Towards Kairos 2025: A Call to Action

“It’s time for justice! God is making a different kind of world – based on love.  Think outside of the box and imagine it! And take action so that the way of love will win!” – Mark 1:15^[1]

We are facing an unprecedented crisis. A genocide rages on in Gaza, where starving people are being shot while lining up for food. In the US, masked thugs are kidnapping immigrants from their homes and workplaces and deporting them. A Big, Ugly law is robbing even more from the poor and giving it to the rich. And everyone who is “other” than wealthy, white, male, straight, and cis may be criminalized for remembering the wrong history, celebrating the wrong culture, loving the wrong people, or identifying with the wrong gender. Cuba is being strangled and starved for daring to live out a different economic vision.  The Empire’s five-century assault on Indigenous and Black people has intensified into an openly fascist attack on us all.  It seems an odd time to talk about “good news.”

Two thousand years ago, the Roman boot weighed heavily on the Jewish neck. Soldiers could make you carry their loads; tax collectors could fleece you for more than your share; and the money from your Temple offerings fed the Roman war machine. After inspiring hope, a charismatic preacher named John was arrested for criticizing the king. That is when his cousin, Jesus, stepped up and declared: “It’s time for justice!”^[2]

The Greek word used for “time” is kairos. Unlike chronos, which measures the tick-tock of ordinary time, kairos is a special time, a critical moment, a fullness of time, a synchronicity.

At critical moments throughout the last century, some Christians have spoken up against evil and oppression.  Some Germans stood up to Hitler;^[3] some South Africans denounced apartheid;^[4] some Central Americans denounced the civil wars and death squads;^[5] some US Christians critiqued Columbus’ “discovery” of  the Americas;^[6] and when Palestinians condemned the Israeli occupation of their lands,^[7] some US Christians responded with their own call for justice for  Palestinians.^[8] 

We are in a time of grave danger. As Martin Niemöller reminded us, if we don’t speak up for one another, there won’t be anyone left to speak up for us.^[9] 

But this crisis is also an opportunity.  As Christians, we proclaim the love that casts out fear, even as people from coast to coast are expressing their outrage. The movements for peace, Palestine, civil rights, immigration, and economic justice are joining together to say YES to democracy and justice and NO to:

• The Genocide in Palestine.
• The Raids, kidnapping, and deportation of immigrants and people who dare to dissent.
• The Robbing of poor people and the transfer of their money to the rich.
• The Attacks on Black, Indigenous, people of color, Queer, and everyone considered “other.”

But our vision is not only about what we are against, it is about what we are for – a world of freedom, justice, love, and compassion, not power, greed, and domination. This is the essence of a third critical word in Mark 1:15, the “kingdom” or “reign” of God, or basileia. Despite the suffering and evil in the world, God is making a different kind of world – one based on love.

In a nation devoted to a massive war machine while incarcerating over a million of its people, most of them Black or brown, it’s hard to imagine a different reality. But we must imagine it.

The word for this imagination is metanoia in Greek.  It is usually translated “repentance.” This word does not merely mean to feel bad about mistakes made; it means to have a complete change of consciousness. This not only helps us heal from our personal problems and traumas, but also calls us to think outside of the box and imagine a world – built on peace, community, equity, and love.

To paraphrase the prayer of St. Francis^[10]:

Where there is genocide, we can sow peace.

Where there are raids, we can sow community.

Where there is poverty,  we can sow justice and abundance.

Where there are racist and anti-Queer attacks, we can sow love.

There is a third crucial word in this short verse: to believe, or pisteuein in Greek. “To believe” does not just mean to agree with doctrines about Jesus – that his mother was a virgin, for example. What matters is not what we “think” about Jesus, but whether we’re willing to bet our lives and take action to realize this new world.  Faith means going from our pulpits and pews, into the streets.

Finally, the fourth critical word in this verse is good news, or evangelion, in Greek. Jesus is asking us to believe the good news that the world can really be different – that the way of love will actually prevail.^[11]

In the name of Jesus:

The kairos is near.

The reign of love is beginning.

Try to see it!

Don’t just think about it, don’t just talk about it – do something!

From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go!

Money for jobs and education, not for bombs and occupation!

Families, children, do not fear – we are neighbors, welcome here!

Hey Hey, Ho Ho – Poverty wages have got to go!

1, 2, 3, 4 Open up the closet door! 5, 6, 7, 8 Don’t assume your kids are straight!

