Resolution 2:
Social Justice
Last Update:October 21, 2025
Status
The 176th Convention, meeting on October 18, adopted this resolution as presented.
Resolution Text:
Resolved, That the 176th Convention of the Diocese of California prioritizes the public communication of the Episcopal Church’s social justice affirmations of love, justice, peace, and the dignity of every human being, of every race, religion, ethnicity, gender, orientation, economic status, citizenship or housing status, and the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion;
Resolved, That this Convention prioritizes the creation of public communications and media content that clearly state the Episcopal Church’s support for its social justice affirmations and goals in a format that can be easily shared, repurposed, and published by individual congregations and congregants;
Resolved, That this Convention empowers and encourages congregations and congregants to create and publish content that clearly identifies and states the Episcopal Church’s support for those social justice affirmations; and
Resolved, That this Convention encourages and empowers congregations and congregants throughout the diocese to participate in and lead governmental initiatives, federal, state, and local legislation, lawful civil actions, protests, rallies, petitions, and public forums which promote the Episcopal Church’s social justice affirmations and goals.
Explanation:
Why Social Justice is important –
Communities throughout the Diocese of California and beyond have been impacted negatively by the lack of equality, equity, justice, peace, and mercy. As Christians we are called to love one another and are empowered to manifest equality, equity, justice, peace, and mercy by actions based in bravery, kindness, persistence, faith and hope.
This resolution seeks to fulfill our Strategic Vision as it relates to social justice by clearly stating the trust and support for those within our diocese who work toward that vision. It proclaims to those who answer the Gospel’s call to love and serve in these ministries, we see you, we trust, we support you.
The issues and areas in which we are called to serve are many and require the collaboration of all. The social justice crises included within the scope of this resolution include, but are not limited to, affordable housing, racial inequities, immigration, LGBTQ rights, women’s health, healthcare, senior services, environmental protection, increasing unemployment, food insecurity, poverty, and violence to name a few. Our Christian and Episcopalian values and position supporting social justice is often lost in the noise dominating the social narrative.
How this resolution seeks to advance the goal of social justice –
The diocese recognizes the need for clergy, lay-led groups and individual congregants to work privately as well as in the public domain toward our goal of promoting social justice. The diocese further recognizes that most social justice issues are common across all diocesan jurisdictions and require coordinated effort to be effective.
While many diocesan parishes and individual congregants already work tirelessly on social justice issues, these actions are often done independently and localized to their respective jurisdictions. In today’s world of broadly distributed social and digital media, it is important to strengthen our collective voice and make the position of the Episcopal church heard and recognized in the public domain. It recognizes that it is impractical for those working toward the goal of social justice to seek approval for every action undertaken to that end or for any public communication published.
By this resolution the diocese seeks to confer its support of efforts to address the social justice crises by civic, legislative and parish-level initiatives, to identify them as Episcopalian, and to undertake them in a manner that promotes the Gospel’s call to love, justice, peace, and the dignity of every human being.
The diocese further empowers clergy, lay-led groups and individual congregants to work on social justice initiatives, even if they do not personally reside in the city or jurisdiction in which they seek to act. The Diocese of California is resident in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francico, San Mateo, and portions of Santa Clara counties, and confers its authority to its clergy, lay-led groups, and individual congregants working toward social justice in those counties.
Biblical Citations supporting our call as Christians to act to promote social justice. LINK
This resolution supports the resolutions listed in Policies for Action of the Episcopal Church
Fiscal Impact:
None for the 2027 budget.
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BIBLE CITATIONS:
1 Corinthians 16:14
Let all that you do be done in love.
Ezekiel 16:49
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
Deuteronomy 15:7
If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother.
Deuteronomy 15:10-11
You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
Isaiah 25:4
For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
Isaiah 58:6-8
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
James 2:16
And one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and hope.
Leviticus 25:35-36
“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you.
Luke 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Matthew 25:40-45
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Proverbs 14:21
Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
I support this resolution.
This is excellent! One grammatical error in the 6th paragraph of Explanation is that the word “strength” should be “strengthen.”
Thank you for the catch, Gary! I have made the correction.
I support this resolution.
I am one of those individual Episcopalians working for social justice in several contexts, and I am heartened by the recent formation of the Contra Costa Deanery Social Justice Network. Also, I am very pleased to see environmental protection included in the scope of this resolution.
I appreciate the scripture citations, and I would like a link to the “Policies for Action of the Episcopal Church.”
Another minor correction: “… the diocese confers its support…” (no apostrophe).
Thanks, Emily, for the catch.
I fully support this resolution because it encourages support of individual members of our diocese in their action on social justice issues for all God’s people.