Action Alert - No New Nuclear Arms Race

“He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;  they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks;  nation shall not lift up sword against nation,     neither shall they learn war any more.” – Isaiah 1:17 (NRSV)

No New Nuclear Arms Race

Today the only remaining nuclear non-proliferation treaty between the United States and Russia expired leaving the world open to a new nuclear arms race. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was ratified by both nations in 2011 and capped the deployed nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia while encouraging transparency, communication, and accountability between the two nations.   Last September, Russia offered a year-long informal roll-over on the agreement to give both nations time to hash out a durable replacement to New START. The United States failed to make a formal response. The current Administration’s failure to respond allows the United States and Russia to unabatedly modernize and expand their arsenals, an escalation of nuclear brinksmanship that comes amid the rapid deterioration of trust and transparency in international relations. In response, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board moved the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds from midnight, the shortest the Clock has ever been in its history.   This failure in international diplomacy is unacceptable. We must call upon our government to pursue an extension to New START at once and to act quickly to begin talks for a renewed agreement.  For decades, the Presbyterian Church has decried the development, testing, or hoarding of nuclear weapons, holding that any concept of nuclear warfare falls outside the bounds of a faithful conception of just war doctrine. Just war criteria such as “proportionality” or “discrimination” are impossible to satisfy in the use of nuclear weapons; therefore, nuclear arms are a direct violation of the sanctity of human life.  The PC(USA) has advocated for the complete dismantling and abolition of nuclear weaponry, declaring that “nuclear war is totally unacceptable as a solution to human problems.” (195th General Assembly, 1983). Our faithful commitment to peacemaking compels us to abandon national interest and rather “seek the good of all humanity and not just of ourselves.” (192nd General Assembly, 1980) Repeatedly over the last few decades, the church has reaffirmed that we seek the good of all humanity by pursuing international treaties like New START which limit or dismantle the nuclear arsenals of the US and other major powers. The world is less safe and less secure without strong international treaties controlling nuclear arms. Likewise it is further from God’s promised Shalom. We call on you to:   Call for Congress to pass a framework for preventing a new nuclear arms race by passing H.Res. 317 and S.Res. 323. Learn more about these bills here. Call for the Administration to both accept the extension of New START and formally commit to the development of a comprehensive treaty to replace it.

No New Nuclear Arms Race

WCC News: WCC launches “Ten Commandments of Climate-Responsible Banking,” encouraging faith communities to divest from fossil fuels

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has released a new resource, Ten Commandments of Climate-Responsible Banking, calling on individuals, churches, and faith-based organizations to align their financial choices with climate justice and the wellbeing of future generations.  People of faith joined together in an interfaith invocation before the March to End Fossil Fuel in New York City on September 17, 2023. Photo: Simon Chambers/ACT 05 February 2026 The guide stresses that money entrusted to banks is often invested in industries driving the climate crisis and urges believers to use their economic influence to support a transition away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable alternatives.  “At the heart of the resource is the conviction that responsible financial decision-making is a powerful tool for protecting life and ensuring intergenerational justice,” says Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, WCC programme director for Life, Justice, and Peace. “Continued investment in fossil fuel expansion threatens children and future generations, as fossil fuels account for around 90% of carbon emissions driving the climate emergency.” Putting together these commandments, added Mtata, will help churches relate to the issues in ways familiar to their religious language. By encouraging people to examine how their savings, pensions, and insurance funds are invested, the resource frames climate-responsible banking as an ethical and practical way to safeguard creation and human dignity. Linking financial stewardship with moral responsibility, the initiative aims to inspire practical, faith-driven action to protect the planet and ensure a just and sustainable future for generations to come. The resource sets out ten concrete actions for individuals and communities seeking to reduce their financial contribution to environmental harm. These include researching how much one’s bank invests in fossil fuels and urging financial institutions to end such investments. The guide also recommends spreading awareness, exploring legal avenues to challenge banks that support fossil fuel expansion, and moving money to greener banks or values-based investment funds.  Additional actions include checking whether pension and insurance providers invest in fossil fuels and shifting to climate-responsible alternatives, steps the WCC describes as among the most impactful personal climate measures. “It is a moral duty of faith communities to protect God’s creation and act in solidarity with vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the climate emergency,” says Frederique Seidel, WCC senior programme lead for Children and Climate. “Churches have both spiritual and societal influence, enabling them to advocate for transparency, accountability, and ethical finance while responding to scientific warnings and the appeals of young people for climate solutions.” Ten Commandments of Climate-Responsible Banking Learn more about the Churches' Commitments to Children See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

