More than a Moment!

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED!

Just after three o’clock in the afternoon of April 26th, the nearly 40 persons gathered for the “Just Elders” retreat
stepped to the microphone to declare, “I am in.”

Those who stepped forward have long histories of organizing driven and informed by their faith and values.  So they said, “I am in because…

• I want my grandchildren to know that I did not spend my last days knitting but did something for them and the common good.”
• organizing changed my life for the good and I want to share the organizing legacy so that it not lost to history.”
• it is in groups like this that I find people who think and act like me.”
• to resist alarming changes occurring in American life that rob people of the “Beloved Community.”
• the institutions that support our common life are faltering and we need to rebuild them together.”
• things need to be changed in my local community.”
• people our age remember what works and what does not work.”
• we need to create a reliable place for analysis of what is happening and what needs to change in our world today.”
• I want the environment to support a good life for my great grandchildren.”
• I want to see our government spend more on helping people out of poverty than it does on war.”

So what is happening now?

• We have added four people to the conveners team and agreed to meet in the cloud using GoToMeeting.
• We have launched the campaign for Just Elders
• We are organizing Chapters
• We are starting to share issue using our blog, Facebook and Twitter

One thing is certain: Our retreat was “more than a moment.” We may be beginning a movement.