Call to Justice
Make a Difference
Our first Call to Justice, Advocacy Days of Training is March 6-7. Learn about your call to justice in the public square. What is our call to justice as disciples of Jesus Christ?
Register Now!Columbia Seminary
The Call to Justice advocacy training is a partnership between Columbia Theological Seminary and the following organizations:
| 9:30 am | Coffee Break hosted by Seminarians for Peace |
| 10:10 am | Plenary I: Call to Justice: Why do Advocacy – Office of Public Witness |
| 11:00 am | Break |
| 12:30 pm | Lunch – Display area in the Refectory |
| 2:00 pm | Workshop #1 |
| 3:00 pm | Break |
| 4:00 pm | Workshop #2 |
| 5:00 pm | Break/Adjourn for Day |
| Immigration & Refugee Justice (BLC 105) Join the Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness for a breakout session focused on U.S. immigration policy, its root causes, and ways to get involved in refugee and accompaniment ministry opportunities. This interactive workshop will begin with a spiritual practice that reflects the migration experience, followed by an exploration of the historical and present-day factors that drive migration worldwide—such as conflict, climate change, economic hardship, and racial disparity. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how U.S. policies impact migrant communities and discuss ways the Church can advocate for compassionate, justice-centered reform. Together, we will reflect on how our worship and ministry as a denomination are intricately connected to our neighbors and how we can live out Jesus’s call to welcome and support all people, empowering participants to advocate for meaningful, systemic change. This session will be led by Catherine Gordon (PC(USA) Representative for International Issues) and Rev. Christina Cosby (PC(USA) Representative for Domestic and Environmental Issues) | PC(USA) Office of Public Witness |
| Jesus & Justice: An Intro to Advocacy (BLC 107) Join us for Jesus and Justice: Faith, Advocacy, and Christian Responsibility, a workshop that explores how scripture calls us to advocate for justice, equity, and compassion. Through discussion and practical strategies, we’ll explore how faith and social justice intersect and how to integrate these values into effective advocacy for systemic change. We will also examine the role of faith-based advocacy in the political arena, including how the Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness engages with policymakers to bring the church’s convictions about justice, peace, and freedom into the heart of public policy. This workshop will inspire and equip you to translate your theological insights into meaningful action for justice. | PC(USA) Office of Public Witness |
| Wisdom from the Margins: Engaging Presbyterians in the Strategic Work of Anti- Poverty. (BLC 205) Workshop content will help individuals navigate and engage in critical tools needed for anti-poverty work and its intersections. Culled from the wisdom of Self Development of People’s 50 plus year work with community partners, this interactive workshop will also equip participants with missional, theological and practical strategies centered around addressing root causes of poverty, networking, community organizing, and leveraging congregational/communal power in engaging justice issues. Steeped in biblical perspectives of justice, PCUSA policy statements and missional based asset mapping, the workshop will engage participants in learning more about relationship building practices and effective strategies of doing direct action and advocacy. | Self-Development of People |
| Affordable Housing Homelessness: (Harrington 222) The lack of affordable housing, evictions and homelessness constitute a vicious cycle that has become one of the leading public issues of our time. Consider these facts: Throughout America people earning the median income cannot afford the median price of available housing units. The number of renter households who must pay more than 50 percent of their income on housing has grown immensely, and a disproportionate number of these renters are Black or Hispanic. In 2024, on a single night 771,480 persons were unhoused in America – an all-time high. Nearly 12,000 metro Atlanta public school students are unhoused. | Presbyterians for a Better Georgia |
| Environmental Justice (Richards Center – Dobbs Room) Faith communities have a vital role to play in shaping policies that address climate change, environmental justice, and community resilience. In this 50-minute workshop, participants will encounter a new perspective on how to engage effectively in advocacy. Participants will participate in real-world example efforts that reflect Georgia Interfaith Power and Light’s (GIPL) core values of stewardship, justice, community, peace, and awe. | Georgia Interfaith Power & Light |
| So They May Have Life and Life More Abundantly: (BLC 201) Advocating for Comprehensive Reproductive Healthcare and Equity as Faith Leaders Rev. Leo Seyij Allen, Movement Director of Forward Together, and Rev. Matthew Johnson, Georgia Organizing Manager of Faith in Public Life/Action, will be discussing the history, narrative, and current state of faith advocacy in matters of reproductive justice. The presentation will discuss the history of faith leadership in the fight for abortion rights, the importance of faith leaders’ voices and messaging about abortion, and finally, we will talk about concrete ways that people of faith and faith leaders can make a difference in the fight for reproductive health justice and access. | Faith in Public Life Action (Georgia) |
| Prophetic Preaching on Palestine (BLC 310) Join representatives from the Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) as we journey together to explore advocacy and preaching prophetically on Palestine. This session will include a brief historical overview of the ongoing settler-colonial occupation of Israel on Palestinian lands, an introduction to the PJN and our Hosanna Preaching Project, time together to develop new liturgy, and information about groups local to Atlanta that are doing the work of bringing about a liberated Palestine. We invite you to gather with us as we put theological education into practice | Hosanna Project |
| Activism as a Spiritual Discipline (Richards Center – Ellis Room) Social and political activism are regularly understood as either something different from spiritual disciplines or something that follows from those disciplines. This workshop explores how social and political activism might be understood as a spiritual discipline—and how thinking of activism as a spiritual discipline might shape the reasons and ways to be an activist. | Columbia Theological Seminary |
| Georgia Legislative Overview (BLC 202) A session on the law-making process in the state of Georgia along with a review of current legislation that Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center is supporting in coalition with other organizations. | Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center |
| Queering the Agenda (Richards Center 2nd Floor Gallery) With voices from our community, we will discuss the anti-LGTBQIA+ legislation currently happening in our state and in our country, and what role we play in working against it. Jai Davis (they/them) from Georgia Equality | Imago Dei, Columbia Theological Seminary |
| 10:00 am | Chapel |
| 11:15 am | Plenary II: Community Organizing & Advocacy |
| 12:30 pm | Lunch & Learn: More on Advocacy – Office of Public Witness |
| 1:30 pm | Break |
| 2:00 pm | Panel Discussion on Ministry in the Public Square – Moderated by Naomi McQuiller, Seminarians for Peace |
| 3:30 pm | Justice in Action Activity – Immigrant & Refugee Worship, Columbia Presbyterian Church |
| 4:30 pm | Closing Reception & Remarks, President Victor Aloyo, Jr. |
