Inaugural JustLove Summit at La Sierra University Calls on Adventist Church to Embrace Justice

The inaugural JustLove Summit, held at La Sierra University on May 3-4, has called on the Seventh-day Adventist Church to give greater priority to justice in its faith, life and practices. The summit drew more than 160 participants, both in person and online.

Keynote addresses were given by Dr. Marlene Ferreras, Garrison Hayes and Eugene Canson. The keynote speakers emphasized what they described as a biblical mandate to pursue justice and explored how that mandate applies in today’s world. Eight workshop streams addressed a range of justice-related topics and offered practical insights and strategies.

The summit concluded with a collective call to action urging the Adventist community to intensify its focus on justice in line with biblical teaching. A statement reflecting that advocacy was endorsed by many participants and is now available on the JustLove Collective’s website, which invites wider support.

The statement calls on leaders and members of the global church to work with its signatories to renew the practice of justice and mercy as part of walking humbly with God in the present world. It cites the ministry of Jesus, the voices of the Hebrew prophets and the examples of Adventist pioneers who, the statement says, “stood up for the poor and oppressed” and opposed social evils such as racism and slavery. It affirms agencies, organizations and individuals already working on justice issues, and it acknowledges members of the church family for whom injustice, oppression and exploitation are lived experiences.

The statement also laments that the church has at times been silent when it should have spoken. It expresses hope for the church’s “as-yet-unrealized potential” to be a greater voice for justice, and it calls preachers to preach and teachers to teach on the subject. Speaking up where silence has been the failing points to the call to defend those who cannot defend themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Participants said they would take the call back to their churches and communities, share it with church leadership and membership, and live it out locally. The statement invites the wider Adventist community to join what it describes as “the radical and difficult, creative and joyous work” of justice and love. Readers who wish to add their names to the statement can do so through a page on the JustLove Collective’s website.

Source: Read the original report