There are weekends that simply fill a calendar, and there are weekends that invite us to become better neighbours. I believe our upcoming Justice Revival Weekend, this weekend, at Wesley Community Church belongs firmly in the second category.

We are honoured to welcome Reverend Jeff Hood, an internationally recognised theologian, activist and spiritual adviser whose ministry has taken him into some of the darkest places imaginable.

Dr Hood has been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for his work accompanying people on death row and advocating for justice. His remarkable ministry has also been featured in the Rolling Stone documentary The Spiritual Advisor, which tells the story of his extraordinary commitment to those society often forgets.

For years, Jeff has walked alongside men awaiting execution. He has sat with them in their final hours, prayed with them, comforted their families, challenged the systems that led them there and reminded the world that every human being possesses inherent dignity.

His ministry extends beyond those condemned to die. He supports families carrying unimaginable grief, accompanies those serving lengthy prison sentences and speaks relentlessly for a justice system that values restoration as much as punishment.

These stories are not disconnected from larger social realities. Across much of the Western world — and particularly in the United States — Black men are disproportionately represented within prisons and on death row.

The reasons are complex, involving generations of racial inequality, poverty, unequal access to legal representation and systemic injustice. Whatever one’s views on criminal justice, these disparities demand thoughtful conversation rather than silence.

As Christians, we are called to ask difficult questions. As citizens, we should do the same.

The theologian James Cone once wrote: “The Cross and the lynching tree interpret each other.” His challenge was that Christian faith cannot be separated from the suffering of oppressed people. Likewise, philosopher and public intellectual Cornel West famously reminds us that, “Justice is what love looks like in public.”

Justice, then, is not merely an abstract political idea. It is love made visible.

More than half a century ago, Martin Luther King Jr warned us that, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” That truth continues to echo across every nation, including our own.

This weekend is not about importing American politics into Bermuda. It is about asking timeless questions. How do we stand with those who suffer? How do we respond when systems fail people? What does compassion require of us? How can we build communities where dignity is not reserved for a privileged few but extended to everyone?

Congressman John Lewis often encouraged people to get into “good trouble, necessary trouble”. By that he meant having the courage to challenge injustice peacefully, lovingly and persistently.

That spirit is at the heart of our Justice Revival Weekend.

Whether you are a person of deep faith, another faith tradition, no faith at all, or simply someone who longs for a more compassionate world, you are warmly invited. Come to listen. Come to ask questions. Come to wrestle with difficult issues. Come because you believe that every human life matters.

Justice is not the responsibility of activists alone.

It belongs to every one of us.

Join us as we explore together what it means to love our neighbours — not only in word, but in courageous action.

• Augustine Tanner-Ihm is the senior minister of Wesley Community Church. He holds a doctorate in theology and a doctorate in transformational leadership and organisational psychology. He is a regular broadcaster with the BBC in the UK, and has also written for publications including the Church Times, ViaMedia and Living Church