News, information, messages from Bishop Rob, and more about the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire.
Micah 6 Commission: A Year of Building Relationships for Local Justice
When the Most Reverend Michael Curry, 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, travelled to Portsmouth, New Hampshire last February to speak along with Bishop Rob at the Black Heritage Trail of NH’s celebrated “Tea Talk,” it was a perfect example of the power of the Micah 6 initiative and how it brings people and organizations together in the name of social justice. The event was held in a synagogue, was open to all, and drew a large audience who were thirsty for wisdom and encouragement. The Bishops didn’t disappoint. Their vastly different experiences growing up, their bond of friendship, and their shared faith made for interesting conversation, storytelling and ways to further racial justice. The crowd was mesmerized. This is one example of how the Micah 6 Commission – just one year into its existence – is shaping how the Episcopal Church of NH is taking action with partner organizations.
Now just one year since its formation in April 2025, the Micah 6 Commission is making strides. The Commission was formed as a way to streamline and empower parishes to take action against racism, economic inequity, and environmental degradation. The work is guided by the principles of Micah 6:8, which emphasizes the importance of doing justice, being kind, and walking humbly with God.
“Micah 6 is a guiding call for how we live our faith and baptismal covenant,” says Commission Chair Derek Scalia. “Our world is hurting, and people are yearning for points of light and relief. Through this work, we seek to embody the call to do justice.”
Created to combine our local efforts around reconciliation, earth care, educational equity, and reparations, Micah 6 has found a sibling in the Global Missions Committee, which focuses on international social justice work, while Micah 6 focuses on New Hampshire organizations already doing critical justice work.Rather than creating new programs, Micah 6 focuses on building relationships with these current initiatives. These partnerships reflect shared learning, mutual respect, and a commitment to long-term impact. Among its early collaborations:
Supporting Black Heritage Trail of NH “Tea Talks,” fostering dialogue on race and history
Partnering with the NH Fair Funding Project to advocate for equitable education
Advancing environmental stewardship through the New England Episcopal Path to Creation Justice initiative
John Rowntree, parish treasurer at Good Shepherd Church in Nashua, urges Episcopalians to consider joining churches in Claremont, Keene and Londonderry that are currently participating in the New England Episcopal Path to Creation Justice , a program which provides support and tools to parishes committed to addressing the climate crisis. Rowntree says the Micah 6 Commission contributed a three-year grant to support them. Says Rowntree, “We have done multiple projects to reduce our 148-year-old church’s carbon footprint, including insulation, improving our historic church windows, changing lightbulbs and implementing 35 solar panels. It feels really good to make a difference and helps us be strong financial stewards because we have reduced our energy costs.”
The Commission is made up of 12 members in addition to Bishop Rob. The Commission meets monthly and has held two major planning sessions over the last year.
It has also helped distribute $85,000 in Coit House funds, administered through the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, to support a wide range of community organizations – from childcare centers and summer camps to youth programs and family services.
At its core, the Micah 6 Commission is grounded in the belief that justice work begins in relationships.
“We are not here to solve every problem,” Commission leaders note. “We are here to listen, to accompany, and to support the work already unfolding in our communities.”
This relational approach is already strengthening parish life across the Diocese. By sharing stories, connecting congregations to opportunities, and deepening engagement, the Commission is helping Episcopalians live out their call to justice in tangible ways.
As the Commission enters its second year, it is building a more intentional structure to sustain and grow this work: strengthening communication, aligning resources, and supporting parishioners in integrating justice, mercy, and humility into every aspect of ministry.
Ultimately, the Micah 6 Commission is an invitation: to listen more deeply, to partner more intentionally, and to participate more fully in the work of healing and justice across New Hampshire. Commission members believe that justice takes root most fully when nurtured in parish communities that pray, learn, and serve together. They are committed to ensuring that the wisdom gained becomes a resource for congregations seeking to deepen their own ministries of justice. These faithful committee members believe that sharing stories and opportunities strengthens parish life and inspires local action rooted in the Gospel.
