How Does Peoples Church Nurture Gratitude Through Social Justice?

Thanksgiving month is a good time to remember and be grateful for PCUU’s heritage of social justice activism. When we adopted our mission statement Leading Compassionate Lives Through Spiritual Growth and Just Action in 2017, we looked back with pride on past efforts of ministers and lay leaders including:

• Elizabeth Young organized support in the mid-20th century for the work of Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s hospital in what is now Gabon, Africa;

• Rev. Walter Kellison went to Selma, Alabama to be with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other voting rights activists in 1965;

• Toni McGraw, Tom Moss, and others founded the Iowa Abortion Access Fund (formerly Iowa Medical Aid Fund) in 1978;

• Rev. Jeremy Brigham raised public awareness about global conflicts and gun violence;

• Three PCUU members, John Ely, Joyce Nielson, and Bev Hannon represented progressive values in the Iowa Legislature.

In more recent times, our Social Justice Council with Marcia Swift at the helm has led us to keep this history alive with support for Black Lives, GLBTQ+ individuals, Banned Books and many other organizations we support with our actions and financially.

Now you can show support for migrants at the Cedar Rapids ICE Office on First Tuesdays or other announced migrant check-in days and see Peoples people in the public area outside showing their support for migrants. Participants so far include Rev. Carin Bringelson, Bev Buhr, Charles Cizio, Tery Determann, Lisa Hannon, Kathy Juba, Kathleen Mavity, Laura McGraw, Judy Price, and Marcia Swift. Please express your gratitude to them or better yet, join them!

— Submitted by Kris Davis