Introduction by Cameron Helwege, MFSA’s Communications Coordinator
Liturgy written by Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol
Candle of Hope, Peace and Justice
Photo Courtesy of MFSA
As we navigate the realities of this new administration, justice-seeking congregations across the country are standing in solidarity with those targeted by oppressive policies. We've seen churches respond by incorporating the Candle of Peace, Hope, and Justice into their worship services, lifting up prayers and commitments to resist injustice.
Inspired by the Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg, which lit a candle encircled in barbed wire during the struggle against apartheid, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol of Mount Vernon Place UMC in Washington, D.C., is one of the pastors who has reintroduced this practice. Rev. Andy Oliver of Allendale UMC in St. Petersburg, Florida, is another. Now, more than 30 congregations—including several MFSA-aligned churches—have joined this movement, lighting a candle each week and naming those suffering under policies of cruelty and exclusion.
Recently, churches have lit the candle:
🕯️ For migrants—asylum seekers facing deportation, undocumented families living in fear, and faith leaders offering sanctuary.
🕯️ For federal workers—those losing their jobs, living in uncertainty, or suffering retaliation for speaking out.
Each time the candle is lit, congregations proclaim that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never overcome the light.
You can access the liturgy below. This document will be updated weekly, with liturgy uplifting a new group targeted by this administration.
In this moment, as faith communities, we must recommit to resisting evil, injustice, and oppression in all its forms. Together, we will continue to bear witness, proclaim justice, and keep the light shining.
The online document will be updated weekly, with liturgy uplifting a new group targeted by this administration. Topics for previous weeks can be found below.
March 2, 2025 – National Institutes of Health
On this Sunday we light the Candle of Peace, Hope, and Justice for all who stand to be squeezed by barbed-wire actions aimed at crippling the work of the National Institutes of Health: for patients who are enrolled in a clinical trial on which they have placed their hope for being healed; for adults and children whose wellbeing depends on groundbreaking research that has led to lifesaving vaccines, innovative immunotherapies, and the chemotherapy that can lead to a cure; for universities where groundbreaking research could come to a screeching halt along with the breakthrough advances ascertained in their labs; for all employees whose positions have been or are in line to be eliminated; and for all who will be impacted by these actions in ways that they cannot currently imagine.
One: The light shines in the darkness.
All: We stand in this light, unshaken,
knowing that the darkness has never overcome the light.
One: Let us recommit ourselves to walking in Jesus’ ways of justice.
All: Empower us, Jesus, to boldly use
the freedom and power given to us
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves.
Previous topics:
February 23, 2025 – Federal Workers
February 16, 2025 – Migrants
February 9, 2025 – USAID
Click here to access the Candle of Peace, Hope and Justice Liturgy.