Fellowship Southwest’s wish list for a new era

By Marv Knox

With the U.S. presidential inauguration just six days away, Congress already in session and state legislatures gearing up, Fellowship Southwest is looking toward the future with hope. Of course, our ultimate trust is in God and not government. But we pledge to pray for and promise to work toward cooperation that results in justice and in shared compassion for people in need.

Here are issues we will monitor and causes for which we will advocate:

• Immigration reform

For a nation with so many citizens who claim to follow Jesus, the United States has been abysmal at responding to the most vulnerable people in the Western Hemisphere, who have sought to enter our country legally. 

Fellowship Southwest’s immigrant relief ministry has provided shelter, food and protection to asylum seekers from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. We know them and know their stories. We have seen how they suffer, primarily because of our own government’s punitive policies.

We seek an end to the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols—also known as “remain in Mexico”—that have caused asylum seekers to languish indefinitely in Northern Mexico as they wade through the asylum process. We respect strong borders and hope for an orderly process, but we also want these people to receive just and fair treatment, at a steady and deliberate pace. We also expect discontinuation of the separation of children from their families.

• Public education

A strong public education system is a great guarantor of a strong democracy. And access to quality education is vital for ensuring that all people receive an opportunity to live productive lives, care for themselves and fulfill their potential. 

We have seen how some approaches to education—particularly vouchers and other schemes that remove funding from public education or subvert public funding to unaccountable schools—undermines the greater good. 

So, we will advocate with our partners on behalf of public education and continue to advance strong relationships between congregations and local schools.

• Justice 

We have been appalled by the ways society—steeped as it is in systemic racism—undermines justice and protection for American people. We continue to see how justice and equal protection are not afforded equitably. 

We will seek avenues for advocating on behalf of justice for all. We understand this is a complex issue, but we also know it is deeply imbedded and thus difficult to root out. Because we believe all people are created in God’s image, we will work to protect all people.

Specifically, we will support efforts to abolish capital punishment, whose administration is rooted in inequality and injustice, particularly against Black Americans. 

• Religious liberty

Our Baptist forbears’ most notable virtue was their advocacy for religious liberty for all people. Beginning in the 17th century and progressing through the generations, Baptists have championed the cause of religious freedom for people “of all faiths and no faith.” 

Today, Christian Nationalism conflates being a “good” Christian with American patriotism. By confusing duty to God and identity with country and vice-versa, Christian Nationalism is heretically un-Christian and consistently unpatriotic. 

We will continue to advocate on behalf of the religion clauses of the First Amendment—“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” These protections are vital for the future of both faith and country.

• Voting rights

In the latest election cycle, we witnessed an unthinkable assault on democracy—the attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters. We will support endeavors to guarantee every citizen of voting age receives unfettered access to the polling booth, and every vote is counted in every election. 

• Civility and kindness. 

Jesus taught us, “… do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).  Fellowship Southwest affirms the time-honored principles of civility and kindness, just as we support the historic right to free speech. We will strive to create opportunities for civil conversations about substantive issues, just as we will seek to model appropriate behavior ourselves. 

The path forward toward wholeness and healing—on immigration, education, justice, race, religious liberty and all important public issues—passes through civility and kindness.

If you would like to support Fellowship Southwest’s multi-faceted ministry, click here.

Marv Knox is coordinator of Fellowship Southwest, which encompasses Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Mexico, Oklahoma, Southern California and Texas.