Protest or Liturgy? When the Church Goes Public
Rev. Dr. Kerri Parker, WCC Executive Director
Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you. How often I wanted to gather your people together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is left to you deserted. I tell you, you won’t see me until you say, “Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” Matthew 23:27-39 (CEB)
When Christians gather publicly to express our faith and values, it is not always evident to onlookers who we are and why we are there. Clergy might wear religious garb – robes, stoles, clergy collars. Some folks might wear tshirts, carry banners or signs. Public action requires discernment. What should the signs say? Do we carry a cross? What do we chant or sing? How and when do we join with others? Which others?
Our responses to these questions not only help make it clearer to others what we are about; they make it clearer to us. We have written multiple times about the importance of knowing our why. It is possible for people of faith to show up to a protest and add to its numbers without shaping the event toward justice and mercy. It is possible for people of faith to hold a public action that does not register as good news to neighbors who are vulnerable or poor in spirit. That is a poor use of time, energy and opportunity. It represents an abandonment of our identity and uniqueness.
The question I invite you to ponder in these times is how Christ’s church is called to show up. Particularly, the limb of Christ’s church to which you are grafted. Will you be simply one more voice in an agitating crowd? Or will you bring a particular witness based in baptismal calling and sacred tradition?
A recent conversation among ecumenical justice advocates from around the US reflected on the distinction in forms of bearing witness. While some are called to bear witness through physical presence, joining other large events can devolve into noisy and confusing protest that does little for those watching their lives crumble. The unique witness of the church is well served through public liturgy and presence chaplaincy. That is to say: we must bring the spirit of grounded attentiveness to our public actions. We are people of prayer. We know that when we gather, Christ is present. We have in our varied traditions powerful rituals and symbols that remind us of the dignity and worth of all humans; of the enoughness of God’s provision; that there is no place on earth where God is not. We have skills and practices that help us to accompany people who are being targeted in times when they are especially vulnerable; to travel through chaos with them and offer spiritual and emotional shelter.
Church: the various groups around Wisconsin that are on the Palm Sunday Path are exploring public liturgical action at the beginning of Holy Week (you can read more here, and consider how you might join). I invite you to think beyond Palm Sunday. Where might you be called to ministries of presence and accompaniment? To public liturgy? To affirming God’s justice and righteousness in the face of evil without shame or timidity? Beloveds, the way we protest best is by being who we are.
