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JOIN
DJAN DISCIPLES
JUSTICE ADVOCACY THE |
DJAN HISTORY,
PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE
By Charles Harvey Lord, Co-Founder Disciples Justice Action Network, known by the acronym DJAN (pronounced DEE-jan,) traces its beginning to the mid 90's when ecumenical Protestant churches suffered declining income for mission, declining membership, and a crisis in courage. In the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) this led to a restructure that eliminated the Department of Church in Society, and made working conditions uncomfortable for longtime staff members who specialized in social justice. To many socially concerned members of the Disciples Church, it appeared that the denomination was being seriously tempted to practice corporate irresponsibility and public issue irrelevancy. Seventy five persons at a General Assembly in Pittsburgh in 1995 called for a federation of existing peace and justice groups and political activists to make the case for prophetic witness. The next year, 1996, at Park Manor Christian Church in Chicago, 100 persons formally began the Disciples Justice Action Network. What began as a protest against an apparent religious withdrawal has grown to be a corporate force of its own. Over a period of time leaders of the denomination have welcomed this new expression and given it a place in church life, even though it is not under ecclesiastical control. At the General Assembly in Kansas City in 2001, the Disciples considered seven resolutions on social issues. Five of them came from individuals and churches influenced by the DJAN movement. All of them have been adopted by the Assembly. It is in part because of the DJAN movement that the Disciples of Christ are looking anew at their appropriate extra-congregational role in public witness. DJAN now
claims as supporters four hundred fifty individual/family members,
and forty-two congregations and peace and justice groups. Its life
together is guided by a multi-racial, multi-cultural, geographically
dispersed Decisions Team of individuals and representatives from member organizations. It makes frequent
use of e-mail and teleconferences as well as face to face meetings,
and publishes a quarterly newsletter, Call to Justice! We
invite you and your group to join in DJAN's ongoing mission by filling
out the membership form, becoming a member online and/or
contacting us at
disciplesjustice@comcast.net.
Also, please feel free to send me an email at
harveylord@prodigy.net. I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope you will join us
or renew your membership soon. We value your friendship and support. |
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Disciples
Justice Action Network (DJAN) is
an unofficial peace and social-justice organization of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) "In the unity of the body of Christ, we are called by God as a covenanted people to join in prayerful discernment and prophetic action for the sake of the Gospel. As a network of individuals and organizations, we are committed to demonstrating acts of justice for all of God's creation." (from our mission statement) |
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