Tajikistan Meeting
Texas Impact board members meet with Tajikistani faith and civil society leaders in Dallas. (Photo Courtesy of Texas Impact).
Texas Impact | May 16, 2024
Three United Methodist clergy were part of a delegation from Texas Impact to meet May 3 with with a delegation from Tajikistan on the topic of “international religious freedom” at a United Methodist Church in Dallas.
The Tajikistan delegation's visit was sponsored by the Department of State and the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. Dallas was the final stop on their three-week tour of the United States, and Texas Impact was invited to engage with this group.
Texas Impact was represented by board members the Revs. Phil Dieke, Ashley Anne Sipe, and Amy Moore, along with former board member the Rev. Mel Caraway. Sipe is Senior Pastor at Vista Ridge UMC in Lewisville northwest of Dallas. Caraway is a retired pastor from the North Texas Conference. Dieke is director of congregational innovation at Education Beyond the Walls at Austin Seminary and Texas Impact board secretary.
The two groups met for a 90-minute dialogue on the topic of faith leaders, their communities and engaging lawmakers on pressing public policy issues. The group from Tajikistan included the imam of a large mosque, the head of the New Apostolic Church, two government officials from the Committee on Religion, and the head of a healthcare NGO focused on tuberculosis whose program is supported by the United Nations, according to a Texas Impact blog post by Caraway and Dieke.
"During our time together, one of the government officials asked how we have addressed climate change policy as faith leaders," Caraway and Dieke said in their blog post. "We shared that climate justice is a challenge politically as there are still many politicians who refuse either to acknowledge that climate change exists or refuse to address it publicly out of fear they will upset their constituency.
"When Rev. Amy Moore asked if they experience climate change as a politically divisive issue, the government official, appearing somewhat perplexed, shared that over 90% of Tajikistan is mountainous and people need only to look at the melting glaciers to recognize the effects of climate change. He went on to explain the melting has caused greater floods and issues around clean water, not only in their landlocked country, but in surrounding countries as well."
In response to another government official's question, the Texas Impact group said they were most proud of advocating for free and fair local elections.
"We talked about the importance of local elections and Texas Impact’s ongoing fight against non-certified/non-religious chaplains in schools and the campaign against vouchers to ensure public education is funded fairly and that our schools are safe for all students," said Dieke and Caraway in their blog post.
"They were also curious to hear our take on immigration, given all that has taken place at the US/Mexico border," the post continued. "We were able to share our biblical rational to welcome the stranger and immigrant, as well as the USA’s need to own our role in welcoming a growing number of refugees who are seeking refuge due to climate change, political instability, and violence in other countries."
Caraway and Dieke concluded: "The Tajikistan delegation expressed gratitude to be in conversation with faith leaders who were willing to wrestle with difficult, and often divisive, policy topics through the lens of faith. They said, 'as outsiders we hear "God bless America," and surely God has, but it is nice to hear from faith leaders who are fighting for the common good.'”
Information for this article was taken from a Texas Impact blog post. Insight Editor Cynthia B. Astle contributed.