Seeking Justice
Texas Impact & Seeking Justice
Written By: Marilee Hayden
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. (Isaiah 1:17 NIV)
I am someone who views the world under the lens of how it “should be” rather than just accepting things as they are. For this reason, I have a lot of trouble trying to understand how there can be such disagreement among Christians about the very essence of God’s messages to us. I believe that Jesus was an advocate for social justice and that the fundamental nature of His advocacy was love and compassion. Jesus took action!
I came to AUMC as a seeker of social justice. To that end, I attended the Texas Impact/United Women of Faith Legislative Event with Pastor Cathy a couple of weeks ago. There were sessions about women’s reproductive rights, gun violence, climate, racial justice, immigration, education/vouchers, and voting rights. In spite of the ice, we took buses to the Capitol and met with the legislators in our districts who had managed to get to the Capitol that day. I felt really energized from the experience and welcomed the knowledge and opportunities to do my small part in making Texas a better place for all of us.
Since coming home, there’s been more news about the Governor’s agenda against trans kids and his warning to state agencies and universities that the use of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are illegal in hiring. The Texas State Board of Education has removed its opposition to vouchers. More books are being banned. There are many things happening in our state that will further disenfranchise people and make it difficult to get out of poverty. Some of my daughter’s friends (members of the LGBTQ+ community) are moving away because they are frightened to live here. It all feels so cruel and some days it just seems like the battle is too big and too insurmountable.
As a woman who owned a business and worked with women ranging from executive leaders to women who were on the front line, I am particularly concerned about the loss of reproductive rights in Texas. Our ability to control when (or if) we have children has a big impact on our career progression and economic well-being. Even though we’ve come a long way, pregnancy slows down our career growth.
For women with lower incomes, an unwanted pregnancy can mean financial demise. It’s a vicious circle because an unwanted, unplanned pregnancy can make it difficult to work. Childcare is expensive and it’s a requirement for young children. How are women living in poverty supposed to go to work if they can’t afford childcare? Whether we are pro-life or pro-choice, it seems cruel to institute an outright ban against abortion without implementing social and financial safety nets to mitigate the negative impact of the law. In addition, there is no exception for rape, incest or even age.
Bee Moorhead, Executive Director of Texas Impact, told us that change is slow and incremental. Bee told us that we may not even see much change in this legislative session. However, we must speak up and advocate for social justice because silence paves the way for even more inhumane treatment of people who are disenfranchised.
On Saturday I went to an event called A Challenge to Act with a Heart for Justice organized by United Women of Faith. My main takeaway from the speakers was that people of faith must take action. Talk without action is just talk. There are so many people at AUMC who advocate for social justice and are really good at it! Shandon Klein, a doctoral student at SMU, told us that we need to consider what our actions say about our belief in God and that we need to be cognizant of the power we hold in our churches. That power is the power to make change.
Pastor Cathy and I will be organizing letter writing campaigns, and I hope that many of you will join us. Texas Impact will be using mainstream civic engagement platforms to meet the legislative objectives. If you would like to be involved in letter writing or other legislative advocacy efforts or would just like more information on the Texas Impact agenda, please email me.
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