“United in Faith: A Call to Action”

An Ecumenical Gathering of Unity and Solidarity

St. Andrew Lutheran Church * 5607 NE Gher Rd. Vancouver WA 98662

On Saturday, January 24, 2026, St. Andrew hosted an ecumenical worship service and resource fair we called "United in Faith: A Call to Action".  The service was live-streamed and still lives on our YouTube channel.  You can find it by going to https://youtube.com/live/9Y7UlbSIyVQ?feature=share

Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, resident bishop of The United Methodist Church's Greater Northwest Area (including Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon), was the preacher for the event.  Among the things the bishop offered were these "7 Options or Choices" for response:

7 OPTIONS AND CHOICES

#1 Make friends: When you know, love, and trust someone, you stand up, speak out and look out for them.

#2 Accompany immigrants and asylum seekers: Black and brown people, citizens or not, not as charity, but as a sacred duty.

#3 Create contingency plans for families at risk: So that children are not left alone when parents disappear.

#4 Open church/public benefit properties for public good: Including food distribution, storage, organizing,
safe parking, shelter.

#5 Invest in keeping people housed: Displacement becomes generational trauma.

#6 Oppose what does not uplift and liberate: Denounce and oppose xenophobic, homo and transphobic, racist, ableist, and violent reactions and rhetoric. They have shown you who they are; believe them.

#7 Work collaboratively and intersectionally: No single leader or single issue will save us.

United in Faith Coalition: Faith in Action Email List

United in Faith Coalition is a growing network of faith-based organizations and leaders committed to working together for the common good. Rooted in shared values, we collaborate across Clark County, Washington, and beyond to learn, organize, and take collective action that strengthens communities and advances meaningful systems change. If you would like to join this email list, visit here.

Purpose: To educate, awaken, connect, and empower communities of faith to stand for justice, truth, the vulnerable in our community, and the common good.

Why We Gather: As Christians and people of faith in Clark County, we are called to live out the values of love, compassion, justice, and truth. At this moment in history, when religion is being misused to consolidate power and silence dissent, we gather to rise as a different witness: a witness rooted in the teachings of Jesus and the prophetic tradition that calls us to love our neighbors, speak truth to power, and protect the vulnerable.

Our Shared Commitments:

  • Expose the misuse of religion for political gain: We seek to raise awareness of how faith is being weaponized to legitimize authoritarian power and suppress dissenting voices.

  • Resist false anointings and cults of personality: We stand against narratives that claim divine endorsement of any political leader or agenda, especially when they undermine justice, personhood, or the common good.

  • Uphold the freedom of faith, not the imposition of it: We believe faith should never be coerced or legislated—especially in public schools and civic spaces. True faith inspires love with one another, not domination of the other.

  • Learn from history to guard against repeating it. We remember how religious complacency and complicity enabled atrocities in the past—from Nazi Germany to other regimes that co-opted faith for oppression. We honor those who resisted, such as Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and countless unnamed faithful dissenters.

  • Activate hope and courage: We invite people of faith to join a visible, peaceful public witness that proclaims: democracy, dignity, and truth still matter—and our voices can help preserve them.

  • Live the values Jesus taught:

    • Love your neighbor, NO exceptions.

    • Blessed are the meek, the peacemakers, the humble.

    • Welcome the stranger, care for the vulnerable.

    • Resist the corruption of faith by power and profit.

Why Here? Why Now? We gather in Clark County as part of a growing national and global movement of faithful resistance—standing in solidarity to protect the integrity of our democracy, the depth of our values, and the soul of our shared future.

By coming together, we embolden our neighbors, support our civic institutions, and bear witness to a God of justice and love.

Contact:

Rev. Donna Pritchard, Retired UMC Pastor            revpritch@comcast.net                 503-724-2464 (call or text)

Amy Clark amyclark3@gmail.com

Reflecting Jesus’ calling, we, the community of St. Andrew, proclaim that the gifts of God are for all, so we welcome and advocate for equity and justice for… All abilities and disabilities, All believers and unbelievers, All races and ethnicities, All religions and creeds, All gender identities and expressions, All countries of origin, All sexual orientations, All immigrants and refugees, All economic levels, All spoken and signed languages, All…no exceptions!