A voice for justice in the UMC and the world.

About

Providing a venue where progressive persons of faith, presiding primarily in the Western United States, work together on significant issues of justice and peace both within and beyond The United Methodist Church.

There is no “membership” in Western Methodist Justice Movement, but you can be part of the work by signing up for our newsletter and justice announcements and making a tax-deductible gift to the work of WMJM.

 

The Western Methodist Justice Movement (WMJM) is a movement of United Methodists in the annual conferences of the Western Jurisdiction who are committed to carrying out the prophetic statements and actions of the Western Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church.

The core values of WMJM are:

Intersectional Justice – Recognizing that spheres of justice-seeking overlap
Inclusive Community – Working together a larger, more inclusive table.
Beloved Community – Interconnectedness that builds relationships in a healthy way
Solidarity – Coming together in equal power relationship; moving alongside one another
Decolonization – Removing the colonization of power
Spiritual Leaven/Living into Possibilities – Allowing the Holy Spirit to be our change agent.

WMJM’s work focuses on diverse action areas, including;

  • increasing the inclusiveness and justice focus of churches

  • planning ministries to fully include LGBTQIA+ persons

  • immigration justice

  • reproductive justice

  • justice in the Philippines

  • education and advocacy for justice in Israel-Palestine

  • planning extravagant hospitality in our churches

  • and addressing the worldwide nature and future of the UMC.


Birth of WMJM

The seeds for the WMJM were planted at the Western Jurisdictional Conference 2012 in San Diego, at a pre-conference gathering organized by progressive United Methodists across the jurisdiction. That meeting was attended by laity and clergy from all eight annual conferences of the Western Jurisdiction. People with a passion to bring about change in the Church gathered into Action Groups according to their interests. Several resolutions were drafted by these Action Groups, immediately submitted to the WJC 2012, and adopted.

During WJC 2012, Bishop Grant Hagiya of the Seattle Episcopal Area invited everyone to take the authority to advance the Jurisdiction's goals and commitments, rather than waiting passively for the institutional church to take the lead. He reminded us that the mission of creating a radically hospitable, Jesus-centered Church that was committed to the advancement of justice belongs to everyone in the church.

In November 2012, a group of progressive activists came together again; they wanted to maintain the momentum of the Action Groups formed in July 2012 and respond to the call from Bishop Hagiya. Out of that gathering, the Western Methodist Justice Movement (WMJM) was formed, with a mission to build a multi-cultural and inclusive community of leaders in the Western Jurisdiction who would work in diverse settings for local and global justice.

The important thing is always to remember that justice cannot be divided. In the Church of Jesus Christ, we are called to bring our passions together... to struggle together to build the beloved community of God's people.


Convener: Jan Nelson

Leadership Team:
Austin L. Adkinson, Israel Alvaran, M. Theresa Basile, Richard Bentley, Paul Cosgrove, Dottie Escobedo-Frank, Ashley Hawkins, Katharine Henry, Mary T. T. Larson, Ella Luna-Garcia, Allison Mark, Jan Nelson, Karen Nelson, Micheal Pope, Jean Reynolds, John Reynolds, J. Benjamin Roe, Jessica Rooks, Kimberly Scott, Cynthia Tuell, Jason Takagi, Phillip Valdes, Frank Wulf, Michael Yoshii

Communication Support: Drew Elizarde-Miller, Greg Nelson