What is Advocacy?
What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is using one’s gifts to raise awareness about issues that will benefit those in need. Spiritual advocacy is more expansive, as it involves praying for specific situations or people or setting aside a time for discernment, contemplation, and spiritual renewal to build a beloved community.
The Bible teaches us that as Christians, we are obligated to build a beloved community, and at the heart of this community is the concept of love. In a 1957 speech at the NAACP Emancipation Day Rally, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, spoke of this kind of love when he said, “But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”
I believe that to build a beloved community, we must also establish and promote social justice, create racial healing, develop a deep belonging to one another, and be unified even across differences. As spiritual advocates, we are unique in our orientation toward advocacy and social justice. This unique orientation is rooted and grounded in the religious traditions and teachings of Jesus Christ who has consistently reminded us of how we must use our unique gifts and talents to advocate for a more just and equitable world. There are a few Bible verses that I constantly rely on to reassure myself that my work as a spiritual advocate is not antithetical to Jesus’ teachings but rather a fulfillment of his teachings.
1 Peter 4:10 noted that we all have received gifts from God. And “as each has received a gift,” we are to “use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Proverbs 31:8-9 is unambiguous about what the Bible teaches us about advocacy. It says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” But one of my favorite verses on this topic comes from the Book of Amos. Amos Chapter 5:21–24, notes, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps, I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” These verses prove that to do justice is more acceptable to the LORD than to sacrifice. So, as we prepare for the task ahead of us . . .
The task of advocacy . . .
The task of using our gifts to create a beloved community . . .
The task of finding a remedy for the wrongs that have been done for centuries, and the wrongs that have continued to be perpetuated, sometimes, in OUR name, and sometimes WITHOUT our consent or approval . . .
As we prepare to act, we must be mindful that this may be an uncomfortable experience and will take us out of our comfort zone to places we may not want to go. We will experience resistance within us and our families, our churches, and our communities. And because the work of spiritual advocacy is going to challenge us - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - we must seek guidance from God through regular prayers, meditation, and soma-embodiment healing to sustain us. I am convinced that if we can overcome the resistance within us, we MAY be able to overcome the resistance we will experience in society.
So, as we consider the work of spiritual advocacy, I want to share a quotation from Elin Goulden, Social Justice & Advocacy Consultant at the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, who wrote:
“With gratitude for the life and gifts God has given us, rather than continual dissatisfaction with what we have and who we are, we will be empowered to reach out and share God’s abundance with others. With the humility to regard ourselves as integrally connected to each other and to the earth, we will be able to avoid the self- seeking that spreads discord rather than harmony. We will learn not to try to 'go it alone' but build relationships with others, allowing those we seek to serve the dignity to serve us in their turn, and to speak on their own behalf.”