Last week I had the privilege of welcoming over 100 of Auburn’s friends, colleagues and neighbors to Auburn’s annual Jack and Lewis Rudin Lecture. We hosted the lecture in partnership with New York University’s Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership as part of a new programmatic partnership between Auburn and NYU on multifaith education. Dr. Matthew Day expertly illustrated how voices representing the status quo have long used the language of “contagion” and disease to discredit progressive movements and persecute its pioneers.  

Professor Day’s words reminded me of the diverse movements for social change that Auburn Seminary is a part of today, and the challenges we encounter in the quest for justice. We find ourselves at a turning point in history where we are witnessing movements for change all around us that will hopefully serve the goals of human dignity, inclusivity and sustainability for our planet.

We invite you as people of faith and moral courage during this holy Lenten and Passover season to join with us in this groundswell for justice in our country. Below are a few ways to get involved:

• Stand up for equality: Next week the Supreme Court will hear arguments to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the law that forbids our federal government from recognizing the loving marriages of same-sex couples. We invite you and your faith communities to offer a blessing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people at your Passover Seder or Easter table; that their love of equal merit and joy may finally be recognized as equal in the eyes of our federal government.

• Prevent gun violence: Groundswell, Auburn’s social action initiative organized 180 faith events in communities across the country last weekend as part of a national coalition pushing for our country’s leaders to make real change to help prevent gun violence. Just last week, three months after the massacre in Newtown, CT, more than 800 clergy and more than 4,000 people of faith and values signed a letter supporting Newtown clergy in insisting that the Senate Judiciary Committee pass meaningful gun reform. Join us in raising up the chorus of faith voices demanding change that will protect our children, friends and neighbors from the deadly realities of gun violence.

• Build an immigration system that works: We also support our immigrant neighbors and loved ones – people who love this country – by calling on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We are insisting upon real changes that protect families and end practices that tear apart our communities and congregations. Learn more about immigration reform and access resources to address immigration issues in your community on our website.

• Celebrate and support faith leadership: Auburn equips bold and resilient leaders, both established and emerging, for their work in our complex, multifaith, media-driven world. Today, we lift up the inspiring work of Rabbi Sharon Brous, recognized as America’s most influential rabbi of the year by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. Rabbi Brous is a member of Auburn’s FaithSource progressive speakers bureau and was honored at our 2012 Lives of Commitment Awards Benefit Breakfast for her work at the intersection of spirituality and social justice.

As we approach one of the most sacred times of the year, I often reflect on the last commandment Jesus gave during his lifetime: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Let us express our faith and our love for one another at this critical moment in history by lifting up our voices for equality and justice. Today we support in prayer and action the modern day struggles for freedom.

I hope you will join with Auburn in this sacred work.

Katharine

The Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson

President, Auburn Seminary