Building and exercising collective power toward a horizon where life can flourish for all.
We’re building a house!
Last Spring, we wrapped our seventh year of co-hosting Sacred Organizing cohorts throughout the state of Oregon. Through this work, we have seen congregations and the community learn, unlearn, discern, and practice their way to the possible. And we have seen so much become possible that was not possible before.
And all of this work has made it clear that we are more powerful together, which is why we’re excited to share that for the past summer, we’ve been building a house — a Sacred Organizing House that brings together teams of people of faith & courageous love committed to building a multifaith, multiracial, multigenerational movement for justice in Oregon. By working together, we believe we can move toward a horizon of liberation, including racial equity, housing justice, climate resilience, and youth leadership. Within the House, Together Lab will help activate new rooms, manage the Commons (check out our one-pager below for more details!), and coordinate the utilities of the House, ensuring flow and collaboration throughout.
We are so excited to be working alongside so many leaders and organizers, seasoned and just beginning, who are ready to use their voices, bodies, and resources to move toward repair, resilience, and liberation for our people and planet.
The Climate and Disaster Resilience Room
Do the wildfires keep you up at night and the realities of climate change break your heart?
Do you want something meaningful to do to secure a more healthy future for the young people in your life? Do you long to feel less isolated as a leader or congregation but aren’t sure where or how to get started?
We know that in times of crisis and disaster, faith communities are often one of the first places people turn to for relief and connection.
And it’s out of this need that the Climate Resiliency Cohort was made, to equip communities and congregations with what they need to build more resilient communities.
Reckoning with Racism
A clergy sign-on letter condemning racism in the midst of Black Lives Matter uprisings is not enough. How might this widely circulated and signed letter become an invitation to a longer journey to listen, learn, and engage with Oregon’s hidden racist history? Centering the voices of Black, Indigenous, Brown, Asian, and other communities of color, 44 teams from congregations, denominations, Christian camps, and seminaries from across the state gathered twice/month for nine months to unveil the hidden racist stories in our own backyards, build relationships with those harmed, and work toward repair.
Land & Housing Cohort w/ Leaven Community Land & Housing Coalition
It doesn’t take long to see, hear, and feel the pressure of the affordable housing crisis. How might faith communities steward land and relational power to meet this moment and stabilize housing in our neighborhoods? The Cohort brings together teams to discern and organize our relational power to remove the barriers to community-stabilized housing. In its fourth iteration of the cohort, there are now 12 affordable housing projects in development resulting in over 500 units of housing, zoning restrictions shifted at the city and state level, and new leaders being developed and equipped every day.
Youth Solidarity Movement
Youth Solidarity Movement takes a multigenerational, community-rooted approach toward centering the well-being of young people. Believing that youth mental health is connected with belonging and purpose in something greater than ourselves, Youth Solidarity Movement brings together local youth collectives and congregations throughout Oregon to activate youth leadership, as well as provide support and community for the adults who care for them.
We have seen teenagers find their own voice as leaders as they organize together at the local level around a future of belonging and justice. We have also seen parents and youth workers and aunties and coaches commit together to noticing, naming, and knowing the young people in their lives.
We invite you to find your place in this larger movement.
Sacred Organizing Spiral
