McCormick Recognized as a Champion for Social Justice
11-01-2021
The Community Renewal Society, (CRS), has recognized McCormick Theological Seminary for its work in building social, racial and economic justice. McCormick received the Society’s City on the Hill Award at the organization’s 139th Annual Membership Assembly in October. It shares the honor with Chicago’s Christ Universal Temple. In bestowing the award on McCormick, the seminary was cited for being at the forefront of work that is intentionally building and moving forward the ideals of CRS.
McCormick has been a progressive leader within the Reformed tradition, stated CRS, and the seminary is committed to fostering a community of Christian leadership that serves diverse ministries and congregations in a challenging and complex world. Programs such as its Solidarity Building Initiative for Liberative Carceral Education at Cook County Jail and its collaborative work with CRS around restoring rights for citizens who are incarcerated, center the voices of directly impacted individuals in CRS’s work in Restoring Opportunities and Justice Reform.
Also recognized at the ceremony were Jia Johnson, program director for the Solidarity Building Initiative, (SBI), who received the John Purdy, Sr. Memorial Leadership Award, Rev. Dr. Jorge Morales, McCormick’s 2020 McCormick Distinguished alumnus, who was honored with the Yvonne Delk Courage Legacy Award, and Rev. Dr. Marilyn Pagan-Banks, who shared the Partner Award with leaders in Chicago who helped to pass the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Rev. Morales, M.Div.’76, D.Min.’84, has been a constant voice for building bridges between Black and Brown communities across Chicago, noted CRS, and is a passionate voice for police accountability and reform. Rev. Morales has been a minister for more than 30 years and served as CRS’s Board Chair. He has served as the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ Conference Minister and is one of the founders of San Lucas United Church of Christ on Chicago’s west side.
In honoring Jia Johnson, CRS cited her efforts that are impacting the material, social, and political barriers that people who are incarcerated and their communities experience. A former board member of CRS, Johnson integrates her corporate experience and project management skills with her commitment to public ministry and liberative education to co-create learning communities at Cook County Jail. Ms. Johnson served as the chairperson for CRS’s Restoring Rights Committee and advocated passionately for PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) in Cook County Jail systems. She is a founding board member of Off the Pews, an organization that centers youth at the heart of its mission and is an invaluable worker for restoring the rights of formerly incarcerated people across Illinois.
As a member of the Coalition to End Money Bond, Rev. Dr. Marilyn Pagan-Banks received the Partner Award. Her diligent efforts helped to pass the Pretrial Fairness Act. This bill ends money bond in Illinois and creates many other provisions that drastically reduce pretrial incarceration. The executive director of A Just Harvest, Rev. Pagan-Banks worked with local and national organizations to identify and find solutions to end systemic pitfalls that entrap people through pretrial incarceration. The success of this act was due to the diversity of organizations and individuals who worked on this campaign, including the ACLU Illinois, A Just Harvest, Believers Bail Out, Chicago Community Bond Fund, Community Renewal Society, Illinois Justice Project, Nehemiah Trinity Rising, The Next Movement, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty, S.O.U.L., and the Workers Center for Racial Justice.
Jia Johnson
Rev. Dr. Jorge Morales
Rev. Dr. Marilyn Pagan-Banks