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.
Register now!
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 MoreIn 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
Read MoreHeat 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.
Read MoreFrom Arizona Faith Network:
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!
Read MoreDenying 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreOn April 29th, the UCC will be launching an effort to collect as many petition postcards as possible to seek government action for cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Such action could both save lives and put our nation on track to meet climate goals.
Sign-up to get updates on the Climate Hope Cards campaign and this launch event.
Read MoreIn Atlanta, faith leaders have been involved in a struggle to confront violence in multiple forms as they seek to prevent the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest for the building of a police training facility in a predominantly Black community. Through their actions for a just world, these faith leaders have additionally sought to honor Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán who was killed by the Georgia State Police while protecting the forest.
This webinar will feature faith leaders from Atlanta as they share with us about this cause of justice.
Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it. Register now!
Read MoreThe second part of the Lenten Giving Project by the members of Sun Lakes United Church of Christ, helped to support Justa Center. The church collected the following types of items from March 18th through April 1st for Justa Center: personal care items, paper goods and bottled water and other items to help in the hot Arizona weather. This picture shows the van load of items that were taken to Justa Center on April 18th by Frank and Pat Naive, members of The Mission Team. Along with the items collected, a check for $400.00 was also sent to Justa Center.
Read MoreWe stand on the shoulders of those who have struggled for justice before us and gotten us this far. It is now on us as people of faith to continue the work toward caring for creation and fulfilling a just world for all. Contact your elected leaders to see that the A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice for All Act (H.R. 1705/S. 919), named in honor of the “climate warrior” and bill champion, becomes law.
Read MoreIn the United States, some people cannot afford menstrual hygiene products such as pads, tampons, and other items that promote healthy practices. This inability to purchase hygiene products is known as period poverty, affecting over 22 million individuals. Church World Service (CWS), a UCC global partner, introduced a Period Pack (Menstrual Hygiene Kit) to help individuals living in period poverty. The kit provides several products that promote cleanliness and health during a menstrual cycle.
Delegates and guests to General Synod are invited to participate in assembling 1,000 CWS Period Packs (Menstrual Hygiene Kits) as a service project.
If you are not attending General Synod, you may participate by assembling kits at your church using these easy instructions.
Read MoreOur faith gives us rituals and voice to grieve with those who are mourning. But it also instructs us to let our prayers become actions. To not just lament but work to build a world restored. 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.
Read MoreMany churches celebrate God's creation on the Sunday closest to Earth Day (April 22nd). To support making the most of this occasion, Creation Justice Ministries has created a resource that brings the lens of justice to food, the most immediate and tangible way that we connect with the natural world around us.
Looking ahead:
On April 22nd, join the UCC's first Earth Day Summit featuring the Rev. Jim Antal and an array of uplifting panelists and presentations focused on the theme "What's Possible?: Earth Day Stories of Hope." Sign-up today for this free event!
On April 29th, the UCC will be launching an effort to collect as many petition postcards as possible to seek government action for cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Sign-up to get updates on the Climate Hope Cards campaign and this launch event.
Read MoreJoin UCC staff and advocates at Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2023, a virtual conference to worship, educate, and advocate for the innovative and courageous policies needed to realize the prophet Micah’s vision: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
The conference this year will again be virtual, and will start with worship at 10am ET on Tuesday, April 25. All worship, plenaries, and workshops will be recorded for later viewing.
Registration is $50 and scholarships are available. Register today!
Read MoreEach month we ask UCC advocates to help us unpack the complex justice issues that we’re working on. This month, the United Church of Christ will join with faith partners for the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days virtual conference. Learn about this year’s theme and what participants can look forward to in this Getting to the Root by Acting Director, Rev. Michael Neuroth.
Read JPANet’s April newsletter here.
Read MoreIn 2021, the UCC General Synod called on the church to “promote the Rights of Nature,” including the right to healthy habitats and the right of species to flourish. It recognized that as people of faith, we are stewards of the land and its inhabitants in our care. That is why we must act as faithful caretakers and call upon our leaders in Congress to reintroduce and pass the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.
Read MoreIn this month's Global H.O.P.E. news: Inclusivity in Disaster Ministries, a map of current recovery efforts, Lesli Remaly's retirement, the position opening for her replacement, and young adult leadership immersion opportunities. Plus appeals to support our neighbors in Syria/Turkey and Ukraine.
Read MoreThe Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and Christian Church, Disciples of Christ has maintained a relationship of solidarity and accompaniment with Cuban partners for more than 60 years. Now is the time to raise our voices, and speak out for the Cuban people! Contact the Administration and Congress today and urge them to take Cuba off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
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