Whether you're a seasoned advocate or just beginning to explore how you can make a difference, your voice is essential. Let's come together to ensure our churches are places of love and acceptance for all. Register.
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Faith In Action
The Decentering Whiteness Taskforce Corner: August
Our SWC Decentering Whiteness Taskforce shares their August article, written by Rev. Clara Sims, about resources to learn about The 1619 Project.
"In the ever present prophetic urgency of truth-telling about the origins and legacies we have inherited, we invite you to spend some time in August with any part of this work and trust that you will be inspired by the liberative vision of freedom and dignity for all people that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) resistance and resilience have kept alive."
Read MoreA Prophetic Call for Justice and Peace in Palestine
This letter was sent out by the United Church of Christ yesterday in support for an end to genocide in Palest1ne.
Read MoreDefending the Sacred—An Apache Holy Site under Threat
For the Apache and other Indigenous peoples, Oak Flat is a sacred site akin to Mount Sinai. It is currently under threat of being mined for copper by Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of the multinational mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP. A legal effort to block the transfer of public land for the project was denied by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is now being appealed to the Supreme Court.
The speakers will be Dr. Wendsler Nosie, leader of Apache Stronghold, Sarah Augustine, Executive Director of the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, and Rev. Carol Rose, co-pastor of Shalom Mennonite Fellowship in Tucson, AZ. Apache Stronghold's legal case, seeking to prevent the transfer of sacred land at Oak Flat from the Tonto National Forest to Resolution Copper Company (a subsidiary of multinational mining corporations Rio Tinto and BHP), is being appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Resolution Copper is planning to dig a copper mine that would destroy Oak Flat forever, violating Apache religious freedom. The mine would also require 250 billion gallons of water in drought-stricken Arizona, and create 1.4 billion tons of toxic mine tailings.
Join us to hear from those who have been engaged in the struggle to defend Oak Flat as it enters this crucial stage. Even if you cannot make it at its scheduled time on Wednesday, August 14th at Wednesday, August 14 at 10:00am Arizona/Pacific Time, 11am Mountain Time, still sign-up, and we will send you a recording. Register now!
Read MoreWatch Fire Continues to Burn at San Carlos Apache Reservation--Help Them If you Can!
Our friends at the Apache Nation, San Carlos Reservation, need our help. Please help if you are able.
The Watch Fire has seriously damaged homes, property and the environment on the reservation. The AZcentral link to most recent report is HERE.
To assist with donations, please contact the San Carlos Apache Tribe Emergency Response Commission at 928-475-2008.
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Become a Poll Chaplain or Poll Worker for the 2024 Election
As part of the UCC’s Our Faith Our Vote campaign, UCC members are encouraged to consider becoming a trained Poll Chaplain for the 2024 election. This training is offered through the Faiths United to Save Democracy (FUSD) campaign, of which the UCC is a sponsor. These multifaith, multi-racial poll chaplains (ordained and lay leaders) will help promote the peace and provide a calming and moral presence at vulnerable polling places. Register now for one of the trainings that begin in July. You can also get more information about registering to be a poll worker here.
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People Who Use Drugs Are Beloved by God
We need more than overdose prevention. People who use drugs deserve access to care and justice long before an overdose event. There are loads of resources linked in this article.
Read MoreIntroduction to the Decentering Whiteness Taskforce
Many of you were first introduced to the Decentering Whiteness Taskforce during our Annual Meeting. The Decentering Whiteness Taskforce hosted the panel discussion “Decentering Whiteness 101.” We were thrilled with the amount of interest that we received after the panel discussion AND we learned that many folks were confused about who and what we are. Read this article by Rev. Rhonda Newby-Torres (chair) to learn more.
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Join the National Virtual Rally on Monday June 17
From Bishop William J. Barber, II, DMin and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis:
In less than a month, thousands of impacted people, poor & low wage workers, and allies will join us in the nation’s capital for the June 29th “Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly & Moral March on Washington D.C. & to the Polls” to demand that those running for elected office this year embrace a moral public policy agenda.
This Monday, June 17, please join us for a National Virtual Rally from anywhere in the United States by watching a livestream we will be posting on our website.
During the National Virtual Rally, we’ll be taking a moment to celebrate the powerful work of hundreds of impacted people and organizers who’ve helped build this movement and who are making the upcoming assembly in Washington DC a reality.
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Our Faith Our Vote
The United Church of Christ’s Our Faith Our Vote Campaign is our ongoing commitment to equip you with the tools for nonpartisan faithful engagement in our democratic process. The campaign is made up of three main components; voter registration, issue education, and voter empowerment. The 2024 Our Faith Our Vote campaign asks the church to answer the call of 1 John 3:18 to “let us not love with words or speech, but in action and in truth,” by “voting with love.” Vote with love for creation, for our neighbors both here and abroad, for a just peace, for repair and reconciliation of the brokenness of our nation. And encourage your family, friends, and community to do the same. The 2024 election season is well underway, so please check this page for updates to learn how you can “vote with love” this year.
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Climate Action Assembly on June 26th
The next UCC Climate Action Assembly will feature Cora Wynet, who is the Senior Director of Research at Rewiring America, the nation's leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our homes and communities. She will help us further the UCC's commitment to electrifying our churches and the homes of our members.
Every two months the UCC Council for Climate Justice hosts a Climate Action Assembly to further collective efforts on three endeavors launched this year: the Freedom from Plastics Campaign, the Electrification Checklist Initiative, and the Vote for Climate Hope Campaign. Each of these programs is rooted in recent General Synod resolutions. Climate Action Assemblies are open to all members of the UCC. Register to join us!
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Healing as Freedom, Freedom as Healing: Lineages of Emancipation toward Wholeness
Juneteenth 2024 - Racial Justice Ministries and Join the Movement invite you to be on a journey of engagement during the week of June 17th by remembering and discovering the healing practices that sustained freedom in the bones of our ancestors, before and after emancipation. Through music and prayer, poetry and art, reflection, and ritual, may we find a medicine bundle, a libation, a Brush Harbor and a clearing, a poultice that teaches us the sound of freedom, echoing from legacies of healing and singing futures of wholeness.
Click here to learn more, and here to register for a webinar on June 20th.
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UCC Women's and Gender Justice Ministries Launches Menstrual Justice Toolkit
UCC Women's and Gender Justice Ministries Launches Menstrual Justice Toolkit
Riding on the enthusiasm stirred up at General Synod in 2023, National Ministries Women's and Gender Justice has released a new toolkit to help congregations host their own period pack events to assemble menstrual hygiene kits for our partner Church World Service. Learn more by visiting the Encounters at the Well page.
Read MoreFill the JAR is live!
The new UCC Economic Justice Ministries’ landing page is now live – www.ucc.org/fillthejar! We are called to “Fill the JAR” of God’s economic justice. Going forward, this site and phrase will be the central hub and framework for equipping churches and people with opportunities and resources for measurably manifesting economic justice. “JAR” is an acronym for Jubilee, Abundance, and Reparations – the three overlapping fountains our Still-Speaking God pours out for collective thriving. In the coming weeks and months, “Fill the JAR” content will expand broadly. Visit and bookmark this page to learn more!
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Loving Out Loud
The United Church of Christ gathered this past weekend to celebrate the start of Pride month as part of the Love is Louder campaign, with 16 Ohio UCC churches participating and walking in the Pride parade on Saturday, chanting “Love is louder.” …This election year has triggered higher amounts of harmful anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, so we must continue to believe in the work of honoring our bodies with soft space and mirroring our kin-ship to one another. Read More and keep an eye out for updates to the Our Faith Our Vote page.
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Vote for Climate Hope Campaign Kick-Off!
On June 18th, the UCC will launch its second Climate Hope card collection campaign that will build upon the success of the more than 8,000 postcards we delivered to the senior officials of the EPA last year. This year the art of 12-year-old Charlotte from Glenside, Pennsylvania will be on the cover of our Vote for Climate Hope Pledge Cards. Between now and November 1st, UCC churches from across the country will be collecting the pledges of those committed to voting their values in November. We know people are more likely to vote when (a) it is connected to a cause they care about, (b) they make a commitment to others vote, and (c) they get a reminder to vote near the time of the election.
Learn more at our online kickoff event on June 18th at 3 pm ET!
Read MoreBad Faith Watch Party
Are you in the Phoenix area? Come watch this film!
Bad Faith Watch Party
Friday June 7th 7:00-9:30 PM
First Church UCC, 1407 N 2nd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
The Arizona Poor People’s Campaign and First Church UCC, Foothills Christian Church, and the Arizona Faith Network are cohosting a film screening in collaboration with the Repairers of the Breach and the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. We invite you to attend this special screening of the new movie, "BAD FAITH - Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy."
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Politics, Polarization, and Prophetic Ministry
As the attention of the world focuses on the 2024 elections, what will be the role of churches that embody the prophetic tradition of the Christian faith? What will preachers say from the pulpit? How will justice-centered ministries be called to act? These can be difficult questions to answer in the context of church cultures in which there is a fear of political conflict and polarization.
In this webinar, we will address these critical issues and questions with the help of our featured panelists. Dr. Obery Hendricks has authored both "The Politics of Jesus" and "Christians against Christianity," while the Rev. Dr. Leah Schade has authored both “Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide" and “Creation-Crisis Preaching.”
Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time on June 12th at 10 am AZ / 11 am NM&EP, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it. Register now!
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Packing Heat Relief Bags: An Interfaith Community Service Event
Sunday, June 23, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
First Church UCC Phoenix
1407 N 2nd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Join AFN 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.
Purchase heat relief items listed on the RSVP form linked below and bring them to our packing night.
RSVP FORM (includes additional details)
Not in the Phoenix area? You can donate funds for AFN to purchase items
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Creating a Culture of Repair and the 2024 Election
Join this webinar on Thursday April 18 at 11 am AZ time / 12 pm NM & EP time.
The reparatory justice movement is gaining momentum in communities across the country. During this election year, it is vital that impassioned activists inject the need to create a culture repair into the ongoing political debates defining elections at the local, state, and federal levels. To help us with practical ways we can do this, we will be joined by Rev. Robert Turner, author of the new book Creating a Culture of Repair: Taking Action on the Road to Reparations. In his book, Rev. Turner provides an accessible guide for individuals and groups wanting to influence significant institutional action while also acting on their own to repair the effects of racial injustice in our communities, churches, and spheres of influence.
Following our conversation with Rev. Turner, we will provide essential points to emphasize at candidate town halls, rallies, community forums, and other campaign events in your community. Register here.