1459 Pledge

Pray March Act (PMA) exists to promote faithful civic engagement in New York City. We understand faithful civic engagement as the Christian call to a public witness that demonstrates love for our neighbors by participating in processes such as praying over social issues, educating ourselves, organizing, and voting.  We seek to go beyond the overly simplistic perspective that understands civic duty as merely casting a vote on Election Day in November. In far too many instances the church has minimized its call to civic participation to what happens once every 1,460 days (every four years) on national election day. Faithful civic engagement requires more. A lot more. What we do the other 1459 days between elections ought to reflect our calling and Christian commitment to love our neighbors as ourselves by making God’s invisible justice visible in the way we pray, march and act.

We are in a moment when tensions in churches are inflamed by misinformation, intensified by tribalism, and exacerbated by placing messianic expectations on political candidates as saviors for our nation. In such times, the church is to be a prophetic and persistent, perennial voice––pointing to the Kingdom of God––every day, not just on election day. As we prepare for an upcoming election, what if we also re-imagined what we are called to do the other 1459 days between presidential election cycles? What if we rejected an overly simplistic understanding of civic duty? Instead, what if we determined that making the invisible justice of God visible means a new commitment to love our neighbors?

A Vision For Christian Civic Engagement. It is our conviction that participation in our democratic system is compatible with our Christian faith and is a helpful way to live it out. Though the Scriptures don’t prescribe democracy or any other system of governance, it is clear that government itself has been established by God (Romans 13), and historically the development of modern democracies were built upon the inherent value of each individual, the need for governmental checks and balances because of the flawed human condition, and a legal system based on an agreed upon morality instead of the exploitation of power. These principles continue to serve as pillars that uphold a Christian civic participation that empowers the church to organize and appeal to the conscience of citizens based on moral arguments to advocate for public policy and that neither elevates government to an autocratic theocracy, nor reduces society to an amoral anarchy. Therefore, we invite all churches, leaders, and individual followers of Christ to make the 1459 Pledge.

What Is The 1459 Pledge? This pledge encourages churches, leaders, and congregants across the nation to approach the 1459 days between national election cycles as opportunities to obey Jesus’ command to love our neighbors. The love that we seek to demonstrate “is not self-serving,” nor easily angered but rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). It reflects the priority of pursuing policies that looks “not to our own interests”, but in the Spirit of Christ seeks “the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:4). This love prioritizes advocating for the dignity and flourishing of the marginalized and vulnerable, especially the poor, widow, children (born, unborn, and orphan) and migrant (Deuteronomy 10:18, Luke 10:25-37). It also tells the truth regardless of how it may challenge established partisan narratives and interests (2 Timothy 4:2).

Based on this vision, the 1459 Pledge is not a call to tell you who to vote for, it is a commitment to being a prophetic voice every day, by committing to:

1. Stay Engaged. We commit to staying engaged in public policy issues beyond Election Day. 
   Loving our neighbors requires diligent, consistent participation in the process beyond casting votes. While we recognize that no civic process or policy can make Earth like Heaven, we embrace the call, found in Jesus’s high priestly prayer, that we would remain “in the world” though we are not “of the world.” We commit to work on high-impact issues that are pressing to our community.  We will not be content to sit on the sidelines, abdicating our responsibility to love our neighbor, but will get in the game to fight for justice for 1459 days, not just one.

2. Remain Hopeful. We commit to maintain hope and trust in God and not political candidates or systems.
   Despair is a tool of distraction and discouragement. Regardless of who wins or loses on Election day, we will demonstrate our faith through getting involved, though without stoking fears  of “losing our nation.” Fidelity to Christ and the Gospel message ultimately transcends temporary victory in the political arena. Over the next 1459 days, we commit to hope and reject despair.

3. Contend for Unity. We commit to maintain unity in the bond of peace and reject the divisions in the church that mirrors the political tribalism of our society.
   Tribalism compromises our charge to maintain our unity in the bond of peace in the church as a witness in a divided world. We commit to receiving our Christian brothers and sisters in love regardless of who they vote for, and commit together to pray as Jesus did for “His Kingdom to come and his will to be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” We commit to praying for the Body of Christ, for our elected leaders and public policies with the ethic of the Kingdom of God over the next 1459 days.

4. Focus Locally. We commit to focusing civic engagement efforts locally. 
   In God’s sovereignty and wisdom, He commissioned local assemblies of believers to transform not only the church but their surrounding communities.Churches are meant to be a blessing to their local context first and foremost. In the parable of the “Good Samaritan,” Jesus reveals that the ‘neighbors’ for whom we are especially responsible are the ones in proximity and in need. Loving our neighbors requires a commitment to the vulnerable who we encounter on the journey, advocating for public policies that fix the “Jericho Road.” We commit to invest more locally in civic action for the next 1459 days.

5. Pursue Accuracy. We commit to seeking the truth in a time when deception and misinformation are used to sway the public.
   We will practice information hygiene, fact-checking information from multiple sources before sharing it, and being alert to how lies and disinformation campaigns are leveraged as tools for the acquisition of power.* We commit over the next 1459 days to walk in the truth because truth is the foundation of any faithful civic engagement.

In light of these commitments, I agree to this 1459 Pledge:

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