A Statement of Prophetic Witness

Adopted June 16, 2026, 12:15pm

We, the congregations of Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA), will not remain silent.  We are called by our humanity and our faith to raise our voices in public witness to the values that guide our spiritual and public lives.  We speak out because of dehumanizing actions by our national, state, or any  administration that idolizes wealth, war, and the debasement of human beings.  These actions are antithetical to our faith values.  Thus, we can no longer be reserved in our witness.*

We confess….

We are guided by our spiritual texts, exemplified in the Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim Scriptures quoted below, that proclaim love, justice, compassion, and peace as central to our lives, also echoed in texts from other traditions.  We affirm these values from our faith traditions:

• All people are “created in the image and likeness of God.” (Genesis 1:26-27) “There is that of God in everyone.” (George Fox). “Behind every human face is the face of God.” (Durham Congregations in Action Affirmation). We therefore cannot demean, harm, or kill fellow human beings.
• We are called to embody the character of God: “God is merciful, gracious, and abounding in steadfast love.” (Exodus 34: 6-7)
• We are called to welcome the stranger. “When an immigrant sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do [them] harm…you shall love [them] as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:33)
• We are called to “show kindness to orphans, the needy, the near neighbor and the distant neighbor, the traveler.” Quran 4:36
• We are rooted in the prophetic tradition, standing with prophets who shouted, “Let justice roll down like waters “(Amos 5:24) Out of profound forgiveness and humility, we are called to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). We are “anointed to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, to set free the oppressed.” (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:18)
• “When you fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, visited the imprisoned, you did it to me.” (Jesus, Matthew 25:44-45)
• “You will not truly believe until you love one another. Spread peace among yourselves.”  (Saying of Muhammed the Prophet)

We commit ….

To support the right of the people to peaceably assemble to express grief, dissent, and a call for change

To oppose any national, state, or local policy that restricts the right to vote

To speak out when our immigrant neighbors are attacked and detained by ICE

To resist the establishment of detainment centers/ concentration camps

To resist efforts to delete and destroy the history of African Americans in the U.S.

To oppose funding a bloated military budget at the expense of food and medical care for our least privileged neighbors

To protect our unhoused and vulnerable neighbors from exploitation and harm

To urge an end to the war in Iran

To seek peace among all people through non-violent action…

To oppose other challenges facing our communities that violate our DCIA Affirmation and values.

*Acknowledgment:  With gratitude to First Presbyterian Church, Durham, NC –“Declaration:  Raising our voices in prophetic witness”—for this specific wording and format for this statement.  We are grateful for the DCIA Elders who adapted and wrote this statement.

If you would like to co-sign, please click here.