SojoMail - There’s no church without women

View this email in your browser By Betsy Shirley Editor in Chief, Sojourners Drumroll, please: I'm delighted to bring you our annual list of Christian women shaping the church. Some of these women lead at podiums, pulpits, and other spaces that have historically been closed to women. Others totally redefine what leadership means as they shape the church by illustrating, organizing, growing things, or working behind the scenes. I celebrate the way these women are disrupting the long arc of Christian patriarchy—and hope we dare to be the kind of church their prayers and blessings for 2026 call us to be. Reimagining faith and justice leadership feels especially timely as we continue to process the devastating abuse allegations against late organizer César Chávez. As Kat Armas wrote this week, what if the people we consider to be the foundation of our movements look less like the people standing at podiums and more like your grandma? Elsewhere this week, we’re following the dark humor of Taylor Tomlinson’s new comedy special that’s surprisingly healing for anyone with church kid baggage. Plus, here’s the thing we wish more Christians would say about the U.S. war with Iran and a possibly unpopular idea about the church’s role in helping ICE agents who want out. 10 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2026 (by Evana Upshaw) Their leadership is inspiring. The faith and justice movement would not exist without them. Read the full article Advertisement Our Latest Stories There Is No Biblical Justification For This War (by Michael Woolf) The Trump administration is begging Americans to accept its convoluted moral logic for war. Christians must say no to brutality and violence. Read more When Leaders Like César Chávez Fall, Abuelitas Remain (by Kat Armas) From King David to the disgraced UFW co-founder, patriarchy has protected power and obscured harm. But there is another way. Read more Taylor Tomlinson Turns Purity Culture Baggage Into Comedy (Emma Cieslik) In Prodigal Daughter, comedy becomes catharsis as Tomlinson unpacks faith, shame, and late-blooming queer life. Read more Some ICE Agents Want Out. Christians Can Help Them (by Colin Martinez Longmore) Protesters have chanted “Save your soul and quit your job” at ICE agents. Christians can help make that a reality. Read more Advertisements Progressive congregation seeks full-time Pastor of Children & Student Ministries Are you a progressive Christian with a heart for justice who feels called to student ministry? Brentwood Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Springfield, MO, seeks a Pastor of Children & Student Ministries. This role cultivates faith formation and discipleship from a progressive Christian perspective within an inclusive community of faith. Action Alert: No War With Iran! Contact Congress now to demand peace and an end to the war with Iran. As Christians we know that each and every life is precious and every step must be taken to avoid bloodshed. Instead of recklessly pursuing a policy of escalation, we demand an end to violence and vigorous oversight from Congress in pursuit of peace. Donate Subscribe Unsubscribe or update email preferences Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842

Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations

 

