Justice Work Is Hard …
Posted on Sep 25, 2024 by Shari Van Baale
On Sept. 17 the Good Faith Network, including many of you, attended the Lenexa City Council meeting to advocate for a Special Use Permit (SUP) for a Homeless Services Center. At 1:30 a.m. the council voted, 5 to 2, and denied the SUP. I was disappointed; our neighbors in this county desperately need this center, and this opportunity slipped away.
I have had many of you share with me that you are angry and disappointed, that you are mad at the City of Lenexa or your neighbor who didn’t support the SUP. I’m no longer angry, and now is not the time to despair. We brought attention to the issue of the unhoused. People in Johnson County are talking about homelessness; they are wrestling with the issue and the systems that leave people unhoused.
Pastor Tim Suttle of Redemption Church in Olathe shared at the prayer vigil before the council meeting that we have shown up, we have organized, we have heard excuses and we have pushed back, we have battled against “not in my backyard,” we have dealt with misinformation and disinformation, and we continued to speak up for our neighbor.
He also shared that in the face of opposition, while it’s tempting to apply absolutes — good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, friend vs. enemy — we must remember who our enemy is. What we are fighting is the unjust system that leaves 250 Johnson County citizens homeless on any given night. People sleeping in cars and tents, taking shelter in libraries and restaurants, facing the elements to just stay alive, a system conceived through redlining, that if someone is struggling it is their own fault or failure — our enemy is the system. A system where 299 unique individuals spent a night at Project 1020 but ONLY 13 found permanent housing.
We must not give up hope. Changing systems that are entrenched does not happen overnight. Justice work is hard work, it takes time.
Early on when I started this journey actively doing justice, I shared with Pastor Jon how frustrated I would get. I wanted things to move faster, and he shared a prayer with me called “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own.” CLICK HERE to read it online. I keep this prayer next to my desk and read it often.
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
We must continue to work for justice — even when it is hard, even if we don’t see the results of our labor — and then I am renewed; my community gives me much joy.
This past Monday I hosted the first of three Good Faith Network Listening Sessions we will have at Salem. Eleven of you came to my home. You shared your stories; you took time from your busy day to be in conversation with others. Nine of you said YES when asked if you would join or recommit to being a team member. I am beyond blessed to get to do ministry with each of you, I am renewed by your commitment to doing this work together. Justice is hard but it is well worth it. Together, we are workers; we are prophets of a future not our own.
Renee Loya
Salem mission partner and Good Faith Network team leader