“Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters”
A Last Will and Testament for the Commission on Religion in Appalachia
“Let justice roll down like waters.” (Amos 5:23-24)
Perhaps it's a tale woven in the fabric of the mountains. Some say the Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountain range on the face of the planet. In this context, the forty-year life span of the Commission on Religion in Appalachia compares to looking up from the top of a high peak and watching a comet flash by. To the lives impacted, the Commission on Religion in Appalachia, affectionately known as CORA, has served as a forty-year sojourn lighting the way to justice.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
With the cry of the Biblical prophet Amos, “Let justice roll down like waters,” CORA has engaged the faith community with the people of the Appalachian Mountains. Marching side by side with the mission “to express God's love in the empowerment of the people of Appalachia by working for justice”, time and time again the prophetic voice of the prophet Micah has been proclaimed from the hilltops to the deepest hollows - “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
To confront the structural causes of injustice, CORA has channeled seed money to the region from the churches, through its Appalachian Development Projects Coalition (ADPC), giving birth or support to numerous organizations - such as the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprise and the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center in Kentucky, the Virginia Black Lung Association, the Southern Empowerment Project in Tennessee, and Stop Abusive Family Environments in West Virginia.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
As people of faithful conscience, CORA declared “we have a responsibility to dismantle the racism that has been built into our organizations and our communities.” The Anti-Racism Team set out on this difficult but necessary mission.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
In response to the need for improved housing, CORA established a volunteer program bringing work teams to the region from churches across America. While houses where being refurbished, the gift was reciprocal and the volunteers returned home with a renewed understanding and affection for the people of the mountains.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
CORA activities and achievements have extended to battles with the mountain-top removers and the coal companies who abused those at work digging deep into the mountains. Public policy and even globalization has caught CORA's attention.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
The memories are lasting, the sentiments, ever-flowing, the relationships, binding; the need for justice in Appalachia still cries like Rachel weeping for her children, and now, the CORA sojourn of forty years is ending - ending because the denominational pool of money is fading - ending because the organizational internal mechanisms are waning - ending because CORA courageously believes it has the responsibility to take the steps for the future of the mission of justice and hope for Appalachia.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
Likened unto some of our forbearers of history, CORA rises to declare this document as its “last will and testament.” In CORA's ending, we know that the God of justice is ultimately in charge of the spirit of hope and justice in Appalachia. As faithful stewards we pray for and will the rebirth of the mission of CORA to the region as a new sojourn. For we can already see rising from the valley a fertile spark.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
We will that some of our internal programs continue in other venues, that the ADPC expand its network of organizational cooperation and support. We will that many of our denominations support these groups with individual gifts and grants. We will the volunteerism and summer work projects be adopted by our church partners. And we will the investment in anti-racism be carried into the hearts of those trained and be manifested throughout our churches and religious bodies.
“Let justice roll down like waters.”
We will that CORA's story be held both in the hearts of the people of Appalachia as it is recorded in the archives of the University of Kentucky. Someday, when an inquisitive mind asks,
“how did that great accomplishment happen?” let it be said, by a wise one, “oh, that was another CORA initiative that has lived on throughout these Appalachian Mountains.”
And the people said “Let justice roll down like waters.”
Signed by the Commission and Board and friends of CORA on October 13, 2006.