Building a Bridge from Charity to Justice

Leveraging the lessons learned through charity helps people of faith become powerful advocates for justice. Justice means ordering our government, our civil society, and our personal relationships in ways that reflect God’s love for each person and allow each person to thrive. One way we order our lives and relationships is through public policy. Looking at some of the thorniest public policy issues we face today—immigration, climate change, or public safety, for example—it’s apparent that loving one neighbor is a lot easier than loving all of them. Faith communities have a lot of experience loving individual neighbors through charity but too often, they don’t connect the dots between that direct service and underlying public policy issues. Through structured storytelling, people of faith can turn their lived experiences of service into advocacy for public policies that advance love and justice for all people.