Fascism defeated must never be repeated!

Ain’t no power like the power of the people ’cause the power of the people don’t stop!

I believe that love will win!

LET’S BELIEVE THAT LOVE WILL WIN!

We invite you to join us in issuing this call – whether you are clergy or laity, whether or not you go to church, and regardless of your religious affiliation. If you see Jesus as a prophet, guide, and source of inspiration and courage in the struggle for a different kind of world, we invite you to affirm this statement as a step towards its fruition.

Here are the names of the people who signed by midnight on August 5, 2025. The list will be updated regularly. Please join us by adding your name here and by sharing this document with your contacts or posting to your website or social media. Please note that the church and organizational affiliations are for identification purposes only.

Rev. Dr. C. Nozomi Ikuta, Grace Congregational Church of Harlem, New York NY • C Stonebraker-Martinez, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Cleveland OH • Marc Alvarado, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Cleveland OH • Rev. Michael Doerr, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Wauseon OH • Rev. Daniel Lyvers, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Chattanooga TN • Ms. Allison Nash, Be the Neighbor, St. Louis MO • Rev. Dr. Shannon Smythe, Palestine Justice Network of the PCUSA, Morrisville PA • Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), La Mesa CA • Marci Mazza-Fredley Eastwood, Christian Church, Nashville TN • Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray, Justice & Advocacy Ministries at Disciples Home Missions, Bloomington IN • Rev. Dr. Allie Perry, Shalom United Church of Christ, New Haven CT; UCC Movement for Palestinian Solidarity NEW HAVEN CT • Rev. Sandhya Jha, Oakland CA • Rev. Aneesah Veatch, FCC Fullerton, Fullerton CA • Rev. Sarah Zuniga • Dr. James Watson, Denison Avenue United Church of Christ, New York NY • Rev. Dr. Yvonne Delk Ordained Minister United Church of Christ Norfolk VA • Rev. Elice Higginbotham, United Church of Christ, New York NY • Ms. Samantha Mercado, NEYL NY • Union City NJ • Rev. Douglas Horner, Sheffield Lake UCC, Sheffield Lake OH • Samantha Paulin, First United Methodist Church, Greenville IL • Rev. Dr. Mary Westfall, PCUSA - Coastlands Presbytery NJ Pennington NJ • Linden Jenkins, North Sandwich (NH) Friends and St Cecilia (Boston) Parish NH • Mr. George Ikuta, San Leandro CA • Beverly Henkel, First Presbyterian church PCUSA, Norfolk NE • Rev. Gail Doering, PCUSA, Wichita KS • Ms. Larissa Harris, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago IL • Ms. Kimberly Redigan, Pax Christi Michigan, Dearborn Heights MI • Ms. Edith Rasell, Cleveland OH • Mr. Randall Heyn-Lamb, All Saints Pasadena Pasadena CA • Rev. Dr. Louise Westfall, Presbyterian Church (USA), Denver CO • Rev. Tom Ferguson, Saint Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Ann Arbor MI • Ms. Megan Reaux, LA • Rev. Dr. Al Tizon, Grace Fellowship, San Francisco CA • Rev. Nate Pequette, Church of the Sojourners-San Francisco, San Francisco CA • Kathleen Smith, Gesu, MI • Rev. Jake Streeter, Denison Avenue United Church of Christ, Cleveland OH • Rev. Tommy Airey, RadicalDiscipleship.net, Detroit MI • Mr. Joseph Maurer, Gesu, Detroit MI • Ms. Marianne Bernard, Pax Christi Michigan, Clarkston MI • Rev. Carol Cannon, United Methodist, Hendersonville NC • Ms. Elizabeth Wallters, Catholic Sister, Monroe MI • Rev. Mark George, Roman Catholic, Detroit MI • Mr. Charles Sears, Gesu Church, Berkley MI • Santos Crespo, Brooklyn NY • Mr. Jose Alfaro, Harlem 4 Palestine, Bronx NY • Rev. Philip Lloyd-Sidle, United Methodist, Louisville KY • Ms. Mary Anne Perrone, Ann Arbor MI • Dr. Gail Presbey, St. Peter's Episcopal, Detroit MI • Ms. Kateri Golbiw, Gesu Catholic Church Hamtramck MI • Rev. Nontombi Tutu, Self, Atlanta GA • Bill and Billie Hickey, Gesu, Detroit Catholic Church, Detroit MI • Rev. Mary-Gene Boteler, Presbyterian Church (USA), Westerville OH • Mr. Jim DeBrosse, UMC, Indianapolis IN • Sister Barbara Battista SPRC. Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods IN • Rev. Dr. Duane Anders, Cathedral of the Rockies UMC, Boise ID • Michael Davis Binkley, Baptist Church, Chapel Hill NC • Carol Wiemerslage, Cathedral of the Rockies, Boise ID • Ms. Justine Philyaw, FOSNA, Philadelphia PA • Rev. Adam Briddell, The Cathedral of the Rockies, Boise First United Methodist Church, Boise ID • Dr. Julia Robinsin, Cathedral of the Rockies, Boise ID • Mr. Ryan McClees, Boise ID • Dr. Aysha Khoury, Eastside UMC, Atlanta GA • Dr. Ken Butigan, Roman Catholicism, Mount Prospect IL • Mr. Bill Ofenloch, Catholic Worker, New York NY • Rev. Dr. Dred Scott, UMC, Harrisburg PA • Rev. Erin Martin Fremont, United Methodist Church, Portland OR • Rev. David Thompson, United Methodist, Boise ID • Ms. Liz Edwards, Cathedral of the Rockies, Boise ID • Ms. Laura Fry, Cathedral of the Rockies, Boise ID • Rev. John Hergert, ELCA, Wenatchee WA • Rev. Bill Moore, UMC, Gallatin TN • Dr. Angela Billingslea, Sanctuary Columbus Church, Columbus OH • Steve Tollefson, United Methodist Church, Boise ID • Rev. William Mullette-Bauer, United Methodist, Tigard OR • Ms. Dixie Jacky, United Methodist Church, Meridian ID • Rev. Debbie Coutts, Cathedral of the Rockies, Eagle ID • Mr. Bob Coutts, Cathedral of the Rockies, Eagle ID • Ms. Marvelyn Harden, Gesu Catholic Church, Detroit MI • Ms. Kathy Magruder, St Margaret Mary, Maitland FL • Lucy Yatsko, Tidewater Sowers of Justice, Virginia Beach VA • Rev. Sala Nolan, The New Community, Cleveland Heights OH • Rev. Judith May, United Methodist, Macomb MI • Rev. Nancy Amos, United Methodist, Junction City OR • Dr. Vie Thorgren, Most Precious Blood Catholic Church Denver CO • Rev. Dr. Henry Simmons, Franklinton Center at Bricks, Jamestown NC • Mr. David Sanchez, St. Genevieve Catholic Church, Matthews NC • Prof. Rebecca Jean Emigh, Our Lady of Grace, Tarzana CA • Rev. Chris Long, Ordained Unitarian Universalist Minister, Milwaukee WI • Ms. Kimberly Redigan, Gesu, Peace and Justice Committee, Detroit MI • Ms. Marina Ortiz, East Harlem Preservation, New York NY • Mr. David Benedict, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Middlebury VT • Dr. Irene Yang, The Upper Room of the Korean Central Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), Decatur GA • Ms. Kristina Walter, Archwood UCC, Cleveland Heights OH • Rev. Jonathan Cahill, Archwood United Church of Christ, Cleveland Heights OH • Ms. Luci Murphy, Soka Gakkai International, Washington DC • Rev. Clifford Cutler, Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Justice Network, Salem MA • Mr. Hans Holznagel, Cleveland OH • Rev. Dr. Allie Perry, Shalom United Church of Christ, New Haven CT • Rev. Dr. Roberto Fois, Trinity Presbyterian Church, East Brunswick NJ • Christopher Spicer, Somerville MA • Michael Fiala, Cleveland Catholic Worker, Cleveland OH • Rev. Dr. Louise Westfall, Presbyterian Church (USA), Denver CO • Ms. Stephanie Riccobene, Garfield Heights OH • Ms. SheilaMarie Tobbe, Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, Pepper Pike OH • Fran, Ludwig Boston Catholic Climate Movement, Lexington MA • Rev. Dr. Stephen Kliewer, First Presbyterian Church Lostine Oregon, Joseph OR • Rev. Bob Wenz, Retired RC priest, Strongsville OH • Dan Dragony, Catholic Worker Community of Cleveland, Cleveland OH • Ms. Jubilee Park, Forest Community Church, Carrollton TX • Ms. Judith