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations March 2026 Welcome, New Readers Atwood Institute 2026 Registration is Open! Coming to the Heartland Sept. 15-18 Come learn with other congregations how to build and sustain a gun violence prevention ministry in your faith community. The 3rd Annual James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage will be Sept. 15-18, 2026 near at the Heartland Center near Kansas City, MO Space is limited. Learn more and reserve your space today. Scholarships are available. Click HERE to learn more. Keynote Speaker Jer Swigart, coauthor of Mending the Divides, will challenge us to deepen our theological calling for gun violence prevention. As you build relationships with other faith activists from across the nation, expect to learn practical, pastoral and prophetic skills for guiding your congregation in the task of saving lives and healing the trauma and fear brought by 38,000 lives stolen by gun violence last year. Gun Violence Prevention is a No Kings issue. The Trump administration has now dismantled life-saving research, programs and funding from the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was the first gun safety action by Congress in over a generation. Learn about No Kings rallies this Saturday March 28. Click HERE. SPRING TRAINING! Guns to Gardens Spring Action Circles April 16 - May 21 Sign up now to learn with other congregations how to offer a Guns to Gardens Safe Disposal Event for unwanted guns in your community. Learn how congregations are taking this responsible action to reduce the number of unwanted guns to be found by children, youth, or others; used in a crisis; resold or stolen to be returned to the gun market. Each Thursday on Zoom for 6 weeks for 1 hour, plus 1 hour of preparation. Register for Noon ET Daytime Circle HERE. 11amCT, 10MT, 9PT Register for 7:30 pm ET Evening Circle HERE. 6:30pmCT, 5:30MT, 4:30PT NEW! Training for Firearm Safety Officers for Guns to Gardens Our Guns to Gardens partner RAW Tools now offers training and certification for Firearm Safety Officers (FSO), which is a role required for each Guns to Gardens event. Some of the training is online and some is in person. Learn more by contacting Stan Wilson at Stan@rawtools.org  New Action Circles for Protecting Children from Gun Violence: Imagining a New World Wednesdays on Zoom Noon ET, 11 CT, 10 MT, 9 PT Bring a bag lunch or brunch! Spring: April 15- May 13 Register HERE. This five session series on Zoom will guide you and your congregation in finding your action for protecting children from gun violence. Created by educational and pastoral leaders in the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, this faith-based program covers in one hour a key topic each week: • Children in the Crossfire: Why is gun violence the top killer of our children? • Saving Child Lives with Secure Gun Storage • Seeing Our Children: The mental and spiritual health of children in the crossfire • Direct Action Options for Real Safety for Children • Advocacy, Voting and Finding Next Steps for Your Congregation "At the first session when we learned about the causes of gun violence against children, I was so discouraged. By the final session, I was incredibly hopeful about all the practical things that we can do to protect children from gun violence." --Participant in the Winter Action Circle T-Shirts Guns to Gardens T-shirts and sweatshirts with the Guns to Gardens logo on the front and Isaiah 2:4 on the back. Order for your church volunteers for gun violence prevention events or as a gift. Order HERE Thank you to all who have given financially to support gun violence prevention. To do this work, we need gifts of all amounts. We welcome support from churches, individuals, and regional/national church bodies, as well as other groups. Gifts are tax-deductible.  Give HERE or Mail checks to: "Presbyterian Peace Fellowship" att: Gun Violence Prevention 17 Cricketown Rd. Stony Point, NY 10980 Thank you. GIVE HERE! presbypeacefellowship.org/gun-violence-prevention  Rev. Margery Rossi, Minister for Gun Violence Prevention margery@presbypeacefellowship.org Rev. Jan Orr-Harter, Editor & Moderator, Gun Violence Prevention Working Group gvp@presbypeacefellowship.org Presbyterian Peace Fellowship 845-786-6743 | presbypeacefellowship.org Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | 17 Cricketown Road | Stony Point, NY 10980 US

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship - Statement on U.S. Policy Toward Cuba

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Statement on the United States and Cuba    The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship calls on the Presbyterian Church (USA), its councils, congregations and members, to condemn any action the United States may take relative to the conquest, appropriation, or change of government in Cuba.  The witness of scripture invites us to dream of and work toward a day when swords and spears will be turned into plowshares and pruning hooks; nations will neither make nor study war, and as a result God’s children everywhere “will sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees and none shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:1-4). Guided by these words of joyful hope, we acknowledge that the call to lay down weapons surely must apply to the United States and that the right of people to dwell securely and without fear must apply to the people of Cuba.  The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), in the Confession of 1967, directs that “the Church, in its own life, is called to practice the forgiveness of enemies and to commend to the nations as practical politics the search for cooperation and peace.” (Book of Confessions 9.45). Faithful to this calling, the Presbyterian Church (USA), together with its councils, congregations and members, must affirm that no conquest, appropriation, or forced regime change in Cuba is consistent with our confessional standards.  The historical antagonism of the United States toward Cuba is a relic of the Cold War. In the decades following the Second World War, the United States’ policies toward Cuba betrayed the Gospel’s call to live peacefully with our neighbors; more than 35 years since the end of the Cold War, American aggression toward Cuba is entirely devoid of justifications, to say nothing of moral validity.  The claims of scripture, the witness of our confessions, and the historical record all call us to denounce as evil any attempts by the United States to violate Cuba’s sovereignty through military conquest, economic strangulation, or political pressure.  Longing for the peace of God’s Kingdom, may the Presbyterian Church (USA) join our prayers with those of the Cuban Presbyterian poet Adriana Guerrero Enríque, who asks of God, En la espera de cada amanecer, en el andar de la oscuridad de los días, reconstruye y renueva el futuro. (In the waiting for each sunrise In the stumbling though gloomy days,  Remake and renew the future.)  (From the poem Oración de Mañana, published on the Facebook page of Iglesia Presbyteriana-Reformada en Cuba, March 19, 2026)  Amen Graphic Info: "No War On" Iran Roger Peet https://justseeds.org/graphic/no-war-on-iran-2/

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | 17 Cricketown Road | Stony Point, NY 10980 US