Beacon Social Justice Allies
Inspired by the Justice General Assembly in Phoenix in June 2012, Beacon’s Social Justice Allies promote social justice by addressing the causes of injustice with a strong local focus. We interpret “social justice” broadly, to include all issues related to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, justice, and privileges within a society. Issues include racism, land use planning, environmental justice, hunger, housing, poverty, immigration, climate change, gun violence, animal welfare, and conservation of biodiversity.
We engage in two types of activities, namely social witness events and long-term community efforts. Each Social Witness Event is a short presentation during a Beacon service by a local activist working on a particular effort, followed by an invitation to discuss the issue with the presenter after the service. The Witness invites us to engage in a local effort in the immediate future. Although all social justice issues do require global work over decades, local and immediate action is a great way to help people engage in the larger struggles. Since 2021, we have held about 10-12 Social Witness events per year. This broad menu of Social Witness events can help engage visitors to Beacon, who might be put off by a policy that says “As a congregation we focus only on A, B, and C.” If the visitor is passionate about X, Y, and Z, they might think “Hmmm… I am not needed here.”
Our second type of activity is to work on long-term community efforts, such as our 10 years of serving 1 or 2 dinners per month at the Flagstaff Family Food Center, and distributing goods to the unsheltered. Each effort starts with one or more discussions outside of the Sunday service to let our members decide whether to commit. The decision is typically made via a formal vote at a congregational meeting, may include a financial contribution from Beacon’s budget, and may include a formal agreement between Beacon and another organization, such as the Northern Arizona Interfaith Council.
In November 2023, Beacon voted to adopt the 8th Principle to “work to dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” We have yet to take steps to make this real at the local level. In 2024, we may ask Beacon to become a Green Sanctuary, which would require expensive steps to make Beacon carbon neutral. The possibilities are endless…
Beacon’s Social Justice Allies welcome you to join us in concrete activities of care and regard for our community. We typically meet at 5:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month (details in our weekly newsletter).
Click here for a full timeline of SJA’s activities since inception.
Current SJA Projects – 2024
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