EarthBeat Weekly: Christian leaders call out Chicago's toxic lead pipe problem

Christian leaders call out Chicago's toxic lead pipe problem   EarthBeat Weekly Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change February 6, 2026   Troy Hernandez, an environmental justice activist, shows a piece of lead pipe obtained from his residence during his home renovation, April 9, 2021, in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. (AP/Shafkat Anowar) No state in the country has more lead pipes in service than Illinois. That large presence of toxic infrastructure in the Land of Lincoln recently compelled a coalition of Chicago Christian leaders to call for action to swiftly address this danger to public health.  Ecumenism Metro Chicago, comprising 14 Christian denominations in the Windy City, called on federal and state lawmakers to "make every effort to replace all the lead water pipes in Illinois as quickly as possible," as I reported today at EarthBeat. The letter was issued Jan. 24 during an ecumenical prayer service at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church in Chicago as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Christian leaders, which includes the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, also urged the Trump administration to reenter the Paris Agreement on climate change, from which the president has withdrawn the country for a second time. "In the words of our late Holy Father Francis, we must see that in creation 'Everything is connected' if we are to effectively 'listen both to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,' " Auxiliary Bishop Mark Bartosic, citing Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," said in a statement. "Things go very wrong when we overlook essential points of connection between us." In Laudato Si', Francis wrote that "access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights." Drinking water is one of the main sources of lead exposure in the U.S. today, with Illinois alone estimated to have more than 1 million lead service lines, the highest in the nation, according to a 2023 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report. Lead is a heavy metal and a neurotoxin. There is no safe level of exposure to lead, which when ingested can cause serious damage for people at all ages but especially children, said Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College whose research on lead poisoning in the 1970s helped spur federal bans of lead in paint and gasoline. "The reason infants in the womb and young children are so vulnerable to lead is that their brains are still developing," Landrigan, a pediatrician and epidemiologist, told me. "Brain development is an extremely delicate, fragile process [that is] easily disrupted." While the bans of lead-based paint and gasoline have led to a 95% drop in childhood lead poisoning, the metal remains a danger through old housing where lead paint is still present, and through drinking water serviced with lead pipes. In both cases, economically poor families and minority communities in the U.S. are disproportionately at risk. That scenario is on display in Chicago. Read more: Chicago Christian leaders urge rapid replacement of state's toxic lead water pipes What else is new on EarthBeat:   At Notre Dame, student-built ice chapel draws 2,000 to snowy outdoor Mass by Brian Roewe Some 2,000 members of the Notre Dame community gathered in subfreezing temperatures to celebrate a candlelit Mass at St. Olaf Chapel, a student-constructed fleeting house of worship made from snow, ice and faith. Read more here »   Watts of Love brings solar lights to hundreds of households in Malawi by Anne Chiwala Catholic sisters in Malawi are working with local communities to spread the Watts of Love project, which distributes solar-charged lamps and trains women and men in basic finance and management skills. Read more here » What's happening in other climate news: Climate change is making the Winter Olympics harder to host —Janice Kai Chen, N. Kirkpatrick and Júlia Ledur for the Washington Post Fate of Colorado River hangs in balance as political battle brews —Joshua Partlow for the Washington Post Why companies are phasing out these super-pollutants despite Trump —Nicolás Rivero for the Washington Post Good news: We saved the bees. Bad news: We saved the wrong ones. —Dana Milbank for the Washington Post How a cockatiel named Koco inspired a conservation movement —Ruby Mellen for the Washington Post How bad is your stove for your health? Look it up. —Daniel Wolfe and Frank Hulley-Jones for the Washington Post Washington Post gutting its climate team —Sammy Roth for Climate Colored Goggles Final Beat: The opening ceremonies of the 25th Winter Olympics take place on Friday in Milan amid the majestic Italian Alps.  As you may guess, there's a climate angle to the winter edition of the world's premier exhibition of athletics excellence. The article above from the Washington Post provides an interactive look at the future of the Winter Olympics in a warming world. The compelling graphics are based on a 2024 study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee that analyzed 93 global regions on their climate reliability for hosting by 2050 and beyond.  "If global emissions and Games continue as they are, there will be just 52 locations that remain climate-reliable by the 2050s, and 46 by the 2080s," the Post article reports of the study's conclusions.  It's easy to see how rising temperatures will have an impact on winter sports. Hotter temperatures mean less precipitation falling as snow. But it's not just the quantity, as Kiley Price reports for Inside Climate News, but the quality of snow that's put in jeopardy — an important element for high-level competition where races are often decided by less than a second. The same authors of the 2024 study in the past week issued a follow-up report examining ways to make the Winter Olympics more resilient on a warming planet. One key, as both articles highlight, is not so much where to host but when.  Something to keep in mind as you watch skiers like the incredible Mikaela Shiffrin fly down the Italian mountainsides in the coming weeks. As always, thanks for reading EarthBeat.   Brian Roewe Environment Correspondent National Catholic Reporter broewe@ncronline.org     Featured Advertisers   Looking to Hire? Offering Retreats? Selling Books? Place an Ad in NCR's Online Classified Section for Only $75 per Month!   Advertisement

