Community Safety Will Not Come From Abuse of Power
Beloveds,
We at All Souls practice power with people and decry those who seek to exert power over people.
Community organizers from Harriet’s Wildest Dreams singing in solidarity and joy for a free DC.
Centuries ago our ancestors rejected a church that preached power over people through instilling fear and insisting on unquestioning submission to authority. We affirmed instead that people have the capacity to assess what is true, to know what is good and what is evil, and to act to create justice. Our faithful act to continue to embody these principles.
We decry President Trump’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployment of the National Guard. We decry his use of the politics of fear and his unnecessary abuse of authority.
For decades, black residents of DC (including members of All Souls) have called for more accountability of our police, related both to the excessive use of force and to the disproportionate targeting of minorities. Indeed, All Souls minister Rev. Eaton and other activists successfully sued the MPD and FBI for infringement of rights and invasion of privacy. The deployment of the National Guard will make us less safe by putting untrained and unaccountable members of the military in a position for which they’re not trained or equipped. These soldiers are trained for warfare and natural disasters, not for community policing. Given the track record of the current administration, we know this is exactly what they want: more force with more bias, and zero accountability.
We affirm in contrast that safety is built with community participation. Since 2021, All Souls has been working for genuine public safety through the Washington Interfaith Network Public Safety Team. The team is focused on education, organizing, and advocacy that shifts DC’s emphasis from scapegoating, policing, and incarceration to sustainable, equitable, and evidence-approaches that truly help people and families in our city.
Let’s continue to practice power by engaging our broader DC-area Community. Rev. Keithan will be working with our many partner organizations in the coming weeks to identify collaborative responses to these latest challenges.
Multiple aspects of All Souls Social Justice Ministry are connected to Free DC, a renewed effort to defend home rule by building power neighbor-to-neighbor across DC.
Our Reeb Project for Voting Rights is actively engaged in 3 critical arenas: (1) voter mobilization in Virginia (they have statewide elections this November), (2) promoting DC statehood, and (3) promoting organizing skills generally, in collaboration with other congregations in the DC area.
Our Migrant Solidarity Team is consistently active in a range of activities, including direct support, Know Your Right education and emergency preparedness, organizing, advocacy, and public witness.
Please email Rev. Rob Keithan at rkeithan(at)allsouls.ws, Minister of Spiritual Growth and Justice, to get connected to any/all of the above.
Our All Souls community continues to be a safe haven. Come and join us for worship, for connection, or reach out to a minister for pastoral care.
May you know you are held in love. May you be safe.
Rev. Anastassia Zinke
Rev. Rob Keithan
Executive Director Traci Hughes