Arrested Pastor Says Church Must Resist Immoral Federal Budget

A United Methodist Insight Interview

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A United Methodist Insight Exclusive | May 8, 2025

Copyright 2025 by United Methodist Insight. All Rights Reserved

The Rev. Joel Simpson was the first United Methodist pastor to be arrested publicly as part of a "Moral Mondays" demonstration against the proposed federal budget in which several other United Methodists participated. Rev. Simpson, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Taylorsville, N.C., was arrested along with four other faith leaders on May 5, 2025, for praying in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. United Methodist Insight Editor Cynthia B. Astle interviewed Rev. Simpson by email, and his answers have been edited only for clarity.

Insight: Why did you choose to participate in this protest knowing it was likely you'd be arrested?

Rev. Simpson: Our goal was not to get arrested or locked up. Our goal was to be prophetic witnesses to how congress is using this federal budget to arrest and lock up the life-giving supports of Medicaid, food stamps, access to housing, and other essential resources for our communities by making deep cuts to them.

I went to offer a prophetic witness at the Capitol building because I have read the proposed budget and recognize the high moral stakes. These immoral budget cuts will devastate our whole country, and especially Alexander County, the small rural community I serve in NC.

The budget calls the Energy and Commerce committee to cut $880 billion from their budget over 10 years. This is the committee that oversees Medicaid, which gives health coverage for people who are poor – adults, children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. For many people, this is the only way they have health insurance and can get the care they need. In my small community, 28% of Alexander County is enrolled in Medicaid (a little over 10,000 people).

Medicaid is also the primary payer for nursing homes. The Taylorsville House is a memory care facility that currently has 44 residents in Alexander County. If Medicaid funds are cut, Taylorsville House and other care facilities in our community such as Valley Nursing and Rehab (which also has members of my church) will be in trouble. Without those funds, many patients won’t be able to afford the care they need. Staff will have to be cut and quality of care will go down. Some places may even need to close and we will lose the little support for the elderly we have in our community. We already had our hospital close over a decade ago.

Even with Medicaid, 9% of people don’t have health insurance at all in Alexander County. That’s over 3,000 people.

The impact doesn’t stop there, however. Food assistance is also at risk of being cut, with the House budget resolution calling on $230 billion in cuts over 10 years for the Agriculture Committee, which oversees SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

14% of Alexander County is a part of the food stamps program SNAP. This is a little over 5,000 people and it’s still not enough support. Last year, the Christian Crisis Center food pantry in Taylorsville gave almost 15,000 people food and served almost 6,000 families. This was only one of many food pantries in our county. People will be deeply impacted by these cuts.

Furthermore, this budget isn’t about trying to “save” money. Congress wants to increase the military budget by $150 billion.

In 2022, our $877 Billion defense budget was bigger than the 10 largest military budgets in the world combined.

Now, Congress is trying to increase the military budget to over $1 Trillion while decreasing support for people in our communities.

This doesn’t even get into our housing issues in the county or how our school system is already struggling or how our Head Start program will be affected, leaving parents struggling to find child care in our rural community so that they can work.

We need a budget that uplifts our community and those who are poor and the most vulnerable.

Jesus makes clear that what we do to the “least of these” we do to him and Jesus cares about what we do with our money. Budgets are moral documents. God cares about budgets and policies. The prophet Isaiah cries out “Woe to those who pronounce wicked decrees, and keep writing harmful laws to deprive the needy of their rights and to rob the poor among my people of justice.”

Insight: Have you worked previously with Rev. William Barber and Repairers of the Breach on public witness?

Rev. Simpson: I have participated in different prophetic witnesses over the years. The first was joining in on Freedom Fridays in Raleigh with Rev. Barber and Rev. Dr. Anthony Spearman (who has since died) as we advocated for Gov. Cooper to exonerate Dontae Sharpe. Dontae had been wrongly convicted and freed from prison after 26 years but still had the record of a convicted felon because Cooper would not exonerate him. He was also entitled to being paid for being imprisoned while innocent, and he would not receive anything unless Gov. Cooper exonerated him. After several weeks of joining in this work, I learned one of my church members had helped create the documentary video about the injustice Dontae was facing. I realized this work is all very interconnected.