Truth and Action Roundup 2.5.2026

View this email in your browser Welcome to the Truth and Action Roundup, your reliable weekly source for information, inspiration, and opportunities for action during the second Trump administration.  Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to continue receiving it. As we begin Black History Month, the threats to our democracy have come into sharp focus. President Donald Trump’s efforts to disenfranchise and disempower Black cities have been further exposed by his demand to “nationalize” elections in targeted areas. These threats follow a pattern of attacks on cities with Black leadership that went largely unchallenged until politicized violence peaked on Jan. 6, 2021. In this light, we must take these tactics seriously as we approach the midterm elections. This comes on the heels of the FBI raid on Fulton County election offices, with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in tow, which appeared to be an effort to put Trump’s desires into action. These actions represent a direct attack on the legacy of the civil rights movement, led by figures such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ella Baker, who pushed this nation closer to a vision that honors the divine in each of us.  In the background was the release of 3 million records from the Epstein files, revealing a tight-knit, ongoing circle of elite collaboration with the sex trafficker. The records implicated figures across business, media and politics, highlighting the broader threat to democracy that arises when concentrated wealth operates without accountability. In discussions involving figures such as Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon, and Jeffrey Epstein, power appeared less as a public trust than as a means to shape society according to private interests.  Never has the choice before us been starker. We must build a society that values everyone and reflects the love our faith demands — or risk letting the forces of racism and concentrated wealth shape our future.  –Rev. Moya Harris and Chad Stanton, Sojourners In the News Here’s a look at what happened this week: 1. U.S. Democracy continued to be under strain on several fronts: Four Black people, two of whom are journalists, were arrested last week after they were present at an anti-ICE protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier in January. One of the journalists arrested is former CNN anchor Don Lemon. Anti-ICE protestors in Minneapolis, in addition to facing violent repression, are also facing more subtle forms. ICE observers and critics “report being audited, pulled over, called by name, or followed home by agents,” according to The Marshall Project. The FBI raid on a Georgia election office last week continues to generate new and worrisome developments. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s presence at the raid and a phone call to her and agents from President Trump heightened concerns that the raid was politically motivated. Donald Trump suggested in an interview this week that Republicans should “take over” the voting process in 15 states ahead of the 2026 midterms. He also said that “the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” For his part, Senate Majority Leader John Thune rejected Trump’s suggestions. A new federal lawsuit from a group of noncitizen doctors and researchers accuses Donald Trump of creating an illegal “fast lane” with his $1 million “gold card” program that excludes qualified immigrants. The lawsuit alleges that the Gold Card program “prioritizes wealth over intellect or ability” and converts visas into an illegal revenue-generating scheme. 2. The Trump administration’s cruel deportation regime continued both to inflict suffering and to encounter resistance. On Wednesday, border czar Tom Homan announced that the Trump administration will withdraw 700 federal immigration and border patrol agents from Minnesota, effective immediately. About 2,000 federal agents will remain, and Governor Tim Walz called for a “faster and larger drawdown.” Mayors from across the country at a recent gathering in Washington, D.C., described the continued presence of ICE in their cities as “an escalating situation among municipalities, their residents, and the Trump administration.” Edina, Minnesota mayor Jim Hovland said of ICE, “We were told the actions would be precise. They were not.” Most Americans agree—62% think that ICE has gone “too far,” according to a new poll. 5-year-old boy Liam Ramos and his father were released from a detention center in Dilley, Texas and have returned home to Minneapolis. The judge who ordered their release condemned their detention as driven by a “perfidious lust for unbridled power.” Shortly after Liam was released from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the detention facility reported a measles outbreak, with two known active cases. Detainees at Dilley include hundreds of children and even infants. Rep. Joaquin Castro, who visited Liam and his father while they were held in Dilley has called for the facility to be shut down. A federal judge has prevented the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for 300,000 people from Haiti. The order pauses the termination of TPS “pending judicial review,” which means the Trump administration cannot end TPS until the court case is resolved. The Trump administration vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court. 