Special update from Amanda Tyler

Dear valued member of the BJC family,

I write to you today from our offices on Capitol Hill mindful of the extraordinary time in which we are all living. I sincerely hope that you are well and that you find yourself in a community that is offering you strong support during these challenging days. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic is gripping our world with uncertainty. As the virus is impacting thousands of people with illness and death, we hold each other more tightly in prayer and concern.

I’m fortunate to say that we at BJC are doing well. Our staff team gathered this week to discuss the rapidly changing news and have started to put into place contingency plans, including plans for remote work, should that become necessary in the days and weeks to come. We are following all the CDC guidelines for hygiene and prudent social distancing, canceling any unnecessary travel, and moving in-person gatherings to virtual meetings whenever possible. Our team is resilient and is approaching this challenge with good humor, creativity, and care for one another.

We are leaning into that first word in our tagline – faith – and our distinctive nature as a faith-based group. Our organization finds its roots in the Baptist tradition, as do many of our staff members, board of directors, and larger BJC family. We know what love, support, and abiding peace our faith and faith communities can offer during turbulent times. Our inclusive coalition includes people from many religious traditions and those who don’t identify as religious but who respect and support our faith-based perspective. Whatever differences we may have in beliefs, practice, and identity, we all have been made keenly aware of our shared humanity, with all its frailty and vulnerability as well as its capacity to seek a relationship with the divine and to view the world as something bigger than ourselves.

While the day-in, day-out work of our mission may seem less urgent as we face a global public health crisis, the heart of our mission remains vital. Ensuring that every person has the freedom to believe and to act on those beliefs without unnecessary government interference is core to a flourishing human existence.

You can be confident that we are pressing on and continuing with the important work of standing up for our shared values and supporting faith freedom for all. I hope you will stay connected during this time, whether that be reading new articles, listening to podcast episodes, using our resources or videos to share your passion for this work with your social media networks, or advocating for faith freedom for all.

Please take good care, stay in touch with us, and let us know how we can support you. We are grateful to be in community with you.

Peace,
Amanda

Amanda Tyler is executive director of BJC.