"JusticeWorks: Renewing the Church's Social Witness" was the theme of the first major conference of Protestant Justice Action. Held in the Union Avenue Christian Church, St. Louis, on March 28-30, the conference was co-sponsored by Eden Theological Seminary and Equal Partners in Faith.

Protestant Justice Action includes the non-official justice organizations of the mainline Protestant denominations: the Methodist Federation for Social Action, the oldest of these groups; Christians for Justice Action (UCC); Disciples Justice Action Network (Disciples of Christ); Lutheran Human Relations Association (ELCA); Baptist Peace Fellowship (American Baptists, Alliance of Baptists, and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship); and Witherspoon.

The conference had more than 300 registered participants, including more than 100 seminary and college students from 32 institutions. The person who kept motivation alive and planning on course was Fred Tilinski, a UCC layperson and airplane mechanic with a long-time commitment to social justice. Nancy Engel and Becky Carr, students at Eden Seminary, took care of publicity, registration, printing, and all sorts of details. Michael Kinnamon, a leader in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who is now teaching at Eden, was probably the key person in drawing together an impressive cast of speakers and workshop leaders.

Bible study was led each morning by the Rev. Mari Castallanos, a Cuban American who is on the Washington staff for the UCC. The opening preacher was United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert, an advocate for justice not only in race but in issues of sexual orientation.

The keynote speaker was the Rev. Gregory Dell of Chicago, back in his pulpit after being removed by the United Methodists because of his advocacy of gay and lesbian rights.

The last night saw an impressive interfaith panel including the Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United, the Rev. Carlton Veazey of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and Rabbi Andrea Goldstein, a leader in the St. Louis Jewish community.

The conference opened with a reminder that it was meeting in the state of John Ashcroft and of Richard Gephardt. It needed no reminder that it was meeting at a time of a stagnant economy, tax cuts for the rich, and budget deficits at the federal, state, and local levels. And it needed no reminder that it was meeting during the first week of the Iraq War, which was not going according to plan; the Iraqi army was not disintegrating, and the first news out of the campaign involved a "fragging" by a soldier in the 101st and the taking of several U.S. prisoners.

Opening worship included a dramatization of Job in the role of a wearied reformer, a man who had received adulation for his integrity, advocacy of justice, and freeing of captives, but now has become a byword, mocked for his loss of status, with his counselors suggesting that all of this must be in punishment for his wrong deeds. One could not help being reminded of the gloating in the conservative press that "the mainline is being sidelined" and accusations from religious conservatives that advocates of justice have been unfaithful to the Christian heritage. Lest progressive Christians engage in too much self-pity, however, Bishop Talbert recalled the story of Puccini's opera Turandot: in its premier performance Arturo Toscanini stopped the performance, saying, "The master wrote thus far," and stopped; but in later performances he continued with the sections completed by disciples. In other words, the ministry of reconciliation, which was his text (2 Cor 5:16-21), must continue.

No self-pity was expressed in the twelve workshops, which dealt with the priorities set by Protestant Justice Action: church and state, public education, the "criminal justice" system and the death penalty, disabilities, racism and reparations, economic and environmental justice, health care, justice for GLBT persons in church and society, peace in the Middle East, peace advocacy in the churches, and amplifying our social witness voice in Washington. Each workshop had four or five resource persons as well as a range of experienced people who are on the front lines, so discussion was lively.

Elenora Giddings Ivory, Director of the PC(USA) Washington Office, provided leadership in the workshop, "Amplifying Our Social Witness Policy," which covered the church's witness to government officials in Washington. One new feature of the office's work is the opportunity for Presbyterians to send e-mails directly to Members of Congress through the 10 advocacy networks and the link to CapWiz.

Elenora also rounded out a panel on Saturday afternoon as members discussed various aspects of renewing our social-justice witness.  During that panel, Bishop Talbert briefly described the ecumenical leaders' solidarity trip to Baghdad in early January, as part of the NCCC's strenuous efforts to prevent the war.

Another national staff person, Mark Koenig of the Peacemaking Program, had expected to be there, but a family death prevented his attending. Presbyterians were well represented by Elenora, as well as by Witherspoon and the Peace Fellowship, along with at least two participants from St. Louis. We hoped for more of a Presbyterian presence, since this promises to a significant effort in promoting social justice. Social-justice minded seminarians would have found it especially informative to be among the articulate seminarians there, and to share in planning for renewal of the church's witness in this ecumenical context.