Sam Stark - website review

In every religion there are organizations designed to spread faith to people around the world. Often these groups tend to be very charitable and focus on outreach to the community at large. Through volunteer work, traveling, fundraising and producing various types of materials, organizations are able to spread their beliefs and opinions all over the world. My cousin Christy is a youth pastor at an Evangelical church back in the United States and she does a lot of volunteer work with various organizations working with religion. Because of her church background Christy was able to suggest some organizations that she knows of and has worked with through her church. Christy recommended Sojourners to me because I was interested in finding an organization that originated in my home country so that there were a variety of places that were being written about. Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourner’s used to be married to my aunt’s roommate from college which is how she knows directly about the organization. Sojourners seemed like a good, legitimate organization to research and to learn more about and I am glad I was able to analyze the website.

Originating in Deerfield, Illinois in the United States, Sojourners began when students met to talk about their faith in relation to political issues. This group met to talk about their faith together and how it could be used for good in relation to the political world, in particular to discuss the Vietnam War. Their group meetings became regular and as other people started gaining interest they decided to form a publication called The Post-American to see if other students with similar faiths had the same ideas that they discussed. In 1975 the group moved to Washington D.C. and formed their own community, taking on the name Sojourners, sharing households, and creating a worshipping group. This small crowd expanded in various directions and created programs such as the Sojourner’s Neighborhood Center which held after school and summer programs for children, Call to Renewal which worked on poverty by bringing together churches and faith organizations of all different theological backgrounds to help disadvantaged churches. The website states that, Sojourners are Christians who follow Jesus, but who also sojourn with others in different faith traditions and all those who are on a spiritual journey. We are evangelicals, Catholics, Pentecostals and Protestants; progressives and conservatives; blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians; women and men; young and old. We reach into traditional churches but also out to those who can't fit into them. Together we seek to discover the intersection of faith, politics, and culture. We invite you to join, to connect, and to act. Welcome to the community”. Sojourners is open to all different people, belief in a specific faith is not a pre-requisite to belong to the community.

Sojourner’s mission is to “articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world.” They go about spreading their word through their magazine, mail and more that discuss issues of faith, politics and culture based on teachings of the Bible. They also bring together people from different cultures, traditions and branches of the church to build a strong, solid community. Sojourner’s also hosts a program of volunteer work to encourage others to volunteer and to give back.

A unique trait of Sojourner’s is the simple fact that it is so dedicated to helping struggling churches. Through the Call to Renewal program, Sojourner’s was able to connect churches with less fortunate churches in order to support and help them with their continuation of faith. I enjoyed learning about Sojourner’s because they seem very accepting and open. I feel that volunteer organizations such as this should be all encompassing and should preach love to all. In order to be an effective organization, I believe that it should be non-discriminatory and to encourage love and acceptance rather than attempting to convert people or to change their religious beliefs. Instead, all groups should be working together to achieve a common goal, of love and hope. Sojourners seems to have a similar opinion as I do and I love that they work with different faiths and that they help other organizations.

I read through one of the editions of the Sojourner’s magazine and noticed that all the articles and columns are about positive ways that their community is helping the world, they have articles talking about unhealthy body issues and eating disorders and about a group who is helping churches support rape victims. There is art and music and uplifting articles and stories about the community. The magazine definitely works to encourage others to get involved and to join in and become one with them. They are a positive organization filled with love and support. This is definitely an effective organization that strives to include all people in their love of each other and God.

works cited:

Willis, Jim http://www.sojo.net/