Opalach, Congregation of St. Joseph, Parma OH • Dr. Chantal Dothey, Cleveland Peace Action, Shaker Heights OH • Rev. Michael Doerr, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Wauseon OH • Rev. Nancy Rivera, First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, Trenton NJ • Mr. Brian Stefan-Szittai, Cleveland Catholic Worker,  Cleveland OH • Mr. Anthony Bifulco, Cleveland Zazen Group, Cleveland Heights OH • Ms. Virginia Drotar, Shadowbrook Sanctuary & Retreat, Kirtland OH • Mr. Chuck Ackerman, Saint Colman’s, Cleveland OH • Rev. Carolyn Horvath-Leonhardt, Hope House of Prayer, Cleveland OH • Rev. Clifford Cutler, EPF Palestine Justice Network Salem MA • Rev. Carmen Rosario, Presbyterian Church ( USA), Bradley Beach NJ • Mr. Allen Yee, Cleveland OH • Mr. Clint Holt, United Methodist Church Hendersonville NC • Ms. Jane Dupont, First United Methodist Church, Hendersonville NC • Ms. Kim Nelson, First United Methodist of Hendersonville NC, Hendersonville NC • Ms. Marge Sears, Gesu Detroit, Berkley MI • Ms. Amanda Muir, Mercy Career & Technical High School, Philadelphia PA • Mr. James Thomas, Glendale Presbyterian Church, Dallas TX • Rev. Dr. Paul Sherry, United Church of Christ, Columbus OH • Ms. Mary Sherry, United Church of Christ, Columbus OH • Mr. Matthew Zanowic, Philadelphia PA • Rev. Richard Johnson, Columbus OH • Mr. James Misak, Cleveland OH • Ms. Kathleen McDonnell, Cleveland OH • Rev. Dr. David Ensign, Western Presbyterian Church, Arlington VA • Rev. Thomas Lewis, Humboltd UU Fellowship, Eureka CA • Mr. Tony Vento, Purpose Matters, Cleveland OH • Ms. Amanda Vander, Christ Church United Methodist, New York NY • Ms. Winona Green, Christ Church United Methodist, New York NY • Ms. Ashley M. Shepherd, Church of the Epiphany, New York NY • Ms. Liz Hyman, Church of the Village, New York NY • Ashley Gonzalez-Grissom, EDNY New York NY • Mr. Andrew Achsen, Holy Trinity Church 88th St., New York NY • Ms. Rebecca MacLean, Judson Memorial Church, New York NY • Ms. Jean L. Schmidt, Riverside Church, New York NY • Ms. Francine Perlman SAJ, New York NY • Millicent Akinsulure, The Riverside Church, New York NY • Dr. Augusta Kappner, New York NY • Rev. Dr. Rick Nutt, Presbyterian Church (USA), Westerville OH • Ervin Milton, UCC, Greensboro NC • Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN), Annapolis MD • Mr. Christopher Berg, Religious Society of Friends, Flat Rock NC • Rita Chastang, Southfield MI • Mr. Adam Kwapich, Agnostic, Brooklyn NY • Rev. Polly Willilams, Synod of the Sun, Presbyterian Church (USA), Waxahachie TX • Rev. Dr. Edgar Rivera Colon, The Little Red Monastery, Montebello CA • Prof. Justin Ashworth, Azusa Pacific University • Rev. Dr. Dale Carl Fredrickson, Christ UMC Utah, Salt lake City UT • Rev. Nathan Holst, United Church of Chirst, La Pointe WI • Rev. Tiffany Ashworth, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Pasadena CA • Dr. Rosemarie Pace, Pax Christi New York State, New York NY • Rev. Patrice Smallwood, New Macedonia Christian UCC, Chesapeake VA • Mr. Duane Drotar, Turning Point Community, Kirtland OH • Rev. Peter Galbraith, Rock Island IL • David LaGuardia, St. Martin of Tours, Brecksville OH • Ms. Grace Campagna, Xavier University/Walsh Jesuit High School, Broadview Heights OH • Mrs. Mary Hardvall, Humanity, Hendersonville, NC • Cathleen Kershner, Kent, OH • Mr. Miguel Melendez, People’s Church / NEYL, Fort Lee, NJ • Rev. Dr. L Edward Phillips, Emory University, Decatur, GA; Cole Parke-West, Christians for a Free Palestine, Durham NC; Rev.Joseph Cortese, Crossroads Tabernacle, Bronx NY; Ms. Julie DeLaurier, Rise and Resist, New York NY, Christine Moore,        Woodbridge VA; Sheila Clendenning, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Hendersonville NC