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Miller was speaking at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman during a covenant celebration that publicly kicked off the work of AMOS Inc., a coalition of faith communities working for justice.
The eight congregations that now initially form AMOS are Christ Episcopal Church, English Lutheran Church, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Hope United Church, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral, Congregation Sons of Abraham and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse.
Miller, a United Church of Christ minister, is president of AMOS, which stands for “Advocating, Mobilizing, and Organizing for Solidarity.”
Other congregations will likely join the organization.
“When we don’t work together, we’re not as efficient and effective as we could be,” said Bishop Keith Whitmore, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire.
Sitting on the altar with Whitmore were Lutheran, Catholic, Jewish and United Church of Christ leaders.
The Rev. Kent Johnson, treasurer for AMOS, said one-on-one conversations, through which AMOS members gather information about needs in the community make congregation-based organizing effective.
AMOS is a local chapter of WISDOM Inc., an umbrella for congregation-based organizing in Wisconsin.
Bishop April Ulring Larson, head of the La Crosse Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, gave a sermon at the ceremony.
“It is not enough to feed the hungry,” she said. “Amos said you must go further. You must go further. You must have a just society.”
Amos was a Hebrew prophet who spoke these famous words in the Old Testament’s Book of Amos: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
One of AMOS’s stated purposes is to address economic and social disparities in the region.
It makes good sense to form the group, said Rabbi Saul Prombaum of Congregation Sons of Abraham, after the event. Prombaum read verses from Amos in Hebrew while about 70 gathered repeated them in English.
“AMOS reflects a serious attempt by area congregations to join together and to listen to each other speak,” he said. “There’s so much that we share, and we recognize how difficult it is to go it alone.”
Joe Orso can be reached at (608) 791-8429 or jorso@lacrossetribune.com.
