Justice Ministry
Biblical inspiration for Justice Ministry
Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
In Matthew 23:23-24, Jesus chastises the Pharisees for not following Micah 6:8.
Nehemiah the prophet provides a model for building the power needed to affect powerful systems when he gathers a Great Assembly to hold public officials accountable for the promises that had previously been made to the oppressed Jews in their community. He built power with people.
Vineyard Justice Ministry Efforts
To build power we join with ~25 other congregations under the banner of IMPACT, and together, by turning out thousands of people at an annual assembly called the Nehemiah Action, we exercise that power to bring justice to the Charlottesville area.
As one example of the results of our efforts, IMPACT has been successful getting the City of Charlottesville to put $3MM a year (for several years in a row now) into an affordable housing trust fund. By 2025, the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Trust Fund will have funded the construction or renovation of affordable homes for over 3,500 families in Charlottesville.
Vision 52/1
Our congregation wants to turn out our Average Worship Attendance of 85 people at least once a year for justice. We want the 85 who attend 52 worship services each year to attend the annual Nehemiah Action!
Justice Ministry Cycle
The process of working for justice wins each year starts with building a Vineyard Justice Ministry Network.
• A formal network of relationships – organized through households – that engages the entire congregation in doing justice. We have a 3-part annual cycle:
1. It starts with listening in the fall via house meetings where we listen to each others’ stories of how injustice personally affects us.
2. In the winter and spring, we research and take action. Within IMPACT, we vote on the issues we will focus on, and we learn how they affect our communities.
3. In the summer, we celebrate our wins and start fundraising for the next cycle.
If you have any questions, reach out to the Vineyard Justice Ministry Team Members, Carissa Phillips, Crystal Seek or Jessica Leathers.
DART: The Direct Action and Research Training Center
Learn More about the Justice Ministry Cycle on the DART webpage.
UPDATES
Housing: County Budget Hearing April 15 6pm @ County Offices
Even with every County Supervisor attending the Nehemiah Action, we still don’t have the votes needed to get to $10MM for housing this year.
Our last chance to MAKE AN IMPACT and show the County Board that we want HOUSING FOR ALL is next Wednesday, April 15 at the County Offices on McIntire Road. The budget hearing will begin at 6pm and starting this Thursday you can call the County Clerk at 434-296-5843 to sign up to speak
Nehemiah Action Debrief: April 14 7pm @ Church of the Hood Sheperd
If you have questions about our process, want to get more involved with an issue campaign, or just want to better understand how the Nehemiah Action works, the Nehemiah Action Debrief is a great opportunity for that.
We will gather on April 14 at 7pm at Church of the Good Shepherd and spend time unpacking what happened before the Action, during the Action, and our plans going forward.
The Action Debrief is open to all IMPACT network members.
Celebrating 20 Years of Making an IMPACT!
May 18th, 6:30pm @ St Thomas
Mark your calendars for our annual celebration on May 18th. This year marks the 20th year since IMPACT’s founding, so in addition to celebrating this year’s accomplishments we’ll be looking back at all we’ve done over the past two decades and taking a special moment to recognize many of IMPACT’s founders.
Like every year, the celebration also kicks off our annual investment drive. We’ll have more info about that in our May update, but if you’d like to give financially to support our work and invest in justice, you can mail a check to our office at 1901 Thomson Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 or click on the button below to give online.