UCC pastor: Congregations must ask what it means to love our neighbor in this moment

When over 1,000 people gathered in front of the United States Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., last week to protest security breaches and the implications of billionaire Elon Musk’s unprecedented access to government systems, the Rev. Kathy Dwyer, senior pastor at Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ in Arlington, Virginia, was part of the crowd. It’s one of a variety of ways that Dwyer and fellow faith leaders and congregants are listening for God’s call to take action in this moment ‘for which we have been preparing.’

What is God calling us to do in this place and time? This question is always at the heart of the Church’s mission, but today, the urgency of the answer grows more important with each passing day. As a pastor, I often describe the Church as a place where we practice being the Beloved Community — where we practice love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace so that when the world demands these things of us, we are ready.

This moment is one for which we have been preparing.

We are now wrestling with how best to put Jesus’ call to love God and love our neighbor into action – as are many faith communities across the country.

At Rock Spring, we are starting to take actions on many fronts. This past week, I attended and spoke at the National Day of Action sponsored by SURJ (Stand Up for Racial Justice) and signed the Pledge: Protect & Resist: “I PLEDGE to show up to protect the rights, safety, and dignity of people in my community and resist Trump’s antidemocratic and immoral agenda consistent with the principles of nonviolence.” My colleague and I attended the rally at the U.S. Treasury to protest its takeover by Elon Musk. Other members of our congregation attended the protest at USAID.

Beyond public protests, I have been in ongoing conversations with our church staff and leadership about how we are called to respond in this time and place. This discernment requires holding the prophetic and the pastoral in delicate tension. The grief and anxiety in our congregation is palpable. Not only are people afraid of losing their jobs, they are also grieving the loss of humanitarian aid across the world. In all my years in ministry, I have never experienced a collective angst so palpable. The pastors in our congregation are now on Signal so that members of our congregation can communicate with us over an encrypted platform.

As part of our work, Rock Spring collaborated with several other churches to offer a webinar titled The Ethics of Faith & Work for federal employees and related workers. In the coming year, many in and around federal agencies will face situations requiring moral clarity and ethical courage. This webinar, facilitated by Practical Theologian Tim Snyder, explored how faith can guide people through these challenges while honoring their commitments to justice and integrity.

An ongoing and essential part of our ministry is Welcoming the Stranger, a program through which we accompany refugees and immigrants, providing circles of care that help them acclimate to the United States. As policies around immigration and refugee resettlement shift, we anticipate that this work will take on even greater urgency in the months ahead. Welcoming the Stranger is not just a political issue; it is a moral and theological imperative rooted in our faith.

Meanwhile, like other church leaders, I must balance the call to respond to these national issues with the needs of my congregation and community. This past week, my calendar included a memorial service, numerous pastoral calls, and a meeting with our Racial Equity Committee to discern how best to respond in this moment. We hosted a concert to benefit EduTutor, which many of us felt was an important response to the threat of dismantling the Department of Education. Next Sunday, I will speak on a panel sponsored by the NAACP on what it means, from a faith perspective, to build the Beloved Community. I will join others in reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision and discussing how communities like Arlington can foster inclusivity, address systemic barriers, and engage in restorative justice.

‘Part of a larger calling’

These actions, both personal and communal, are part of a larger calling to stand on the side of justice, safety, and human dignity — no matter the challenges ahead. We are in a time when our faith must not only be professed but must be lived in concrete ways.

This call is not just for those of us who live close to the Capitol. Congregations across the country, especially those in politically diverse communities, must ask themselves: What does it mean to love our neighbor in this moment? What concrete steps can we take to ensure that our faith is not used as a tool of oppression, but as a force for justice?

In our country today, we see a stark contrast between Jesus’s call and the rising influence of Christian nationalism, a movement that distorts Christianity into an ideology of exclusion and power. It is heartbreaking to witness how many people now hesitate to call themselves Christian, because the dominant public narrative has been co-opted by those who use faith as a weapon, rather than a force for justice and love. That can no longer stand.

Taking action may look different in different places – perhaps it means fostering difficult conversations within your church, advocating for policies that protect the vulnerable, or supporting those whose livelihoods are at risk due to government decisions.

We must all examine the ways we can show up, speak out, and embody love in a world that so often turns toward division and fear. The work of justice is not limited to any one geography or political affiliation – it is the work of faith itself.

We have been practicing for times like these. Now, we must live what we have practiced.

The Rev. Kathy Dwyer is senior pastor at Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ in Arlington, Virginia.