Our History is A Blueprint for Hope
By Connor Prusha, MFSA Organizing Associate
I have always been enamored with stories. I love listening to them, telling them, and dreaming them up. My earliest memories are of the stories my grandparents told me about their childhoods and their experiences in life. I was especially connected to the stories my grandfather told. It was almost as if a light twinkled in his eyes and he came to life in a new way. I realized quickly that stories are the way we remind ourselves of what we believe, where we come from, and what makes us who we are.
It goes without saying that we live in an incredibly turbulent and dangerous time in world history. People are polarized and separated from one another. Western democracies are facing significant threats. A government that is supposed to serve and protect people is doing immense harm to the most vulnerable among us. It is incredibly easy, with all that is going on, to want to take a step back, numb our minds, and dissociate from a world that seems to cause incessant pain. Yet we must persevere. We must remember who we are. Storytelling itself, then, becomes a form of resistance when we refuse to let systems of power erase the truth of God’s justice and take away our joy. Our stories can be our blueprint for hope.
The prophet Micah boldly declared that God has called us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. For 117 years, MFSA has crafted a Spirit-led story, transforming that ancient calling into action. When Harry Ward scribbled “equal rights and complete justice for all persons” in 1908, those words may have seemed radical to some. Today, they’re foundational to our understanding of civil rights. When MFSA demanded the abolition of child labor and the establishment of living wages, they were called extremists. Today, we take those protections for granted because someone fought to make them possible. When leaders and MFSA staff members Deaconess Winifred Chappell and Deaconess Grace Scribner kept publishing bulletins and advocating for the Social Gospel during some of the darkest hours in the United States, they proved that movements rooted in love, grace, and compassion don’t die when institutions reject them. Instead, they emerge stronger.
The courage of those who came before us wasn’t a superhuman quality. It was sustained by prayer, grounded in Scripture, and fueled by the conviction that God’s vision for beloved community demands more than simple acts of charity or kindness—it demands transformation. MFSA’s history shows us what it looks like to speak and act with a prophetic fervor that refuses weak resignation to evil and lives with a deep, abiding hope that always rises above. We don’t tell this story solely to celebrate the past. We tell our story to continuously remember and claim the radical call that God has placed on our lives so that we might live it out in the here and now. From this 117-year-old story, several guiding principles emerge as a kind of blueprint we can still follow today.
First, our willingness to stand up for what is right is always more important than any safety an institution can provide. MFSA has consistently chosen to speak out rather than be comfortable, even when it meant losing denominational support. We have the chance to raise fundamental questions about the morality of economic systems, militarism, racism, and class conflict.
Second, faith and action belong together, rooted in prayer. From the deaconesses' faithful advocacy to prayer vigils outside the White House, MFSA has consistently refused the false division between faith and social justice. Living out the Social Gospel entails a life of faith invested in bringing to fruition the New Creation God wants for us, and ultimately surrounding everything with unceasing prayer.
Third, all issues of equity and justice must be recognized as intersectional. MFSA has always understood that labor rights, racial justice, gender justice, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, peace, and environmental care are intertwined. Our individual and community identities—and the various aspects that comprise them—influence our decisions and perceptions. We cannot pick and choose which of God’s children deserve dignity.
Fourth, our resilience and our hope help define us. During the McCarthy era, as anti-communist fervor swept the nation, MFSA became a target of investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee due to its open calls for societal restructuring, the advancement of civil rights, the right to unionize, and more. This was paired with surveillance by the FBI, the public labeling of MFSA as “Methodism’s Pink Fringe” by Reader’s Digest, and internal attacks from more conservative Methodist organizations. MFSA came dangerously close to dissolution during this time, but several leaders took up the mantle and refused to back down. This resulted in an incredible rebirth over the next few decades. The belief exemplified by just a small group of people—and their certainty in their vocational call to live a life of justice—was enough to draw people back together and continue moving forward. Today, as misinformation and fear once again seek to dominate our lives, that same resilient spirit is what the moment demands.
We’re already part of this incredible legacy. Our prayers, our presence, our financial support, and our willingness to speak up even when silence would be easier are how we make our mark in this 117-year story. The work continues. The threats we face today demand the same moral courage that those who came before us embodied. When policies target vulnerable communities, when fear replaces compassion, and when profits outweigh the well-being of people, we’re called to be prophetic witnesses. When Christian faith is weaponized to discriminate and harm, we’re called to proclaim a different gospel.
The question we must ask ourselves today is this: What does the Lord require of you? Together, we already know the answer. Together, we’re already doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God. The same Spirit that emboldened Harry Ward to draft the Social Creed, that sent deaconesses out to serve those in need, and that led MFSA to integrate chapters when the denomination would not—now moves in us. The blueprint for hope is there if we choose to follow it. The next chapter of the story is ready to be written. Will you pick up the pen, leading with courage and making love visible?
Learn more about MFSA history: