A Prophetic Call to Community — What Faith Leaders Must Respond To Now

by: Rev. Anna Golladay

In a moment marked by displacement, environmental crisis, rising authoritarianism, and deep economic strain, our communities are crying out for a faith response that embodies both courage and compassion. Walter Brueggemann — one of the most influential theologians of the past century, and one of my personal guiding stars — provides language and vision for this season.

Brueggemann reminds us that prophetic ministry calls us to nurture an “alternative consciousness” — one that resists the dominant culture of fear, consumerism, and indifference and instead envisions another way grounded in God’s love and justice.

Community as Resistance to Empire

Brueggemann’s prophetic voice repeatedly invites our congregations into solidarity with the vulnerable and oppressed — not as mere charity but as structural allyship with those whom the empire marginalizes. He stresses that compassion is not passive; it seriously names and resists injustice so that the hurt of the oppressed is neither normal nor inevitable. This becomes especially important when we take to the streets and raise our collective voices against injustice.

In Venezuela, where political instability has led to humanitarian crises, faith communities must refuse the dominant narratives that dehumanize the displaced and impoverished. Rather than retreat into partisan certainties, our communities must embrace prophetic solidarity with our Venezuelan siblings — affirming their humanity, dignity, and right to flourish.

Naming Imperial Desire: Greenland

Recent rhetoric around the United States’ interest in taking over Greenland reveals something deeper than foreign policy debate. It exposes the enduring imperial imagination — the belief that land, people, and sovereignty can be treated as assets to be acquired.

Brueggemann warns that empire always speaks the language of inevitability: this is just how the world works. Prophetic community refuses that lie. Greenland is not empty space, not strategic property, not a bargaining chip. It is home — to people with history, culture, and agency.

As faith leaders, we must be willing to name this plainly: the desire to possess what is not ours is a spiritual crisis. A theology of community affirms self-determination, mutual respect, and the sacredness of place. Anything less is a betrayal of our witness.

Welcoming the Stranger In an Age of Fear

Brueggemann wrote words that resonate powerfully in the context of immigration and enforcement actions: the God who welcomes strangers challenges us to welcome the excluded. In his poetic pastoral voices, he reminds us that Jesus himself had no secure home — and that the church’s security must never be safeguarded at the expense of others’ dignity.

In the face of ICE raids and heightened immigration enforcement, our communities are called not to fear but to bear witness to hospitality. This means offering sanctuary, accompaniment, advocacy, and sanctuary for those living under the threat of separation and deportation.

A Theology of Shared Prosperity

Brueggemann challenges the church to break from a culture of acquisitiveness — the drive for self-preservation through wealth and exclusivity — and to embrace a vision of common good that transcends fear and scarcity.

As housing, healthcare, and basic living costs continue to outpace wages across the nation, progressive faith leaders must articulate a theology of economic justice that uplifts affordable housing, equitable wages, and shared prosperity. Our faith calls us to dismantle systems that hoard resources and to build community structures that support flourishing for all. Think deeply about the monetary systems that undergird your congregation.

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A Prophetic Imagination for Today

Brueggemann’s prophetic imagination doesn’t offer easy answers — and that’s its strength. It forces us to see with new eyes, to challenge dominant narratives, and to imagine what life could be like if the gospel were true.

This is not a call to safe religion, but to courageous communal love — to build a world where neighbors matter, strangers are welcomed, creation is honored, and justice rolls down like waters. The world is telling us that community is dangerous, that it isn’t safe to love those who aren’t like us. Convergence disagrees – to such an extent that we are launching a communal space in the world, which we hope will inspire all of us to put into practice what it means to be a person of progressive faith and moral conviction in our world today.

Let us lead not from fear but from the bold, sacrificial love that our faith calls us to embody.