The Rev. John Mark Wiggers

Over the past six years, many of you have heard about Justice Knox. Many of you have participated in this network of 19 congregations that seek to change policies in order to bring greater justice to our community. I want you to know that we can all be involved in this justice ministry and why it is important.

In the book of Micah we read “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 NRSV). Jesus echoes these words when scolding religious leaders in Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

Churches do well with faithfulness as we gather for worship, study scripture, and keep our holy days. We also engage in mercy as we give out food, and help with immediate needs like shelter and transportation. In scripture, justice often has to do with fairness and equity in the community.

The prophets often showed up challenging political and religious leaders regarding practices that hurt or excluded others. At St. James, we too can practice the latter, without neglecting the former.

Justice Knox organizes congregations to bring people power to bear on challenging injustice in our city. We research solutions to problems and then we gather people for our Nehemiah Action where we ask leaders to make commitments. We call it the Nehemiah Action because in Nehemiah 5 we read about Nehemiah gathering a “great assembly” to demand that leaders stop charging high interest during a time of great famine. The leaders did change their ways. That is justice.

Gathering large numbers can demonstrate to our community leaders that people in Knox County are organized to change things. I am motivated to do this because as I practice our mercy ministries of feeding the hungry, I wonder how we can change the system that creates such great need. I have seen leaders moved to change policy when they see a large number of citizens engaged in this work.

Justice Knox has made a difference in mental health access and affordable housing. We are moving the conversation forward with issues of public transportation, gun violence, and the disparity in school discipline. This has happened because Justice Knox has listened to stories, researched solutions, gathered great assemblies, and asked for commitments to change.

We have a goal of gathering our average pre-pandemic Sunday worship attendance (175 people) to the next Nehemiah action. In 2021, we gathered over 140 during our hybrid action. We are getting close. You can help us reach this goal by bringing three or more people to the Nehemiah Action on May 2 at World’s Fair Park Amphitheater. These events are exciting, they are tense, and they do help us create a more just community.

We do this work because God calls us to do justice. You can join in this work too.