ought to call your legislator, some invitation from FAN or Earth Ministry or the Spirit that you don't really want to ignore, but you need a little more inspiration.
Next time you need some energy, just give me a call or a text, and ask me to show you what democracy looks like. And I will remind you in the voice of all my fellow aging anarchists and troublemakers and prophets:
This. This is what democracy looks like.
Love,
Davi
