Colorado Clergy Alliance Invitation

Written By Jenny Whitcher (she/her)

This invitation is for Colorado Clergy, and also, we hope that it will inspire clergy in other locations to organize for public witness if you are not already doing so. In Colorado there is not currently a state-wide clergy coalition, so we are cocreating one.

Join the Colorado Clergy Alliance

In the spirit of all of our traditions, that call us to strengthen relationships, act out of love and in solidarity with community, and be a voice for justice and peace, you are invited to join us to meet this moment to cocreate the Colorado Clergy Alliance. Together, we will stand up for immigrant rights and lives, including clergy who are immigrants, and respond to what is already happening here in Colorado and prepare for the likelihood of an increased presence of ICE in our communities. 

The current supremacist fascist regime builds on over 250 years of violent and inhumane policies and practices of enslavement, genocide, discrimination, and injustice against people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, those seeking reproductive healthcare, immigrants, disabled and neurodiverse–so many people, so many beloved. While their primary target is immigrants now, we know our identities are intersectional and marginalized groups and lives will continue to be threatened. None of us are safe until all of us are safe.

The people on the ground in Minneapolis have urged the rest of the country to heed the warning that Minneapolis is a testing ground, and that what we are seeing there will likely, if it has not already, be coming to other communities around this country.

This work of connecting faith leaders and communities has already been started by Mutual Aid Sanctuary and the Interfaith Immigration Network, among others. Together we are expanding the coalition and committing ourselves to the work of cultivating meaningful connections so we can coordinate on-the-ground mutual aid efforts. Together, we can build networks of accompaniment to support anyone who may need practical support, whether that be groceries, help picking up children from school, or rapid response if ICE shows up.

The Colorado Clergy Alliance will connect faith leaders in Colorado who are ready and willing to be trained to meet our moment in history with nonviolent direct action and nonviolent resistance. This could include taking direct action in the streets, press conferences where we can name injustices publicly, and standing up to corporations and organizations that are supporting the repression our communities are facing. 

Many of us are already doing this as individual faith leaders in our respective communities, which is important. To meet this moment we need to form a collective network of faith leaders from all traditions prepared to stand together in the face of the injustices and dangers we are facing.

If you feel so called, we would love to have you join this network and be involved. Join us by filling out this short form.

Please also share this invitation with other faith leaders/clergy.

Join the Colorado Clergy Alliance

In Solidarity,

Rev. Dr. Jenny Whitcher, Minister of Prophetic Formation, Juniper Formation UCC, and co-organizer, Mutual Aid Sanctuary

Rev. Dr. Tracy L. Hughes, Lead Minister, Mountain View United Church, Aurora

Rabbi Michael Kengmana, Interfaith Coalition of Douglas County, Denver/Boulder Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace

Anne Kleinkopf,
Interfaith Immigration Network 

Rev. Lauren Grubaugh Thomas, President, Interfaith Coalition of Douglas County, and Priest of Holy Companion Episcopal Church

Rev. Morgan C. Fletcher
Present Nomads

Rev. Wayne A. Laws, Retired Minister of Social Justice, UCC, co-organizer Mutual Aid Sanctuary

Rev. Dr. Arthur Porter, Sr.
Senior Pastor, New Nation Church

Stephanie Lynn Price, Senior Pastor, Highlands United Methodist Church

Rev. Kate Bradsen, Rector, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Aurora

Jenny Whitcher (she/her)

Rev. Dr. Jenny Whitcher is the Minister of Prophetic Formation and founder of Juniper Formation, an entrepreneurial and ecumenical faith community of the United Church of Christ (UCC), with the mission of "prophetically reimagining the Church from the margins."

She is a pastor, entrepreneur, community organizer, artist, public scholar, and theologian committed to liberation and social justice.

Her areas of expertise include: professional, personal, spiritual, and organizational formation and leadership; religion and public life; democratic culture, leadership, and pedagogy; community organizing; and social change theory and practice.

Whitcher previously served as the faculty Director of the Office of Professional Formation and Term Assistant Professor of Religion & Public Life at Iliff School of Theology, after serving as Iliff's Director of the Master of Arts in Social change (now M.A. in Social Justice & Ethics) and Director of Service Learning.

As an interdisciplinary public scholar committed to social justice and human rights, Whitcher bridges fields of religious, theological, and civic studies within local, national, and international contexts. Prior to working at Iliff, Whitcher served as Associate Director of the Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning (CCESL), where she taught Community Organizing and Denver Urban Issues and Policy courses; created and led student civic development curricula; trained faculty in public scholarship and pedagogy; led local and international Immersion Programs; and was the creator, editor, and contributing writer of the "Public Good Newsletter" at the University of Denver for five years.

Her career in higher education started in 2004 at the University of Denver's Office of Internationalization Study Abroad Program. Whitcher transitioned into higher education from the nonprofit sector where she worked locally in Denver with populations experiencing homelessness and globally on affordable housing with Habitat for Humanity International where she was also the "Advocacy Alert" columnist for Frameworks Magazine.

Whitcher's publications include book chapters, articles, and public resources on civic and spiritual development and formation, relational community organizing, experiences of organizers and public life, and democratic education. She is co-author and co-editor of the first and second editions of the Community Organizing Handbook (2009, 2010).

Whitcher's public scholarship, teaching, leadership, and ministry have included work with various local congregations and denominational leaders across the U.S. and across denominational, faith, and spiritual identities. In addition, she has worked with various nonprofits and foundations, including, but not limited to:  WorldDenver, La Academia at Denver Inner City Parish, Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, Diyar Consortium, Everyday Democracy, Colorado Progressive Coalition, Puksta Foundation, the Kettering Foundation, El Centro Humanitario, Denver Public Schools, American Commonwealth Project, Urban Peak, and Habitat for Humanity International.

Internationally, Whitcher has travelled and partnered with local leaders and communities in Palestine, Israel, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Hungary, Italy, and Spain.

She is the recipient of the Peacemaker Award from the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Christ (2006) and the Young Philanthropist Award by Women in Development of Greater Boston (2004).

Ordination: Metro Denver Association of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC).

Education:

B.A., New York University
M.A., University of Denver
Ph.D. Iliff School of Theology & University of Denver

https://www.jennywhitcher.com
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