To share your stories of social justice work at your church or to find out more about Micah 6 please email Derek Scalia at dnascalia@gmail.com.
Top - Micah 6 Committee members at a planning meeting; bottom left - solar panels on the roof of the Good Shepherd complex in Nashua; bottom right - Tea Talk with Most Rev. Michael Curry, in Portsmouth.
Bishop Rob: My Prayer for America
“America, love it or leave it.” — seen on a church sign in New Hampshire. Some six centuries before the birth of Jesus, a prophet burst on the scene in Jerusalem. Jeremiah was disgusted with the state of his nation which he saw was threatened, not so much by outside empires poised to invade and conquer, but by the loss of its soul.
“America, love it or leave it.” — seen on a church sign in New Hampshire.
Some six centuries before the birth of Jesus, a prophet burst on the scene in Jerusalem. Jeremiah was disgusted with the state of his nation which he saw was threatened, not so much by outside empires poised to invade and conquer, but by the loss of its soul. Even more repulsive to this lonely and passionate spokesperson for God was how the people of Judah, from its priests to its king, engaged in religious language to defend immorality, injustice, and cruelty.
The mistreatment of immigrants, refugees, and strangers, the neglect of orphans and widows, and pledging fidelity to material idols were rampant in Jeremiah’s day. He saw the injustice and brutality of his time as a betrayal of God. He paid dearly to be a prophet in his time, suffering all sorts of humiliation. He went into exile and was likely killed at the hands of his exasperated fellow Judeans who had escaped the catastrophe in Judah by becoming refugees themselves in Egypt.
Jeremiah loved his country, though its betrayal of the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor caused a burning within him that would not allow him to be silent. Kings, priests, and people all urged him to shut up. They claimed that God would never abandon them or leave them vulnerable to societal and national collapse. And to them he cried:
Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 7) as though the temple or national pride will save you from a disaster which is coming.
Jeremiah would have had a special word of rebuke to any church that felt its loyalty to our nation was more important that to God’s Realm, and a special word of criticism to the words and chants, “send them back.”
We have heard, and will no doubt hear more in the coming months leading up to the 2020 elections, of the “Greatness of America.” If the witness of Jeremiah has relevance for us today — and I am convinced it certainly does now — then we recognize that the greatness of any society lies not in its material gross domestic product, or the performance of its stock markets, or even in the might of its military. Greatness lies in a nation’s soul: that resilient self-understanding that it has been placed here to extend justice, compassion, prosperity, and opportunity for all, and that all humankind, in all of its rich diversity, is made in God’s image.
A great nation is one that blends its courage with ample humility to admit its imperfections, that its greatness lies in its striving to become more perfect. Racist speech that dehumanizes persons of other races and that perpetuates the empty and cowardly ideology of white supremacy violates and damages the moral core of any nation. Prophets from Amos to Zechariah — and yes, even the prophet Jesus of Nazareth — tell us unequivocally that when a nation loses its soul, that nation risks God’s judgment. And that judgment may be catastrophic. The Bible tells me so.
Am I saying we need open borders? Am I saying we need to impeach or censor the president for his reckless and hate-filled speech? Please don’t put words in my mouth. What I am saying is that if we believe in a God of justice and peace, the current brutal and callous state of affairs in this nation must be grievous unto us, its burden intolerable. For God’s sake, this is a time for collective confession and repentance. As my colleagues at the Washington National Cathedral so powerfully stated, “the question is less about the president’s sense of decency [than] of ours.”
Last summer, it may have felt to us good and righteous when scores of us shouted, “Te vemos!” — “We see you!” — to the detained mothers who were separated from their children in a Texas “family residential center” at the southern border. To be honest, I could not imagine that those mothers would still be wondering where their young children are a year later. So now, this summer, I wonder about how God sees us, this torn, angry nation, and its soul that longs to be restored. This is why my prayer these days is not so much “God bless America,” but “May God have mercy on us, and show us anew the paths of justice, peace, and righteousness.”
A.Robert Hirschfeld