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Contacts: David Langston deaconfcc@gmail.com Betsy Burris betsburris@gmail.com 3 rd ANNUAL STANDOUT AGAINST CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM WILLIAMSTOWN – The First Congregational Church of Williamstown invites the public to its 3rd Annual Standout Against Christian Nationalism on Saturday, January 6, 2024, from noon to 1 p.m. – the anniversary of the 2021 assault on the Capitol. The standout will be on the front lawn of the church, located at 906 Main Street in Williamstown. “Christian Nationalists want their beliefs to be the official national religion that governs our laws, our education, and our families," says church deacon David Langston. "They would end the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, and as Christians and as citizens, we stand in opposition to forsaking both Christian teaching as well as the Constitution.” “The threat of Christian Nationalism has been growing over the past several years and has received a boost with the election of Rep. Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House,” said Betsy Burris, Church Moderator. “Johnson, who is second in line to the Presidency, actually claims that ‘[t]he separation of church and state is a misnomer’ 1 and defines his ‘worldview’ as ‘the Bible.’ 2 That may be his personal perspective, but it is wholly inappropriate for a public official serving a diverse democracy,” Burris noted. “As a Christian church that rejects the Christian Nationalists’ definitions both of church and state, we encourage congregations in the Berkshires to stand up against the dangerous influence of people like Speaker Johnson and all those who support the Christian Nationalists’ abuse of the teachings of Christianity,” urged Sherwood Guernsey, church activist. “Reclaiming Christianity as a religion of love and equity, inclusiveness and justice, is the job of congregations like our own,” added Guernsey. Please join us at the church at noon on Saturday, January 6, to register your protest against the Christian Nationalism movement in our country – or urge your own congregation or organization to do so. ### 1 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/15/mike-johnson-separation-church-state-misnomer 2 https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/ncr-voices/speaker-mike-johnsons-biblical-worldview-bit-crimped
About First Church Williamstown
First Congregational Church Williamstown is a dynamic, hospitable, family-friendly hub where social justice, spirituality, and the arts intersect. We’ve been a gathering place, or meetinghouse, for the wider community since 1765. Today we build on our past to embrace a mission for the future. You are invited to explore these pages to learn more about who we are.
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Thinking about joining us? Great! We seek to follow Jesus’s example of radical hospitality. We mean it when we say, “where ever you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here.” Whether white or person of color; rich, poor, or middle-class; heterosexual or LGBTQIA+; PhD professor or GED-earner; someone with resolute faith or no faith; or someone who has been bored or burned by religion, you are welcome here. Check out the links to find out more about the basics of becoming part of our community.
Land Acknowledgement
“It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking and gathering on the ancestral homelands of the Mohican people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.”