All faiths emphasize a tradition of hospitality. It is part
of the deep spirituality common to all faiths. It is also part of the deep tradition of American democracy. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
boldly embodied this tradition, which affirms the dignity of every person. As
we celebrate his birth, let us also remember that on the day of his assassination
he was in Memphis, Tennessee standing in solidarity with sanitation workers.
Before going to Memphis Dr.King spoke at Riverside Church in New York City where his
sermon title was “Time to Break the Silence: Beyond Vietnam.” In this speech,
Dr. King audaciously drew a line connecting the extravagant immorality of war
with the plight of the poor in America and the conditions of low-wage and
underpaid workers.
As we celebrate the memory of Dr. King this week-end, we
ache for a politics that is not about winning at all costs but about producing
better lives for all people. We share the longing expressed in the words of the poet Langston Hughes, “Let America be America again.”
It is an honor to launch the blog of Interfaith Worker
Justice Kansas this weekend. The hostility in our political culture embodied in
efforts to suppress voter participation in elections and the coldness
evidenced in our economic climate by events such as the recent announcement by
Boeing that it will close its Wichita plant violate the ethics of compassion
and the most precious teachings in our religious traditions.
This is why a
renewal of hospitality is vital today. Democracy, like faith, is not just a
system of governance; it is a way of being.The ethic of hospitality takes us beyond the work of
charity, important as that is. True hospitality is a commitment to help every
person meet her or his basic needs with dignity.
In this spirit, IWJ Kansas is
committed to advocating for the rights of all workers and affirming the work of
employers who are advocates for excellence, which begins with a commitment to
fairness for all. We are a diverse community, but everyone deserves to be treated
with dignity.
Interfaith Worker Justice of Kansas is working to building
an interfaith, multiracial and multicultural community committed to renewing an
ethic of hospitality as a path to justice for all. We are a program of Global
Faith in Action, an affiliate of the national Interfaith Worker Justice
organization and the Wichita-Hutchinson Federation of Labor.
I invite you to
join us.
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