3. It was another busy week in international news: President Trump claimed Monday that Mexico will stop sending oil to Cuba, as he ramped up a pressure campaign on the Caribbean nation’s government. The Trump administration has threatened tariffs on any nation that sends oil to Cuba. Thousands marched in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, to demand the release of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, one month after their capture by US military forces. Talks between Iran and the US were set to take place today in Oman, with the two sides struggling to find common ground in the lead-up to the meeting. Meanwhile, the buildup of U.S. military forces in the region continues. Palestinian women returning to Gaza through the Rafah crossing describe detention, interrogations, confiscation of belongings, and humiliating treatment at the hands of Israeli forces. Russia warned it could take military action if the United States proceeds with its Golden Dome missile-defense deployment in Greenland. Gunmen believed to be religious extremists murdered more than 160 people in western Nigeria on Tuesday. The victims are believed to be Muslims who were targeted for refusing extremist ideology. Take Action The Center on Faith and Justice, Sojourners, Interfaith Alliance, the Horizons Project, Faith in Action, and Political Research Associates will be hosting an in-person Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance Training of Trainers Workshop on March 4-5, in Phoenix, AZ. You can register here. We’re continuing to call for ICE and Border Patrol to be out of Minneapolis. We’re including an ICE map which tracks detention actions, and attempted warehouse purchases in real time for organizers. What We’re Reading “This Nation’s Violence Is No Longer Private” | “Violence that was once concealed and contained to spaces where the most marginalized live is now happening out in the open, and that change requires a fundamental reconfiguration of the logic of abuse.” (by Vincent Lloyd) “The Chaplain Helping the Timberwolves Stand in Solidarity with Minnesota”| “I'd never been introduced to any kind of liberation theology. When I started to see Jesus on a bigger, more beautiful and robust scale than what I had been previously introduced to, I felt like, ‘Yeah, this has weight,’” (by Mitchell Atencio) Deep Breaths Dance Your Way Out of Your Constrictions When was the last time you danced? I mean, really danced—until you broke a sweat. When I was in college, I marked time by the parties I planned to attend. I was a nursing student, which meant long hours making care plans, studying for exams, and preparing for clinicals. I needed an outlet for the stress. I found it on the dance floor. I went to college during the golden age of hip hop. What we now call “old school” was new and alive. We didn’t just stand around at parties—we danced. We danced so hard the windows fogged up with condensation. We danced hard. Dancing was how we expressed ourselves, how we met someone cute, and how we relaxed after long weeks of classes. Sometimes we learned routines by watching music videos, hoping to debut our steps at the next party. We didn’t have the internet, cell phones, or social media. We had to make our own fun. I miss those dance parties. I miss the freedom of swaying to the music in community, rapping lyrics in a circle with friends. I miss those moments when everything felt alright, even if only for a few hours. I find myself longing for those moments now. During the pandemic, DJs went live on social media, spinning music for hours to lift the weight of the moment. I found refuge there. I found community in the chat while dancing around my apartment. As the world reopened, those virtual dance parties faded away. It might be time to bring them back. Things are pretty disturbing right now. We need healthy ways to offload stress and to embody joy. Dancing is one way to do that. Just turn the music on and dance. Dance your way out of your constrictions. I hope you’ll join me. To help you get started, I’m sharing the very first playlist I shared in this newsletter, back in November 2024. And in the words of the prophet George Clinton, find some time to get down—just for the funk of it. ––Rev. Moya Harris, Sojourners The Truth and Action Roundup is compiled by Sojourners staff: President: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor Senior Research Associate: J.K. Granberg-Michaelson Digital Content and Community Specialist: Kassandra Tapia Chief Program and Impact Officer: Bryan Epps Political Director: Chad V. Stanton Senior Program Director: Rev. Moya Harris Digital Education and Outreach Specialist: Cortnie Brooks Policy and Action Assistant: Trinity Williams Senior Director of Marketing: Sandra Sims Donate Subscribe Unsubscribe or update email preferences Copyright © 2025 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842