The Hawaii Conference of the UCC is sharing ways you can learn more about the situation in Maui and how you can be of help:
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Faith In Action
Prayers for Maui and Hawai'i Islands Wildfire Relief and Donations
“In these times we want to be of help and assistance to our 'ohana in distress. Offerings and collections taken through your local church can be sent to the Conference Office where we will work to distribute the funds to devastated areas and those in need. Individuals may also donate directly through our Conference 2023 Wildfires Relief Fund.”
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JPANet: August Recess
From the Rev. Michael Neuroth, Director of the UCC Washington D.C. Office:
Recess was often the favorite part of my school day growing up. It was a break in the day - a time to relax, play kickball, connect with friends, and prepare for what was to come. Here on Capitol Hill, "recess" has a different connotation. “August Recess” is the time in which members of Congress head back to their states and districts to engage constituents in town hall meetings, state fairs, and other community events. It is a key time to engage with your members of Congress locally. For us in the UCC Washington D.C. office, August Recess also provides space to reflect on the past few months and plan for the work ahead.
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DATE CHANGE! - Reparations in Action: Webinar on How Your Faith Community Can Engage
Learn more about how reparatory justice is becoming manifest in Lansing along with ways your community can engage the reparatory justice process too!
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Heat relief centers are saving lives!
In partnership with the Heat Relief Network, our faith-based organizations, and other partners, Arizona Faith Network has launched an initiative to help establish and operate faith-based hydration, cooling, and heat relief respite centers throughout the valley. Due to the record-setting extreme temperatures, these centers have been very busy and are providing life-saving services, especially to the Valley's unhoused population. Below are links to just a few of many news stories, and we thank the media for helping to spread the word about the availability of these impactful and important services.
NBC: Heat wave scorches millions as relief efforts strive to keep up
KTAR: Tempe gets funding from Maricopa County to operate indoor cooling center
DONATE NOW TO SUPPORT THE INITIATIVE!
UCC Webinar—UCC Trailblazer, the EPA, and New Grant Programs
Charles Lee, the lead author of the UCC’s landmark report on toxic waste and race as well as the lead organizer of the historic First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, will be one of two featured speakers on environmental justice at the EPA. Lee is now the Senior Policy Advisor for Environmental Justice at the EPA. He will be joined by Jacob Burney who directs the Environmental Justice Grants Division at the EPA.
In the past year, the EPA has been in the news due to significant institutional changes that have prioritized funding and staffing for environmental justice.
Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time on August 9th at 2 pm ET, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.
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Climate and Energy Resources for Faith Communities: A Briefing with the U.S. Department of Energy
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created the largest climate and clean energy investment America has ever made. These bills provide federal funding for energy and climate resiliency improvements that can be used in houses of worship and our individual homes.
Join us for a briefing on July 18th with the U.S. Department of Energy to learn more about direct pay, the tax credits, the programs, and the role faith communities can play in helping our country address the climate crisis and ensure that all communities are supported.
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JPANet: July Newsletter
Read the full newsletter here.
Highlights in this issue:
The ADA and The Church....It’s Complicated!
Building up a New World
How Many Postcards Can Your Congregation Collect?
Resources Available from Reproductive Justice Town Hall at Synod
AFN heat relief bag packing event drew over 100 volunteers
Over 1,500 bags filled with a wide variety of health-oriented supplies were assembled for handing out by community members and at cooling and respite centers. AFN thanks everyone who participated and supported the event through donations of supplies and funds.
The AZFamily interview with AFN Executive Director Rev. Katie Sexton-Wood covers a little more about the Heat Relief Initiative.
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Defend the rights of our transgender siblings
As our UCC General Synod has affirmed, transgender and nonbinary people are beloved by God. We are called not just to affirm and stand in solidarity with our trans siblings, but to actively work toward equitable access to the full sphere of public life for trans folks.
