About Us

What is WISDOM?

WISDOM, the Wisconsin affiliate of the Gamaliel Foundation, is an umbrella which includes ten fully-formed congregation-based community organizations.  They are:

MICAH Milwaukee County

RIC Racine County

CUSH Kenosha County

SOPHIA Waukesha County

JOSHUA Green Bay area

ESTHER Fox Valley

JONAH Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley

AMOS La Crosse area

NAOMI Wausau and North Central Wisconsin

MOSES Madison Wisconsin

The first WISDOM organization was MICAH,  founded in 1988.  The most recent official addition to WISDOM is NAOMI, which became official in 2010.  Two more Sponsoring Committees are working to form organizations:  RUTH in Manitowoc, and MOSES in Madison.

WISDOM is a grassroots organization, comprised mostly of religious congregations of many denominations, which works to have a common voice on issues of social justice.

In all, WISDOM includes participation from about 145 congregations, of 19 different religious traditions.

Besides the 11X15 campaign and other efforts to promote Treatment Instead of Prison for non-violent offenders, WISDOM and its local organizations have been active in promoting Immigrant Rights, Economic Justice, Health Care availability, Public Transportation, and more.

 

WISDOM PROPHETIC DECLARATION

We are people of faith united by our passion for justice, commitment to community and a practice of hope. We stand together understanding that our lives and destinies are intertwined.

• We come together because God calls us into relationship with one another, with our  communities and with the world around us.

• We come together from across the state, across faith traditions, across race, class, gender and ethnicity, and across many divides that might ordinarily keep us apart.

• We come together around core faith convictions that affirm our direction and shape our vision for the future

• We come together to act for justice, build power and to transform our communities, cities and state.

We stand together in our faith:

• We believe in the God-given dignity and infinite worth of each and every human life
• We believe that we are each and all part of a sacred community, to which we have responsibility and from which we gain sustenance.
• We believe that our faith calls us to work for justice and liberation, standing against all forms of oppression and inequity.
• We believe we are called to be stewards of the natural world in all its bounty and diversity.
• We believe in shared abundance and stand against the dominant culture of reckless consumption and consumerism for some and deprivation for others.
• We believe in the triumph of love and hope over hate and fear.

We build power and act together, drawing courage and inspiration from our faith.  We believe God has called us to live, speak and act courageously in accordance with our faith beliefs. Together we will create the community we seek for ourselves, but also build the power we need to transform the world around us.  We will build the relationships and strategic capacity we need to powerfully engage and impact public decisions.

Together we declare:

Where there is division, we declare unity.

Where there is hatred, we declare love.

Where there is lack, we declare abundance.

Where there is desolation, we declare renewal.

Where there is discouragement, we declare hope.

Where there is lack of strength, we declare power!