Rev. Jon Luopa's sermons on January 22 & 29 set a moral and theological grounding for a conversation about economic inequality and the many economic challenges we face in this country. On January 29th we had a "teach-in" about the context, with a combination of presentation, interactive demonstrations and videos. With nearly 300 people, it was hard to see and hear -  but the size of the crowd shows the topic touches a nerve.

On February 4th over 100 people packed a sunny, stuffy NJ Hall for an "action lab."  We heard one another's stories and explored our self-interests, sharing how these issues matter to and affect us. We were joined by a community organizer from the Sound Alliance for a workshop on social movements and organizing for action. We talked about how to turn large, intractable problems into concrete issues that are potentially winnable, widely felt, and energizing rather than draining.

We talked about conducting research and "power analysis," to better understand who has formal and informal power to make change, as well as our own power. The group chose six problem areas and spent time in smaller groups starting this kind of analysis. The topics were: money in politics; our regressive and inadequate state tax system; health care access for all; poverty; elections and the electoral process.

Materials and resources from these sessions are found on the Social Justice section of this website, under "Economy." Most working groups identified concrete next steps to keep the conversation moving forward, so stay tuned to get involved.  This is just the start of a conversation. The problems do seem daunting but we are not alone in our resolve to do something about them. What comes next is up to you!