Most of my most successful moments have come from what I have labeled as listening to “my spirit.”
I suppose it might be what others call their inner voice or their conscience, but, to me, it’s deeper than that. I’m talking about those moments when I am absolutely convinced that I am supposed to make a move without rhyme or reason. Most times, my rational brain is telling me that I should think again or at least a while longer before making a decision, but my spirit fills me with this incessant reassurance that what I’m doing doesn’t/won’t make sense but I’m supposed to trust and do it anyway. And I do; I step right out in faith.
It’s faith that placed me where I am right now. I’ve accepted a job organizing the faith community here in West Virginia to support the For The People Act, also known as S1. You may have seen something about it on social media because it’s popping up everywhere. It’s one more piece of the attention garnered by West Virginia being the home of U.S. Sen Joe Manchin. Manchin is usually the last Democrat holding out on change and believes the work should be bipartisan. Normally, this type of scene isn’t for me, but I have tons of respect for the Sister who approached me and asked me to organize. She needed a W.Va. organizer, and I needed a job. And so, I stepped out in faith.
Faith…it’s my faith in all things good that has kept me going. It’s my belief that we were made for greater than “this.” I honestly believe that we weren’t designed to live a life filled with more struggle than ease. I can’t buy into the fact that constant difficulty is our destiny. Faith is the wonder behind my life and the many paths I’ve taken, especially the ones that no one ever dreamed I’d have access to.
The faith community was deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. probably rings a bell. Even now, Reverend Barber is leading the resurrection of King’s Poor People’s Campaign. Churches were meeting places and strategizing hubs. The faith community has been instrumental in huge social movements in this country, so I’m excited to have a part in helping to build a statewide infrastructure of a faith movement that continues well past the end of my contract date. I want to see West Virginia’s faith leaders stand up against every social injustice. I want them to become engaged in work around food insecurity and poverty, racial justice and immigration, LGBTQ+ rights and environmental justice.
I want to hear them preach to gathered crowds at public rallies and to make sure Senators Manchin and Capito know they’re paying attention to the harmful policies and politics. But perhaps the biggest thing I want them to do is to help to hold my faith.
It’s lonely out here a lot of the time. My days and nights are spent on the phone or Zoom or in my messages, talking to folks about all that’s wrong. Sometimes all that’s right filters in, as well, and we gladly take some time to celebrate, but people usually need someone to share all the dirt of poverty and scarcity with who understands why their pockets have nothing in them but the weight of their circumstances. And I do understand. My faith allows me to tell them to hang on while they’re going over the hump because better days are coming.
I am not very educated in religion and am not familiar with many, but I would hope that all major religions call for a ministry to help those who need it, regardless as to what the church feels that need is. And I feel as if protecting our democracy with voter’s rights and the removal of dark money from our elections should be a faith issue. If we no longer have a country where the faith leaders agree with what’s going on here, then what would it take for you to get involved?
How can we, people who believe in something greater than ourselves, not become involved with social justice issues? We’re called to act on the side of the oppressed. I understand that a lot of factors come into play, but it’s lonely out here sometimes, and I need you to help me hold my faith.
If you are a person of faith who would like to hear more about the work taking place around the For The People’s Act, please contact me. I feel as if voter’s rights and clean elections should be an issue that we can all have a part in, whether affiliated with a church or not.
I, for one, am ready to put the faith back in democracy.
Onward,
Amy Jo
