by Wakil David Matthews
As the New Year begins it is common to feel at a loss as to what is the most effective and important way to take action for justice and equality. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming and too complex to find a way forward.
But we as Sufi practitioners know that our work on the outer plane is equally important as the work on the inner. And so, as part of our intrinsic hope and resilience, we are compelled and guided toward right action.
One area of action that our Kinship Ray concentration lifts up is through local legislation advocacy. For me, that guidance has most recently led toward work on policy that will support and enhance social and earth justice.
So, today I want to reflect on and introduce everyone to some of the work that is happening locally in Washington State, mostly stolen lands of the Salish and Coast Salish people among others.
As the year began, I reconnected with two local social justice organizations whose main area of concentration is legislation at the Statewide level as well as other local policy issues. The first was the Faith Action Network of Washington (FANWA). They send out a legislative agenda twice a week during the active sessions with links to opportunities to state our advocacy for or against legislation and give comments.
They are partnering with a group that formed a couple of years ago called Paths to Understanding – an Interfaith non-profit dedicated to “foster[ing] relationships of respect between wisdom communities. [They] support and train wisdom communities in multi-faith peacemaking in their neighborhoods for the common good of our children, our planet, and ourselves.
I signed up with the Paths to Understanding that offers excellent online classes on subjects such as policy advocacy, countering anti-muslim bigotry, authentic allyship, etc. that you can access here: Paths Classes (NOTE: Some of these are bundles that charge a fee but many are available for free). If anyone is interested in any of the fee-based courses, let’s talk about how we might share them in a discussion group!
The second, and related group I re-connected with was 350.org Washington. In their kickoff for the year, they introduced their 350 WA – Civic Action Team (CAT) group. By joining their mailing list and becoming a team member, I am assured of receiving information on current legislative issues so that our State legislators hear from many voices urging them to act for climate, justice and an equitable society.
Finally, as a related bonus, I was able to attend a wonderful webinar by Bill McKibben, the co-founder of 350.org and now the co-founder of a new social justice organization specifically for people over 60 years old, called “Third Act.” The webinar was titled “How to Be an Effective Crank,” and gave simple and effective strategies for writing letters to the editor, social media postings, and op-eds. You can find this and many other excellent resources on Third Act’s Resources Page.
If you are not living in Washington State, what are some similar organizations in your part of the world that you might engage with in similar ways? We’d love to hear from you in the comments, and/or by reaching out to me personally at drmatthewsusa@gmail.com. Or even better yet, please add those resources to our groups database on the Kinship Ray website.