Supporting Capitol Hill Staff

Faith and Law has been working with Congressional staff for 40 years

By Mark Strand

It is easy to forget about the thousands of young men and women who serve as staff and make our Congress work. In my book, Surviving Inside Congress, I call staff “the glue that holds Congress together.” These young people advise Senators and Representatives about hundreds of issues, work with government agencies to help solve individuals’ problems, and answer the tens of thousands of emails and letters addressed to each Member of Congress annually. They live vicariously through their bosses, serving the public in relative anonymity.

For many of these staffers, moving to Washington, DC is their first time away from home or their relatively sheltered college life. Christian staff often arrive in Washington, finding themselves without the support of their home churches. That may sound like a small matter, but considering that most of them work ten to twelve hours daily, often under tremendous stress, this is no small problem.

Fortunately, there is an organization called Faith and Law that ministers to Congressional staff. It has been serving staff on Capitol Hill since the 1980s, when I first started as a young staff member. Faith and Law brings leading Christian thought-leaders to Capitol Hill each month to help staff learn how to apply their beliefs to the myriad policy issues that they must deal with. From the bi-weekly Friday Forum lecture series to monthly reading groups and an annual leadership conference, Faith and Law is having a significant impact on Capitol Hill.

Their mission: “Equipping Christian policymakers to more fully understand the Biblical worldview and its implications for their calling to the public square.”

As a non-partisan organization, Faith and Law understands that everyone who attends their events has their own views and beliefs:

“Thoughtful Christians come to different policy conclusions. While we do not know exactly what God thinks about tax or transportation policy, we do firmly believe God cares about it all because He is sovereign over all.

God cares about both the means and ends of our work: the policies that contribute to human flourishing and the means by which we pursue them, including how we govern alongside others in a pluralistic public square.

Faith and Law also seeks to build a community of Christian thinkers examining timely and complex policy issues through a biblical lens with the goal of human flourishing through constructive and respectful civic engagement.”

At Friday forums, staff hear from leading experts on relevant political and cultural issues. Lectures and panel discussions with free lunch provided for Hill staffers. And for those staff starting out on the Hill, a free lunch is not insignificant. Some of the recent topics were:

· Able to Succeed: People with Disabilities and the Imago Dei

· Is Religious Liberty Compatible with Progress?

· Natural Law as a Basis for “Hopeful Realism” in Democratic Politics

· Are Religion and Politics Indivisible? Models for Pluralist Democracies

· Democratization of theology – good or bad?

· New Media and the Future of Religion

· The Trials and Tribulations of Living an Ethical Life on Capitol Hill

Those are just some of the topics discussed over the last few months. These are pretty deep topics, and they usually arouse a healthy discussion and debate between the speakers and the staff.

Other programs offered by Faith and Law are reading groups, mentorships with senior and former Capitol Hill staff, Leadership meetings with other staff and Members of Congress, seminars, and even a program specifically for “Capitol Hill Moms.”

A House reading group recently began a study on “William Wilberforce. A Man Who Changed His Times.” A Senate reading group embarked on a study of “The Everlasting Man” by G.K. Chesterton.

Faith and Law alumni have gone on to become Members of Congress, a governor, U.S. Cabinet Members, journalists, and CEOs.

The reason I bring this up is that on June 3, Faith and Law will be holding their annual Evening Forum, where supporters are invited to hear from Christian thought-leaders, Members of Congress, and congressional aides reflecting on how their faith impacts their work in the public square. The theme of the evening: Righteousness Exalts a Nation - Faith, Law, and the Common Good.

Author and social critic, Dr. Os Guinness, will give the keynote titled: “America Agonistes — 2026 and the Restoration of a Nation at Odds with Itself and its Past.”

If you live in the Washington DC area, and have never heard Os Guinness speak, you really should try to attend. Os is a prolific writer and powerful speaker who has spent a great deal of time conversing and discussing deep topics with Members of Congress and their staff, as well as maintaining a busy schedule speaking at universities and other forums

Author and social critic Os Guinness will deliver the keynote address at Faith and Law’s Evening Forum on June 3 at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.

Last year at the Evening Forum, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson received Faith and Law’s Chuck Colson award for public service. We also heard from a panel of Members of Congress (Reps. Chris Smith, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Robert Aderholt) who spoke about what guides them as they seek to integrate their faith and vocation on Capitol Hill.

This year Senators Cramer (R-ND) and Coons (D-DE), who recently worked together on legislation, have been invited to describe how their Christian faith supports bipartisanship.

The Evening Forum will take place on June 3, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. Tickets and additional information can be found here.

I attended my first Faith and Law event nearly forty years ago (yes, I am that old), and I have supported them ever since. I invite you to join Faith and Law at the Evening Forum to support this organization that serves the young men and women who serve us in Congress. I can promise it will be time and resources well spent, and a cause worthy of your support.