Religious communities across the Lewiston-Auburn area have been working closely with social justice groups toward the overall goal of bettering their communities. Many of the secular organizations to which local religious communities contribute share similar values to those preached from the pulpit each week: notably nonviolence and solidarity with the oppressed.
One does not have to look far among clergy and members of Lewiston-Auburn’s many religious communities to discover that they are all working toward common goals of acceptance and support of those in need.
Tara Humphries, an active member of the First Universalist Church of Auburn, is excited by the wide variety of social justice projects in which her church is involved. According to Humphries, the Universalist Church is involved in the LGBTQ rights organization called “Outright LA,” which holds meetings in their church and provides adult support to LGBTQ teens in the local community.
In addition, members of the church are allied with the Black Lives Matter movement and “Surj” (Showing up for Racial Justice), working to support local and national communities that are targets of discrimination. This work embodies commitment to the principles of equality and acceptance that Humphries hears preached in her church on a regular basis.
The local Buddhist community shares these same principles and commitments. Jaime McLeod is a Buddhist priest who works for the Tree Top Zen Center in Lewiston. In addition to running the Zen Center, McLeod advocates for the homeless and hungry in the region.
McLeod draws on Buddhist teachings to ground her work in social justice. As a Buddhist, she believes that it is important to recognize that there is no real separation between the “self” and anyone or anything else. She says, “I am not thriving unless everyone is thriving.”
McLeod particularly loves to work across religious boundaries with other people of different religious affiliations, including Christians, Jews and Muslims, to promote their shared goals of social justice. She is convinced that solidarity and harmony among various religions can provide a pathway to peace, and that religious differences are not, themselves, a source of conflict unless religion is used as a justification for violence.
Talking about differences with openness and respect is key and “this is what Buddhism has to offer social justice,” she explains, echoing the themes of solidarity and nonviolence voiced by Humphries.
The teachings of Jesus on social justice and service are driving forces behind the work of Rev. Barter at the Trinity Episcopal Church – a church that has founded a number of now-secular social justice organizations.
In his words, Jesus’ teachings help him to “make sense of what [he does],” especially those in the Sermon on the Mount, “Jesus’ first act,” which are central to Barter’s beliefs about “what it means to serve.”
The Trinity Jubilee Center, one of the now-secular projects started by the church, is committed to helping meet the needs of Lewiston’s underserved populations and collaborates with various religious and secular organizations to achieve this mission.
Serving this sector of society and working with people and institutions of differing religious affiliation, Rev. Barter emphasizes the need for civil discourse – especially in the current, uncivil political climate. Rev. Barter highlights the need to find a “common ground” through conversing with parties that hold opposing beliefs. Accordingly, the desire for peace and for working with other religions places the principle of civil discourse at the core of his own religious beliefs.
Finally, Rev. Annie Baker-Streevy at United Calvary Methodist Church in Lewiston is passionate about the urban ministry and social justice work in which her congregation is engaged. Although Rev. Baker-Streevy has not been at the church for long, she has already influenced the way her congregation is viewed within the local community.
Baker-Streevy believes that Jesus was a “social justice warrior and advocate” and that God calls her “to love those around her and support them, which means standing up for social justice issues.”
Besides leading direct service projects, Baker-Streevy represents her church at many peaceful protests and rallies. Also, despite the fact that the United Methodist Church takes the official position that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” her church voted to become a “reconciled congregation,” one that accepts people of all sexualities, genders, ethnicities, races, abilities, ages and socioeconomic statuses.
Like her colleagues, Baker-Streevy is committed to nonviolence, peace, equality, and solidarity with other religions and she finds these principles at the heart of what the United Methodist Church teaches and preaches.
As these four brief examples make abundantly clear, many local religious communities are deeply invested in social justice work, with the aim of helping others in need.
Working together, they hope to create and sustain a less violent and more accepting culture of cooperation for the benefit of all.
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