We as people of faith either work to combat this wave of hate, or are complicit in its perpetuation. We have a call to uphold the dignity and value of each person, knowing all of us bear the Imago Dei.
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JPANet: One year after Dobbs, the fight for reproductive justice continues
We must remain committed to preserving and protecting access to the full range of reproductive health care – including legal abortion – as an imperative rooted in our deeply-held faith beliefs in social justice, moral agency, and religious liberty for all. Please contact your elected leaders to ask them to introduce and support legislation protecting an individual’s right to access abortion and the full range of reproductive healthcare access.
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UCC Webinar— Seeing through the Smoke: Wildfires, Climate, and a Path Forward
How can we find a path forward in addressing the wildfires that have created a landscape of crisis in our climate changed world? This webinar will feature leading thinkers and practitioners in answering this question.
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JPANet: Take Action this Gun Violence Awareness Month
Our faith compels is to declare that a culture of violence and death is not inevitable. We are not powerless in making these changes; we can take steps to end gun violence. Tell your elected leaders to summon the moral courage and take immediate action.
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JPANet: End the Torture of Solitary
We must call on Congress to end the use of torture in the form of solitary confinement in our federal prisons and jails. As people of faith who follow Christ that proclaimed release to the captive, let us act as Christ’s body to proclaim the release of those tortured in our name to create a truly just system of restoration, not retribution.
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UCC Webinar—Seizing an Opportunity: Strengthening EPA Protections in 2023
The coming months at the EPA present a significant opportunity to save thousands of lives, address societal inequalities, and put the United States on a path to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035. The next Creation Justice Webinar will discuss this opportunity and how communities of faith can make the most of it. Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time on June 14th at 1 pm ET, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.
PS: This webinar provides helpful background for churches that are engaged in the the UCC's Climate Hope Cards campaign. Churches from across the country are gathering signed petition postcards to deliver to the EPA. Download cards, get a toolkit, and register your congregation to get updates.
Read MoreJPANet: June Newsletter
In this month’s newsletter:
A Moral Call to End Solitary Confinement, Torture in Our Name
Reproductive Justice Working Group of the UCC
Be an Advocate for the Right to Read
How Many Postcards Can Your Congregation Collect?
Train to be a UCC Climate Ambassador
June 20 is World Refugee Day
UCC Webinar—Seizing an Opportunity: Strengthening EPA Protections in 2023
Faith for Pride!
Immigrant Welcoming Congregations Toolkit
A Catholic and Reformed Understanding of Justice
Justice Resources
Packing Heat Relief Bags: An Interfaith Community Service Event
Heat Relief Bags
Interfaith Service Event
Central United Methodist Church
1875 N Central Ave, Phoenix AZ 85004
Join Arizona Faith Network for an afternoon of community service. Together we will pack heat relief bags for community members and cooling centers to hand out to those in need of heat relief.
Call for permanent protection of the Grand Canyon
Join Tribal and Faith Leaders across Arizona to call for permanent protection of the Grand Canyon by asking President Biden to create Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument by signing this letter today!
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Feed All Who Hunger: Repeal Drug Felony Ban on SNAP
Denying access to a vital program like SNAP because of past or current involvement with the drug trade does not promote public safety or deter crime. Rather, it adds another cruel and needless barrier to successful re-entry and rebuilding of lives. As people of faith seeking to love mercy and do justice, we must lift our collective voices and tell our leaders that hunger should not be a reality for anyone. Urge your elected leaders to support the RESTORE Act.
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Support Palestinian Refugees
The total number of Palestinian refugees is over 7 million. Many of these refugees still live in overcrowded semi-permanent refugee “camps” in the Middle East with no clear future, despite UN resolutions affirming their rights to return to their homes and compensation for their losses.
To help meet the needs of Palestinian refugees, Congress should support UNRWA robustly – at least at pre-2016 levels ($390 million) – and to ensure the continuation of that funding for 2023 and beyond.
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