Moral Mondays Illinois: a movement to put people and planet over profit

Latest

Pastor Tom Gaulke (right) and Pastor Dwayne Mystro Grant with other clergy leading protests in downtown Chicago. PHOTO/ANDY WILLIS
Pastor Tom Gaulke (right) and Pastor Dwayne Mystro Grant with other clergy leading protests in downtown Chicago.
PHOTO/ANDY WILLIS

By Pastor Tom Gaulke, First Lutheran Church of the Trinty, Chicago

CHICAGO, IL — I hate that faith has been co-opted by the political right.
I hate that my faith tradition, begun in a radical ethic, claiming to love people is to love God—and, in fact, God is Love—has been distorted into a hateful, oppressive, backwards-facing body of cranky, racist, homophobic, immigrant-bashing, poor-hating individuals and communities. It’s a shame. It’s hypocritical. It’s downright sinful. The church is in bondage to the sin of fear and hate. The Body of Christ needs to repent!—just like our governor, and all who put profit before people and planet and Love.
May 18, 2015, in front of some tables piled up with money bags and other resources proposed to be cut by Bruce Rauner, between large statues representing agriculture and industry, with a backdrop of an ever-flowing fountain, just outside the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Toby Chow, vicar at First Lutheran Church of the Trinity and a leader with Fair Economy Illinois, proclaimed to Gov. Rauner:
“Not only do these tables . . . represent your hoarding, your greed, and, as of yet, your unwillingness to repent and share God’s abundance which was meant for all; these tables also represent a great divide between rich and poor, a great chasm you have fixed. You may think you are rising to the top, but the eyes of faith see that you are pushing yourself deeper and deeper into the flames of hell.”
Chow then instigated the crowd gathered to topple the tables and to redistribute the hoarded wealth, demonstrating what repentance, for Rauner, is to look like—it looks like sharing, not hoarding. It looks like taxing corporations and the 1%, not cutting government services to the most vulnerable in our state.
This particular action, asking, “What Would Jesus Cut?” and shouting “Rauner, Repent!” was the first of what would become a steady stream of Moral Mondays Illinois direct actions on billionaires, corporations, and contributors of millions to Governor Rauner. Actions have always included acts of civil disobedience and interfaith testimonies. As the movement has grown, we’ve added the occupation of corporate offices and spaces, and the disruption of the marketplace as a central marker of who we are as Moral Monday Illinois. We are growing in number. We are serious about building a movement that puts people and planet over profit. We disrupt business as usual.
Moral Mondays is a call for Rauner, corporations, politicians, and the ultra-rich to repent: No cuts! Tax corporations and the 1%! It is also an opportunity for faith traditions to return to their roots of love, liberation, and deliverance from bondage. For leaders willing to take a stand, or willing to take arrest, Moral Mondays is an opportunity to free themselves and their communities from the strong grip the political right has had on their traditions—an opportunity to turn around the faith that has been so badly distorted and distracted from Love, and to create change in so doing.

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Another Big Beautiful Betrayal for Rural America

You slash Medicaid, you’re swinging an axe at the heart of our rural hospitals, community clinics, doctors and nurses — and every family that depends on a job for a living. It’s not too late to raise hell.

ICE Terror Campaign Threatens Us All

Several recent Facebook reels show how ICE is ramping up its campaign of terror against immigrants, citizens and protestors alike as the effort to create a police state continues and resistance grows. One creator speaks to the significance of Haitians now being targeted.

Medicaid Defenders in Wheelchairs Arrested Ahead of Senate Budget Vote

Over 60 people, including grandmas in wheelchairs, were arrested in the U.S. Senate Rotunda in a nonviolent protest against cuts like Medicaid and the SNAP food program in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Budget Bill.”

Zohran Mamdani Delivers Stunning Blow to ‘Billionaire-Backed Status Quo’ in NYC

New York City proved that a movement powered by hope, courage, and working class people can beat the money of billionaires.

The American People Want Peace, Not War!

The US's immoral and illegal attack on Iran threatens the whole world with war. The American people have a special responsibility to come out into the streets and rein in the US government, which has become a rogue state.

More from the People's Tribune