World Refugee Day is coming up June 20th. Please join people of faith for a virtual vigil to support refugees and asylees on June 14th at 7-7:30 PM ET #WorldRefugeeDay2021 #RestoringWelcome #WelcomeWithDignity
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/wq4aK4bm7QiomrkP7
Read MoreChurch of the Palms begins providing showers at a second site, and will also bring the shower trailer to the annual Day of Freedom event celebrating Juneteenth at the Tempe Corps Salvation Army.
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The framing is well on its way and most of the utility lines are installed. MW Morrissey, general contractor on the project, continues to impress the SFB Board with their ingenuity and commitment to the project in the face of material shortages, huge price increases, and shipping delays.
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Juneteenth marks the official end of slavery in the U.S. The original legal declaration was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln which instituted Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger led thousands of federal troops to Galveston, Texas to announce that the Civil War had ended, and slaves had been freed. Register here.
Read MoreAs Tucson-area clergy committed to love, justice, and solidarity, we unite to condemn the recent anti-Semitic hate crime perpetrated against Jewish members of our community at Chabad on River. We further denounce additional incidents of anti-Semitic threats and vandalism that have sought to sow hate and fear here in Pima County in recent weeks, and call on our Christian colleagues and all people of faith and conscience to speak and act against this violent hate.
image: @chabadtucson, Twitter
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In this month's Getting to the Root, UCC Racial Justice Minister, Rev. Dr. Velda Love, speaks to the importance of loving God and your neighbor through remembering and honoring our past.
Read MorePima County Interfaith invites you to an important Civic Academy explaining the proposed Arizona Flat Income Tax and Arizona Budget, to be held June 8, 2021 from 6:00-7:30 PM. This meeting will be held via Zoom. Please register in advance.
Read MoreMy heart is full and my spirit is rejoicing after visiting our migrating neighbors at La Casa de Misericordia last Thursday. I made the trip with Cruzando Fronteras ministry partners Bishop Jennifer Reddall, Bishop Deborah Hutterer, Pastors Randy Mayer and Mateo Chavez, and Deacon David Chavez.
Read MoreThe UCC’s Justice and Local Church Ministries is among dozens of Decision Day cosponsors. So is the UCC’s Open and Affirming Coalition. They are urging people to sign up here for the rally and town hall. Those who do will be notified that morning. “The Court doesn’t announce in advance which opinions will be issued, so we won’t know Decision Day until that morning,” organizers wrote at the event’s website.
Read MoreLetecia and her young baby got off the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) bus at the Welcome Center at 10am this past Saturday, the day each week that First Church volunteers help out with all of the various tasks that are part of welcoming new asylum-seekers to Phoenix. Like so many others, she had crossed the border at Yuma after leaving everything she had behind. Everything except the baby.
Read MoreIn the spiritual alchemy of wisdom and insight, sometimes humor and empathy go hand in hand. The Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs wrote a satirical masterpiece earlier this year that provokes one to consider, "How would I feel if someone put an oil pipeline through my home?" Jacobs was inspired to write by a comically doctored photo and an accompanying headline that announced, "Anishinaabe Leaders Approve Oil Pipeline through Governor’s Mansion."
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As Arizonans and people of faith, we strongly believe in the “Green Rule” and believe it should be followed to protect one of our greatest natural and spiritual treasures: The Grand Canyon. Senator Sinema, Senator Kelly, and Representative Grijalva have all introduced versions of the Grand Canyon Protection Act. We ask that you stand with them in supporting this monumental piece of legislation.
Please sign your name, faith community, or organization to encourage our Senators to pass the Grand Canyon Protection Act today.
The Women’s Health Protection Act, soon to be introduced in the House of Representatives, is a critically needed bill that will enact protections on the federal level to safeguard access to high-quality care and to secure constitutional rights by protecting patients and providers from political or religious interference. It would bar state and federal legislation that imposes medically unnecessary regulations on access to abortion services including medication, mandatory waiting periods, or out and out abortion bans.
Read MoreTake a stand with an Indigenous-led movement of water protectors! Learn what you and your faith community can do to stop the expansion of a massive tar sands oil pipeline known as Line 3. Sign-up now for this free webinar: bit.ly/StoppingLine3
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June 27 is National Open and Affirming Sunday! Always celebrated on the fourth Sunday of June, the Coalition created ONA Sunday as an opportunity for congregations to renew their commitment to support LGBTQIA+ neighbors and their families. On June 7, we'll release an inspiring worship and music video, along with worship resources to help you build your own ONA service. Let’s celebrate the rapid growth of our movement, hold our 1,700 ONA churches and ministries in prayer, and commit to growing our movement until the UCC is not just 33%, but 100% ONA!
Read MoreToday, Church World Service is joining dozens of organizations and advocates in a renewed commitment to build a reimagined asylum system in the U.S. as part of the new Welcome with Dignity Campaign. We invite you to take action with us to transform the way the United States receives and protects people forced to flee from their homes and seek safety. Now is the time for visionary action to restore and strengthen asylum protections and policies that welcome asylum seekers and unaccompanied children.
For more information about the campaign and for more resources, visit this toolkit and this web page.
Read MoreFrom Katie Adams at the D.C. Office.
Read MoreJoin the May 26 National Summit gathering to train and empower faith communities to support equitable U.S. vaccine distribution.
Read MoreChurch of Beatitudes is currently collecting Men's and Women's clean socks to help the homeless and less fortunate. These will be given to ShoeBox Ministries on June 16th.
Read MoreThe fighting between Israel and Hamas must end immediately. Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine is supported by US diplomacy and $3.8 billion in annual funding to Israel. The US must stop being complicit in these human rights violations and condition funding on Israel’s compliance with US and international law.
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