By Rev. Fatima Yakubu-Madus

The Episcopal Church, Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, and Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis maintain a strong commitment to justice and peace. One of the most important parts of our mission includes giving voice to the voiceless and advocating for those who do not feel fully included in our society. While we may not all agree on complex issues, we do commit to shaping a space for discourse around topics that tend to divide people and to staying in community with each other as we engage in conversations. We are currently working with the mayor’s office to implement a program that is proven to reduce gun violence by 30% or more, ICE detainees’ accompaniments to courts in Indiana and Chicago, demise payday loan bill, immigration, and Bias crime bill. We reach out to both our state and national legislative system by making phone calls and visits to elected officials, writing letters, and joining together with others in advocacy networks listed below.

If you are interested in a particular social justice issue and would like to connect with our faith-based approach to advocacy, please contact Fatima through her email at: fatimaym@cccindy.org.

Here’s some suggestions about groups that we support through our Advocacy ministry:

The Episcopal Public Policy Network is a grassroots network of Episcopalians across the country dedicated to carrying out the Baptismal Covenant call to “strive for justice and peace” through the active ministry of public policy advocacy.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families.

Faith in Indiana is a statewide faith-based organization that works with clergy and leaders from various faith traditions to address and resolve social justice issues facing rural, urban, and suburban communities.  As a multi-faith and multicultural organization, Faith in Indiana provides opportunities for diverse communities to come together across the state to resolve issues affecting Indiana families and our collective future as a State.

Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s leaders to end hunger at home and abroad. God’s grace in Jesus Christ moves us to help our neighbors, whether they live in the next house, the next state, or the next continent. We are an organization that operates on the principle that Christians are motivated by their faith to address hunger around the world.  Bread also believes that it is the moral calling of Christians to be politically engaged. Practicing faith-filled citizenship is our right under the U.S. Constitution. Hunger is a profoundly political issue and one that should be a top concern of our federal government. We are serving God when we raise issues of hunger and poverty with our government. Bread works in addressing the causes of hunger and the conditions that allow it to persist.