Key Concepts and Practices

Streams of Justice: key concepts and practices that guide our thought and action

Justice: the concept of justice is not limited to fairness in legal and judicial matters, but entails equitable access to resources, sufficient economic means for meaningful social participation, valued input into political decision-making, ensured personal dignity and mutual respect, and non-exclusionary community practises.

Compassion: the notion of compassion includes both active pathos (pain) in the face of another’s suffering, and protest against the structural injustice and violence that perpetuates human suffering.

Solidarity: solidarity is an intentional and costly stance of being with the poor of our society, those who are left out, disregarded, invisible, unwanted. It is a commitment to foster deepening human communion across social lines of exclusion that are fraught with fear and suspicion.

Imagination: in order to see otherwise, it is crucial to awaken the imagination, to unleash its potential to envision new social possibilities, to postulate alternative structural arrangements, to view strangers and opponents as friends.

Discernment: we recognize the need to discern the structures of oppression and injustice and the strategies for implementing liberative practises. Such discernment entails careful social research and analysis, thoughtful biblical / theological reflection, and spiritual attentiveness and prayer.

Celebration: it is important to foster communal occasions of laughter and joy, of festivity and delight, that strengthen social bonds, provide respite from the mundane struggles, and energize life together.