Resources on the economic crisis, unemployment, and jobs.

Labor Sunday 2012
September 2

Reflection, 2012
Worship Resources
Workers Needing Special Support

The Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, September 2, is Labor Sunday, a day to lift up workers, to celebrate their contributions, and support their struggles. It is also a day to lament and commit ourselves to reducing the huge disparities between the very wealthy and everyone else, especially the poor.

Justice and Witness Ministries encouages congregations to participate in Labor Sunday. Links on this page lead to resources for worship and sources for general information about working conditions.

Conditions and events at work absorb our energy, occupy our minds, and impact our psyches when we are at work and after returning home. Some workers confront particularly unjust situations—unsafe conditions, extremely low pay, racism, sexism, and other abuses. All workers, whatever their position in the hierarchy of jobs, may suffer from indignities, large and small, that cripple their spirit and hinder their journey to greater wholeness. The Church, the body of Christ, is called to seek out and accompany people wherever they are. So the Church must also be in our offices, factories, stores, farms, schools, and all the places where people work. As Isaiah reminds us, we are called "to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke" (Isaiah 58:6).

Particularly important issues of justice:

• Inequality
• The current economic crisis and joblessness
• Justice for workers
• Low-wage work, Wal-Mart workers
• The need to strengthen workers' right to form a union
• Immigration and Immigrants in the workplace
• Worker safety
• Wage theft

There are many ways to lift up workers and our work lives during a Labor Sunday service. Provided here are a Reflection for 2012 and from previous years as well as Worship Resources including Calls to Worship,Prayers, and Hymns. A Mission Moment, Sermon, or Prayer could also lift up workers' concerns. You might want to invite a worker to give the Sunday message addressing issues of our faith from the perspective of workers and the workplace. This could be a member of the congregation or someone from the community, possibly engaged in a local labor struggle.

Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) also has good resources for Labor Sunday services and can help identify a local speaker. Local Jobs with Justice organizations can also help identify potential speakers.