Recalling the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and action of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people,” a number of members of Sunday Assembly (Sally Bowers, David Couper, Jerry Folk, and I) have asked ourselves whether other members of our Holy Wisdom community feel, as we do, that it is time to “speak up” about what is happening these days in our country.
We believe that the contradictions between policies and actions of the present Administration in Washington and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are so evident and distressing that as disciples of Jesus we are obliged – as he felt obliged in the Cleansing of the Temple (Matt. 21: 12-17; John 2: 13-16) – to speak up and act.
So in a coming meeting of Sunday Assembly members, we would like to propose that our community publicly declare itself “a confessing church.”
The term has an historical meaning, referring back to Germany during the rise of National Socialism when a number of Protestant churches declared themselves a “bekennende Kirche” – a church publicly confessing its resistance to its government and its opposition to other German churches that had declared themselves “German Christians” (“Deutsche Christen”) in support of the Nazis. (Please know: in no way are we suggesting any equivalence between German National Socialism and our present Administration.)
As we state in our to-be-proposed Declaration, “as a confessing church, we feel called to publicly, humbly, and non-violently resist those policies of our present government that threaten the well-being of migrants and asylum seekers, that endanger the well-being of our planet, and that dismantle structures of democracy.”
In our Declaration, we will also call on other faith communities to join us.
At a gathering of Sunday Assembly members on April 6 after the 9:00 AM liturgy, we will carefully and respectfully explore whether there is a consensus within our community to become a confessing church. (Copies of the Declaration will be distributed at the Sunday March 23 liturgy.)
We invite any Sunday Assembly members who will not be able to join us on April 6 to read the copy of our Declaration given here and to let us know if you can endorse it; you can also send any comments or suggestions you might have to me by April 1.
Paul Knitter
The Declaration: On This We Stand and Confess
As followers of Jesus in the Benedictine tradition, we are called to love God and our neighbor as much as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39), to treat the most vulnerable among us as we would treat God (Matthew 25:31-46), and to cherish “the splendor of the flowers of the field” and all creation (Matt. 6:28-29).
We do this by:
- Feeding and clothing the hungry and those who thirst.
- Welcoming the stranger.
- Visiting the sick and those who are vulnerable or in bondage.
- Loving our enemies and doing good to those who hate us.
- Following the example of Jesus in the “cleansing of the Temple” and speaking up in resistance when government policies and actions are obstacles to loving our neighbor as we love God and ourselves.
- Following the Golden Rule, embraced by all enduring faiths of the world: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.”
- Valuing and caring for a healthy and life giving earth.
In light of political realities that are in direct opposition to the values and truths we hold as followers of Jesus, we therefore align ourselves with the principles of “a confessing church*” – a church that feels called to publicly, humbly, and non-violently resist those policies of our present government that threaten the well-being and dignity of targeted populations and individuals, that endanger the well-being of our planet, and that dismantle structures of democracy.
Recognizing that compassion and care for the vulnerable are central to the beliefs and values of other spiritual traditions, we invite our friends in other faith communities to join us in working for a more just, compassionate, and humane society by resisting government policies that violate inherent human dignity and inflict suffering on the most vulnerable among us.
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* “The Confessing Church” (Bekennende Kirche) was a Protestant resistance movement in Germany during the rise of National Socialism (Nazism). It emerged in opposition to the Deutsche Christen (“German Christians”), a pro-Nazi faction that sought to align Christianity with Nazi ideology. Its “confession” was contained in the “Barmen Declaration” of 1934.
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Madison, Wisc., March 23, 2025
Comments 18
Deep bows of gratitude to all who have worked on this declaration. I am ready to affix my name/signature to it, as an expression of my support and commitment.
Well said!
Thank you Holy Wisdom for taking a stand against this country’s unjust and dangerous government.
I gladly endorse your wonderful “Confessing Church” Declaration! God bless you all and thank you for making this truly Jesus-grounded testimony available for saying YES to!
I gladly endorse your wonderful “Confessing Church” Declaration! God bless you all and thank you for making this truly Jesus-grounded testimony available,
I agree wholeheartedly with your confessing church declaration and sign my name.
Beautifully and wonderfully proclaimed. I wholeheartedly support this statement.
Beautifully and wonderfully proclaimed. I wholeheartedly support this statement.
Wonderfully crafted. I earnestly join the list of supporters of this confessing church declaration. Praise God!
As someone who grew up in an evangelical church (pre-Pat Robertson) and who honors that tradition, even though my spiritual path has taken a different direction, I fully endorse a declaration which shows that “Christian ” doesn’t mean “right wing politics” Also, of course, hospitality is one of the pillars of the Benedictine Rule.
Thanks to all who worked on this.
Yes. Count me in. Thank you.
Yes. Yes. Yes. I agree wholeheartedly and support this confessing church initiative. Thank you for initiating this.
Thank you for beginning this movement. Wayne and I will enthusiastically join you. Let us know how we can help.
Dear Paul and Associates,
Thank you so very much for proposing that we sign this declaration of a confessing church. As a virtual member of Sunday Assembly, I will whole heartedly sign the declaration.
Janine Edwards
I support the Declaration. Thank you.
Thank you all for so courageously crafting this pointed declaration. We all need to commit fearlessly to its principles. You have my unequivocal and loving support!
I wholeheartedly support and commit myself to working toward a just and compassionate response to the challenging times ahead. As buddhist teacher Pema Chodron teaches, what we send out to the world is important.
I gladly sign and pledge my whole being to this declaration and all those that support this.
Ben, This is Rose from Bozeman. We talked on Peet’s Hill today. Thank you for telling me about this monastery.