I have been involved in the Poor People’s Campaign and I also participate in the Repairers of the Breach Prophet Council. None of this is fancy. It is all open invitation. Any faith leader is invited to be a part of the prophet council and join in the regular meetings or get involved in the Poor People’s Campaign. Just commit and show up.

Insight: Have you consulted with others about your May 5 participation? Your congregation's leaders?

Rev. Simpson: When I first felt compelled to join Repairers of the Breach in Washington, I spoke with my wife about it. We both agreed I should go. I shared an open invitation to my community, invited other faith leaders, and invited the congregation to join me. I let my district superintendent know that I would be going to Washington. I also checked in with friends to see if they wanted to join and meet there. My going was very public.

Part of the commitment to prophetic witnessing is to not go alone. I am always inviting people to join with me in the work because this work is not about me. It is about all of us and how it impacts our whole community. A congregation member went with me. Another UMC clergy person from NC met us up there. Some friends from Pennsylvania also came. I saw friends from the Global Board of Church and Society. I saw United Methodist clergy from the Washington Area. There is a community of people who take part and continue to witness. I also made new friends there as we did this work together.

Insight: What kind of social witness do you and your congregation conduct in Taylorsville?

Rev. Simpson: We are United Methodists. We care about personal and social holiness. That means we care about our community and get involved in the ways that help bring life.

About ten years ago, the church moved out of their previous building and into an old abandoned car dealership. The previous downtown church building was turned into a Mission Campus. It has become a community hub filled with various nonprofits that help bridge the gap for people in the community. Different organizations that have been a part includes the only soup kitchen in the county, a non-profit music school, domestic violence support, help with recovery and addiction, help with housing and doctors’ appointments.

We’re involved with the local soup kitchen. We have advocated for people struggling with housing. We have advocated for our community to begin drug court in order to help with addiction struggles and also create a better pathway to help people. We’re involved in prison ministry at the maximum-security prison. We’ve advocated against the death penalty and hosted Shane Claiborne as we discussed the harm of the death penalty. I’ve brought youth from the church to marches against the death penalty. When Gov. Cooper refused to exonerate an innocent man, Dontae Sharpe, we signed letters calling on Cooper to exonerate Dontae.

On Good Friday this year, we helped organize a Prayer Walk with other clergy and community members that looked at the systems of death in our community and the ways different organizations and group work for life. We learned how this proposed budget would impact our community in major ways and listened as different community members shared how these budget changes would impact our community.

Insight: What would you like United Methodists to understand about your public witness at the U.S. Capitol?

Rev. Simpson: This is a budget that kills the poor by cutting essential resources all while giving tax breaks to the rich and increasing the military budget.

This is not a left/right issue. This is moral issue. Budgets are moral documents. This is an issue our faith calls us to care about.

It affects all of our communities, but particularly the poor and most vulnerable. As United Methodists, we have a role to play.

Not everyone needs to show up in Washington. But we all have a role to play in caring for our community, supporting moral budgets, and refusing to be silent as injustice is done to our neighbors and those who are most vulnerable.

Insight: Is there anything else about your participation with the protest that you think is important for readers to know?

Rev. Simpson: This budget deeply matters and you can learn more about the high moral stakes here: Learn more about the high moral stakes

Also, sign our Open Letter to Congress asking for congressional leaders to meet with Repairers of the Breach about this budget: Open Letter to Congress

See a video clip of Rev. Joel Simpson on United Methodist Insight's Substack blog.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011 as a media channel to amplify news and views for and about marginalized and under-served United Methodists. Please email United Methodist Insight for permission to reproduce this content elsewhere.