UCC Service of Appreciation for Federal Staff amid “Reduction in Force”

The following piece was written by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt, Minister for Environmental Justice at the United Church of Christ. He shares his reflection on the recent Service of Appreciation for Federal Environmental Justice Staff and Grantees, which was held virtually on Wednesday, July 23.

In times of political crisis, a pastoral ministry of care for others can become a prophetic ministry of protest against government policies, as values of basic decency clash with morally egregious edicts. Such was the case as the United Church of Christ held a “Service of Appreciation for Federal Environmental Justice Staff and Grantees” on the same day that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) summoned staff for a meeting about a “reduction in force,” which could end employment for 271 staff whose jobs related to either environmental justice or diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Facing uncertain futures

The driving force in organizing the service was Charles Lee, who retired from the EPA at the end of March after an earlier career in environmental justice ministry for the UCC. In his opening remarks, Lee noted, “I was moved to organize this event because so many of my colleagues showed up to honor me when I retired from EPA but were themselves in tremendous pain and facing very uncertain futures.”

As the minister who planned and conducted the service’s liturgy, the Rev. Terry Yasuko Ogawa noted that those present for this live online event had gathered “in a ritual of shared grief and pain at personal and community loss,” while also gathering “to build up resilience and strength.”

Many of the speakers in the service repeatedly lifted up the many values embodied by EPA staff who have steadfastly dedicated themselves to the agency’s mission of protecting the environment and human health, especially in communities that have suffered the most from environmental harms. Some contributors to the service had their statements read aloud by others to protect their anonymity. Ogawa noted that “there are many whose jobs, livelihoods, and well-being, as well as that of their families and communities, hang in the balance and who cannot appear on camera to speak for themselves.”

The statements read often underscored the compounded sense of loss after experiencing years of failed government before working with EPA environmental justice staff. One anonymous contributor reflected on the significance of working together with environmental justice staff “to address concerns in communities that have been historically ignored.” Another contributor observed that in working “to provide overlooked communities with the tools and funding to build a healthy, safe environment,” staff had built “trusting relationships with communities who had lost all faith in their government.”

Stealing years of life

The service also included an anonymous contributor who was a current environmental justice staff member at the EPA. This staff member highlighted the life and death consequences of the announced cuts by framing them within a clash of values. The staff member’s own Jewish faith tradition was at odds with present government leadership. While Jewish teachings reflect upon “the frailty of life and the importance of protecting it,” the staff member observed that the reversal of protections at the EPA amounts to stealing “years of life and quality of life, from many millions of people.”

The staff member continued by citing how this theft of life will occur through “premature deaths from cancer, from heart disease, from heat stroke, lung disease, kidney failure.” Furthermore, the diminishing quality of life will occur through “suffering from preventable diseases; countless days spent by asthmatic children sheltering indoors instead of playing outside; lives interrupted by medical treatment, chemotherapy, dialysis; people enfeebled before their time.” Finally, the staff member lamented the “stolen years of togetherness” with “grandchildren who will not meet their grandparents, parents who will not attend their children’s weddings.”

The prophetic truths spoken during the service were accompanied by a persistent and tenacious hope in the face of adversity. Much of this hope was evident in the remarks of speakers who have been leaders in the environmental justice movement since its inception. Dollie Burwell was a lead organizer of the 1982 civil disobedience campaign in Warren County, North Carolina that served as a watershed moment in the birth of the movement. She encouraged the audience to “keep the faith” and added, “We want to also let you all know that we are continuously praying for you. It was prayer that sustained and protected us as we lay our bodies in front of trucks carrying PCB laced soil and as state troopers, carrying guns and billy clubs, were arresting us and taking us to jail.”

Seeds of environmental justice movement are well-rooted

The Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., also emerged as an environmental justice leader during the Warren County protests and served as the final speaker for the service. With the audience, he shared, “I’m optimistic, and the reason why I’m optimistic is because the seeds have been planted, and no act by the Trump administration—no act by the forces of ecological destruction—can dig up those seeds. The seeds of the environmental justice movement are well-rooted. They are deep-rooted.”

Comments by audience members demonstrated that the words of the speakers in the service spoke to the moment in a way that was vitally needed. One had the sense that the seeds of a relentless prophetic hope were germinating, even amid the despair of the present.

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.