By Daniella Garber [About the author]
I grew up in a small city nestled in the Allegheny Mountains. As a small child, I was fixated on a rock formation on the side of one of those mountains that, to me, looked exactly like Noah’s ark. I was certain that was where the ark had landed after the flood, and that it had been there so long it had disintegrated in a way that prevented any trees from growing where it had sat. Eventually, my brain caught up with my imagination, and I let go of that particular belief. To this day, however, when I visit my family in that city, I always take note of the formation. It brings me a sense of peace and comfort to see it there, unmoving and unobscured on the hill.
That is what mountains do. They never move. Driving down any road, you can always find them on the horizon, always get your bearings. Their steady visibility is a gift.
Jesus describes a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, existing faithfully in plain sight. I think that image has something to teach us about what it means to be advocates for our neighbors and for God’s creation. This work is long. We don’t always see immediate results. Our advocacy can feel invisible, and progress is not always linear. But we are called to remain steady and unhidden, a constant presence of hope.
The mountain doesn’t move. It does not hide or disappear. Neither should we.
To be a faithful advocate is to be uncompromising on what we know to be true: that every neighbor bears the image of God, that creation is sacred and worth protecting. Sometimes being a light to the world means staying on the hill, not because the view is always encouraging, but because someone in the valley is looking for us. Someone needs to find us there, steady and unhidden, the same place we were last time they looked up.
When I was a kid, that rock formation brought me wonder. Now it brings me peace. The mountain never moved, but what it meant to me changed. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. As advocates and Christians, we are called to be that city—unhidden from the world and consistent in our values and our faith.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniella Garber is the ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow placed with the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Pennsylvania. Garber graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a math major and religion minor. Her background includes internships in data analytics and policy research focused on hunger and food access, as well as interfaith community building at Bryn Mawr College, and is excited to bring these experiences together in this faith-based advocacy role.
