| Ten windows on the KairosAction movement Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power and with its plea for the weak.... Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, hero and martyr in the Christian resistance to the Nazis |
KairosAction Public Event, November 1, 2006
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1. “Kairos: A Time to Speak, a Time to Act” is a grassroots effort that comes out of the heart of the mainline churches. It is a wake-up
call for Christians and for our churches – a call to moral citizenship in these challenging times.
2. Kairos is the Biblical word for "a critical time, a moment of decision, a time for action." We feel challenged by what we see:
unending war, enemy creation, defense of torture, hunger and injustice, low respect for the U.S. in the world.
3. The question, “Is this a Kairos moment?” has been asked throughout history. We have sought to learn from the experience of
movements like the Confessing Church in Nazi German and its Barmen Declaration, and the Kairos movements in South Africa and
Latin America in the mid-1980s and thereafter in Europe and the U.S.
4. Like those efforts, the focus of our movement is community-building, fostering dialog and action in churches around the region and
nation. We emphasize Christians holding oneanother account-able to take action in the public arena. We seek to engage, critique,
challenge, and create out of the long tradition of nonviolent social change.
5. Education and action are grounded in a set of Kairos documents that many find articulate and compelling: the Kairos Statement,
Stand of Confession, resource guides, group study materials, and a resolution (at www.KairosAction.org).
6. A growing number of Christians support and have signed the Kairos Confession (see web site) Signers include prominent
religious figures like Walter Brueggemann, Herb Chilstrom, John Cobb, Marva Dawn, Ched Meyers, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Larry
Rasmussen, Barbara Rossing, and six bishops (active and retired).
7. Churches in recent years have been most visibly attentive to their pastoral functions: for example, praying for our troops, for peace,
and for our leaders. The Kairos movement represents Christians and the Church claiming our prophetic presence in the world,
calling for public policies that reflect our deepest understanding of what it means to be faithful members of the community of Christ.
8. The Kairos materials elaborate on what this means concretely in ten areas of public policy, from pre-emptive war and human rights
to threats to democracy and the role of the US in the world. Kairos groups work with the most reliable and effective organizations as
we join efforts to make needed changes in U.S. foreign policy (see Kairos resource guide, www.KairosAction.org).
9. In June, two synod assemblies with a total of 500 delegates from 140 churches in Washington and Idaho voted overwhelmingly to
endorse study of Kairos documents and other materials on foreign policy. In July, youth delegates from around the US passed a
similar resolution at the 45,000-participant ELCA Youth Gathering.
10. On Nov. 1, 150 clergy and lay leaders joined in worship, a press conference, march, and rally on Kairos that was featured on six
TV newscasts, NPR, both Seattle dailies, and elsewhere.
call for Christians and for our churches – a call to moral citizenship in these challenging times.
2. Kairos is the Biblical word for "a critical time, a moment of decision, a time for action." We feel challenged by what we see:
unending war, enemy creation, defense of torture, hunger and injustice, low respect for the U.S. in the world.
3. The question, “Is this a Kairos moment?” has been asked throughout history. We have sought to learn from the experience of
movements like the Confessing Church in Nazi German and its Barmen Declaration, and the Kairos movements in South Africa and
Latin America in the mid-1980s and thereafter in Europe and the U.S.
4. Like those efforts, the focus of our movement is community-building, fostering dialog and action in churches around the region and
nation. We emphasize Christians holding oneanother account-able to take action in the public arena. We seek to engage, critique,
challenge, and create out of the long tradition of nonviolent social change.
5. Education and action are grounded in a set of Kairos documents that many find articulate and compelling: the Kairos Statement,
Stand of Confession, resource guides, group study materials, and a resolution (at www.KairosAction.org).
6. A growing number of Christians support and have signed the Kairos Confession (see web site) Signers include prominent
religious figures like Walter Brueggemann, Herb Chilstrom, John Cobb, Marva Dawn, Ched Meyers, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Larry
Rasmussen, Barbara Rossing, and six bishops (active and retired).
7. Churches in recent years have been most visibly attentive to their pastoral functions: for example, praying for our troops, for peace,
and for our leaders. The Kairos movement represents Christians and the Church claiming our prophetic presence in the world,
calling for public policies that reflect our deepest understanding of what it means to be faithful members of the community of Christ.
8. The Kairos materials elaborate on what this means concretely in ten areas of public policy, from pre-emptive war and human rights
to threats to democracy and the role of the US in the world. Kairos groups work with the most reliable and effective organizations as
we join efforts to make needed changes in U.S. foreign policy (see Kairos resource guide, www.KairosAction.org).
9. In June, two synod assemblies with a total of 500 delegates from 140 churches in Washington and Idaho voted overwhelmingly to
endorse study of Kairos documents and other materials on foreign policy. In July, youth delegates from around the US passed a
similar resolution at the 45,000-participant ELCA Youth Gathering.
10. On Nov. 1, 150 clergy and lay leaders joined in worship, a press conference, march, and rally on Kairos that was featured on six
TV newscasts, NPR, both Seattle dailies, and elsewhere.
| I, the Lord, have called you and given you power to see that justice is done on earth. Isaiah 42:6 TEV * Seek peace, and pursue it. Psalm 34:14 NRSV KairosAction: A Time to Speak, a Time to Act * info@KairosAction.org * 206.720.0313 * www.KairosAction.org |