I’ll update more in full from the Sojourners Mobilization to End Poverty Conference (M2EP) when I have more time (and I’m more rested), but for now, here’s this awesome little tidbit.
On Sunday night, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) gave the message at Shiloh Baptist Church, encouraging us to stand up for what we knew was right, namely the fight against poverty. He said, and I paraphrase, “When God tells you to do something, often it means getting in the way, it means getting in trouble.”
Well, John Lewis, a veteran of the US civil rights movement, isn’t just one for words. He leads by example and on Monday, after speaking at the first plenary session at M2EP, he picketed the Sudanese embassy in DC in non-violent protest, calling for a reversal of Sudanese President al-Beshir’s decision to expel international humanitarian groups from Darfur, and he (along with a number of other protesters, including four other congresspeople) was arrested.
You want an example of talking the talk and walking the walk? Look at this 69 year-old congressman, whose faith inspires him to get in trouble.