The sun filters through the meeting room windows, casting familiar patterns on the faces gathered here. In times like these, when headlines bring news that challenges our deepest convictions, The Path offers us a place to explore difficult questions together. Today’s political landscape presents us with real-world examples that illuminate the very principles Jesus taught about power, justice, and how we treat one another.
Think of your Assembly not as a place for political debate, but as a gathering where we examine current events through the lens of timeless ethical principles. The actions of our leaders, whether we voted for them or not, provide us with living case studies in moral decision-making. By discussing these events thoughtfully, we deepen our understanding of The Path’s teachings while building the skills to navigate our complex world.
When Power Targets the Defenders of Justice
In March 2025, President Trump began issuing executive orders targeting law firms that had previously opposed him in court. These orders barred firms like Perkins Coie, Paul, Weiss, and WilmerHale from federal buildings, suspended security clearances of their attorneys, and prohibited government agencies from using their services. One federal judge noted these orders “cast a chilling harm of blizzard proportion across the entire legal profession.”
Picture, if you will, the scene from Jesus’s time when he confronted the money changers in the temple. But now imagine if those money changers had possessed the power to ban Jesus and his followers from the temple entirely. This reversal, where those in power punish those who challenge injustice, strikes at the heart of what Jesus warned against.
For Your Assembly Discussion:
Begin by reading together the parable of the Good Samaritan. Notice how the lawyer who questioned Jesus was seeking to justify himself, to find the limits of his obligation to others. Now consider: when powerful people use their authority to silence those who defend the vulnerable, how do we respond?
Ask your Assembly:
- How do we support those who face retaliation for doing what’s right?
- When institutions meant to ensure justice are themselves attacked, what is our role?
- How can we distinguish between legitimate criticism of lawyers and attempts to intimidate those who defend unpopular causes?
Remember Jesus’s words: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” In your discussion, explore what it means to stand with those who face persecution for defending others, even when it comes at a cost, especially when it comes at a cost.
The Stranger at Our Gates
On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented parents. Federal judges have called this order “blatantly unconstitutional,” noting it directly violates the 14th Amendment. One Reagan-appointed judge said in his four decades on the bench, he couldn’t “remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one.”
Consider the story of Jesus’s own birth, not the supernatural elements The Path sets aside, but the human story of a family seeking shelter, of a child born in humble circumstances. Throughout his teachings, Jesus consistently stood with the outsider, the foreigner, the one whom society wished to exclude.
For Your Assembly Discussion:
Open with the passage where Jesus says, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Reflect on how this principle applies when we’re discussing not adults who chose to come here, but infants who had no choice in where they were born.
Guide your Assembly through these questions:
- What does it mean to punish a child for the circumstances of their birth?
- How do we balance legitimate concerns about immigration with the fundamental principle of human dignity?
- When fear of “the other” drives policy, how do we respond with both wisdom and compassion?
Share stories from your community. Perhaps Assembly members know families affected by these policies. Let these real human faces inform your discussion, moving beyond abstract policy to actual people facing actual consequences.
When Watchers Are Removed
In late January 2025, President Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general across federal agencies. Federal law requires 30 days’ notice to Congress before such removals, along with detailed explanations, requirements that were not met. One expert noted, “It did not adhere to the Inspector General Act requirements.”
Think of Jesus’s warnings about leaders who operate in darkness, who fear the light of scrutiny. Throughout the Gospels, he reserved his harshest criticism for those who abused positions of trust while avoiding accountability. “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered,” he taught, “and nothing secret that will not become known.”
For Your Assembly Discussion:
Begin by discussing the concept of accountability in your own lives. Share times when having someone watch over your work, whether a supervisor, a mentor, or a friend, helped you stay honest and improve.
Then explore together:
- Why might leaders want to remove those whose job is to ensure honesty and prevent waste?
- How do we create accountability in our own communities and organizations?
- What happens to trust in institutions when oversight is removed?
- How can citizens serve as watchdogs when official ones are dismissed?
Consider practical steps your Assembly might take to promote transparency in local government or organizations you’re part of. The Path calls us not just to discuss these issues but to act on them.
Mercy for the Violent
Perhaps no action has stirred more controversy than Trump’s pardon of approximately 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. This included those who violently assaulted police officers, with more than 140 officers injured during the attack. The Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union, condemned the pardons, saying they send “a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe.”
