The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, Pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and Bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries is perhaps the nation’s most important religious leader carrying forward Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s social justice vision, prophetic ministry and call to nonviolent action in his role as President of Repairers of the Breach and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival. President Biden and Vice President Harris selected Rev. Barber to deliver the homily at the 59th Inaugural Prayer Service this morning at the Washington Cathedral. Here are excerpts of his stirring sermon:
We can’t accept the poverty and low wealth of 140 million Americans before Covid and many more millions since.
We must have a Third Reconstruction.
We must address the five interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation/denial of healthcare, the war economy, and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism. These are breaches that must be addressed, and according to the text, repairing the breaches will bring revival…
Please God, grant us wisdom, grant us courage, until the poor are lifted, the sick are healed, children are protected, and civil rights and human rights never neglected. Grant us wisdom for the facing of this hour until love and justice are never rejected.
Grant us wisdom and courage for the facing of this hour until, together, we make sure there is racial justice and economic justice and living wage justice and health care justice and ecological justice and disability justice and justice for homeless and justice for the poor and low-wealth and working poor and immigrant justice—until we study war no more and peace and justice are the way we live.
This is the only path to domestic tranquility and healing.
Read the complete text of Rev. Barber’s Inaugural Prayer Service homily »
