Why Orange

Our movement is named after Orange Scott, born on February 13, 1800. Scott entered the ministry as a Methodist pastor in 1822 and seemed destined for greatness in the Methodist Episcopal denomination. Around the year 1833, he became an earnest antislavery worker, and his zeal for this cause got him into trouble with the church hierarchy. Orange Scott became convinced that “holy hearts should result in holy lives and that holy men should seek to bring an end to social evils such as slavery and intemperance.”

St. Paul after being converted to Christianity. He preached Jesus Christ and him crucified, as the great reformatory principle of the age. And I felt it my duty to call the attention of my countrymen to the wrongs and outrages suffered by the wretched slaves of our land, to which I had been so long indifferent and a stranger; that by having a torch light presented to the slumbering national mind, it would be roused to see the evil and defilement of the land, and throw off this great abomination.

We are connected to Orange Scott, through our history, our church and our faith. We have come to recognize the same sense of “duty to call the attention of [our] countrymen to the wrongs and outrages suffered by the wretched slaves of our land [and beyond].”

We are embarrassed to say we have been ignorant and silent. We have felt much like Scott, who wrote:

“For at that time I was ignorant on the question of slavery…though I am ashamed to confess it. I did not suppose that slavery existed [in my circles]. Indeed, I scarcely knew it existed at all.”

We choose, like Orange Scott before us, not to look away from the horror of human slavery around us, but to wake up, speak out, and step forward to be counted. We believe holy hearts should result in holy lives and that holy men [and women] should seek to bring an end to social evils such as slavery.

So our movement is born out of our love for Jesus Christ, in honor of God’s Word, as we seek His Truth and not our own, to work to promote healing and wholeness in a broken culture and hurting world …

The Orange Movement seeks to bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking, to be the feet of Christ in supporting the rescue of those held in slavery, and to rally the voice of “the church” to be the light for both the victims and the perpetrators of human trafficking to find the one True way to freedom.