Here we face one of the most challenging aspects of Jesus’s teachings: the call to forgive. Yet Jesus also spoke powerfully about justice, about protecting the innocent, about the consequences of our actions. How do we hold these truths together?
For Your Assembly Discussion:
This topic requires special care. Some in your Assembly may have strong feelings on different sides. Begin by establishing ground rules for respectful dialogue, remembering that The Path values both truth and compassion.
Read together Jesus’s teaching about forgiveness, but also his words about causing others to stumble, about the responsibility we bear for our actions. Discuss:
- What is the difference between personal forgiveness and societal justice?
- How do we show mercy while also protecting those who protect us?
- When does mercy without accountability become enabling of future harm?
- How do we support both those who were harmed and those seeking redemption?
Share perspectives from law enforcement members in your community, if any are present. Listen to their experiences. Consider also the families of those who were pardoned, for they too are part of our human community.
The Dismantling of Aid
The attempted dismantling of USAID represents another profound moral challenge. A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration “likely violated the Constitution” when it effectively shuttered the agency that provides international aid. The judge found that billionaire Elon Musk had “firm control over DOGE” despite having no official appointment, pointing to his statement that he had “fed USAID into the wood chipper.”
Jesus spent much of his ministry among the poor, teaching that how we treat “the least of these” reflects our true character. He told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, warning about the consequences of ignoring suffering we have the power to alleviate.
For Your Assembly Discussion:
Begin by sharing a meal together, even something simple. As you eat, reflect on what it means to have enough while others go without. Then read Jesus’s feeding of the five thousand, focusing not on the miracle but on the human response to need.
Explore together:
- What obligations do wealthy nations have to those facing starvation or disaster?
- How do we balance helping those abroad with needs at home?
- When aid is cut for political reasons, how do communities of conscience respond?
- What role can Assemblies play in international compassion?
Consider adopting a specific international cause as an Assembly, perhaps supporting a school or clinic in a developing nation. Let your discussion lead to action.
A Framework for Ongoing Discussions
As your Assembly gathers week after week, current events will continue to provide opportunities for moral reflection. Here’s a framework you can use with any news event:
1. Ground in Principle: Begin by identifying which of Jesus’s teachings or Path principles relate to the situation. Read these passages together.
2. Seek Understanding: Present the facts as clearly as possible, using multiple sources. Acknowledge where there’s disagreement about facts themselves.
3. Humanize the Abstract: Find the human stories within policy debates. Who is affected? How can you make their experiences real to your Assembly?
4. Welcome Complexity: Resist the urge to make every issue simple. The Path values thoughtful consideration over quick judgment.
5. Connect to Action: Always ask: “What can we do?” Even small acts of conscience matter.
6. Practice Humility: End each discussion acknowledging what you don’t know, what you might be missing, where you need to learn more.
The Deeper Purpose
Remember, these discussions aren’t about winning political arguments or confirming what we already believe. They’re about developing moral muscles, about learning to apply timeless principles to timely challenges. They’re about building communities that can respond with both wisdom and compassion to a world in turmoil.
In Jesus’s time, people also faced corrupt leaders, unjust laws, and systems that favored the powerful over the vulnerable. His response wasn’t to withdraw from these realities but to engage them with a different kind of power: the power of truth spoken with love, of communities bound by compassion rather than fear.
As you discuss these difficult topics in your Assembly, you’re not just talking about current events. You’re practicing the kind of moral reasoning our world desperately needs. You’re building bonds that can withstand political differences. You’re creating spaces where people can grow in wisdom together.
The morning light shifts as your discussion draws to a close. You’ve wrestled with hard questions, heard different perspectives, perhaps even changed your mind about some things. This is The Path at work: not providing easy answers but equipping us to find good answers together.
Take these discussions beyond your Assembly walls. The principles you’ve explored, the compassion you’ve cultivated, the wisdom you’ve gained, these are gifts to be shared with a world hungry for moral leadership. In a time when power often serves itself rather than others, The Path calls us to model a different way.
May your Assemblies be places where current events become opportunities for growth, where today’s headlines become tomorrow’s wisdom, where a community of seekers transforms into a force for justice and compassion in the world.
The Path 
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