WCC NEWS: Admir Skodo: “migration is an integral part of Christian faith and the human condition”

Admir Skodo is the new coordinator of the “Changing the Narrative” migration and media project organized by the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe, World Association for Christian Communication, and World Council of Churches. He took time to reflect on how the media landscape is changing in the representation of migrants and refugees, and how churches can be involved. Admir Skodo during his visit to the World Council of Churches headquarter. Photo: WCC 06 July 2026 How have you seen the media landscape changing over the last 10 years in the representation of migrants and refugees? Skodo: That’s a great question, because it's crucial to look at how migrants are represented in light of broader historical shifts. The far right now shapes migration policy in many European countries. It governs in Italy and the Netherlands, sustains government in Sweden, and polls at historic highs in Germany. A term like “remigration,” which was fringe in 2017, is now used by sitting ministers. The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which member states started implementing this month, has institutionalized and normalized a logic of racialized containment and deportation. Mainstream press across much of Europe is no longer a sleeping watchdog but an active site of narrative production aligned with these shifts. Moreover, today, narratives are constructed across a fragmented yet interconnected ecosystem. Far-right alternative media has a large readership. Its narratives are then amplified on platforms like Telegram, X, and TikTok. Mainstream press picks up these narratives, politicians across the political spectrum pick them up, and then the narratives feed back into mainstream media as “reality.”   What are the most urgent issues in terms of the narratives around migrants and refugees in Europe? Skodo: Ultimately, I think anti-migrant narratives are symptoms of, and deflections from, more fundamental problems, not least the erosion of European welfare states and civil rights, the absurd concentration of wealth, economic exploitation, and similar issues. Migrants are perfect scapegoats for these problems, because they usually lack the means to challenge how powerful actors instrumentalize them. To achieve a society where the rights to movement, housing, education, healthcare, and work are genuinely universal, we must fundamentally change how our societies, economies, and politics operate. I suspect migrants would be a non-issue in narratives and representations if we achieved an egalitarian society. Given all this, the most urgent issue for me is actually building concrete and engaging narratives that envision an egalitarian global society where free movement of people is normal. To do that, we can draw on several existing free movement schemes and global traditions of thought. Many of these schemes were widely considered ridiculous when conceived but became commonplace once they became reality; the Schengen zone is the obvious example in Europe. Politicians and opinion-makers in Western Europe were terrified that poor Eastern Europeans would flood into countries like Germany, France, and Sweden, take advantage of their welfare systems, and undermine their culture... sound familiar? Now, over 30 years later, can you imagine the European Union or Europe without Schengen and its expansion? Of course, Schengen isn't tied to a broadly egalitarian vision of Europe, but it shows that schemes for the mass free movement of people already exist, work, and can be used in a bigger narrative. Would you please describe the aim of the project, and outline how it will be approached? Skodo: The project contests the dominant far-right narrative about European multicultural neighbourhoods by combining three elements: a synthesis of existing research on how the contemporary media landscape constructs these neighbourhoods; fieldwork in Rosengård in Malmö, and volunteer-led story collection in San Salvario in Turin and Neukölln in Berlin to surface firsthand counter-narratives from residents themselves; and a sustained communications strategy to bring this synthesis and these voices to policymakers, opinion-makers, clergy, and community leaders. The project's purpose is to undermine the “multicultural neighbourhood is bad” narrative that justifies much restrictionist policy by lifting up the more nuanced picture residents themselves provide - challenges and opportunities, beauty and difficulty, the everyday lives of real people that categorical framings make invisible. Hopefully, the stories that emerge from this research can inform the more capacious narratives I mentioned above.  How do you think churches can be involved in impacting the media narratives? Skodo: I think that churches already have larger narratives concerning meaning, ethics, rights, dignity, and truth that could be inserted more prominently into public debates and opinion-making. Many churches have large networks and access to media venues (including social media) with large, diverse audiences. I think they can more aggressively pursue or resource campaigns across the media landscape that combat blatant falsehoods, bear witness to injustices and suffering, and, maybe most importantly, present a vision for why migration is an integral part of Christian faith and the human condition.  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

Truth and Action Roundup 7.3.2026

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. This week marked the close of the Supreme Court term with a flurry of decisions, reflecting both tension and unexpected convergence across ideological lines. Among them, many found relief in the court’s 6-3 decision in Trump v. Barbara to uphold birthright citizenship. In her concurring opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pushed back against narrow interpretations of the Constitution, illuminating the enduring power of the 14th Amendment. Quoting historian Eric Foner, she reminded us that its framers crafted “language that transcended race and region,” fundamentally expanding the meaning of freedom in this nation. This moment invites both gratitude and resolve. The 14th Amendment stands as a corrective to the moral failures embedded in the nation’s founding, a declaration that dignity and belonging are not bound by race, origin or status. Yet, even as we acknowledge this victory, we remain clear-eyed: The work of justice does not end with a single ruling. As we move closer to the midterm elections, we must stay vigilant, recognizing that new challenges to these hard-won protections will surely arise. As the nation commemorates 250 years of its founding, people of faith are called not only to reflect on the past but to imagine what is still possible. We are invited to bear witness to a vision of a country that more fully reflects the heart of God, a country that honors the humanity of all people, embraces the stranger, and chooses love over harm. Whether or not you choose to observe the Fourth of July, let this be a moment to recommit yourself to the work of justice, serving others with purpose, grace, and a hope rooted in something deeper than circumstance. –Rev. Moya Harris, Sojourners P.S. We are continuing to build an intentional community of people looking to enact their faith in our Sojourners Faith and Practice Forum on Mighty Networks. Please consider joining us. In the News The Supreme Court made several important rulings on voting rights, citizenship, and presidential authority. The court confirmed that states may count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day if they were mailed on time upholding grace-period laws in about 30 states, including rules for military and overseas voters. The court also turned down Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship. It ruled that children born in the United States to undocumented or temporary residents are citizens under the 14th Amendment. In another decision, the court gave the president more power to remove leaders of independent federal agencies. Still, it temporarily protected Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and the head of the U.S. Copyright Office from being removed by Trump, suggesting that some agencies might not be affected by this new rule. Election officials faced pressure from Congress, the Justice Department and federal law enforcement. Speaker Mike Johnson tried to link the SAVE America Act to the yearly defense bill, but the plan failed when 14 Republicans joined Democrats to block the vote. The bill, which would require national voter ID and proof of citizenship, has stalled in the Senate. A federal judge turned down the Justice Department’s request for New Hampshire’s full voter registration list, which included private information. This decision is another setback for the administration as it tries to get detailed voter data from states across the country. Two ICE agents went into a Syracuse polling place during New York’s primary to question a poll worker about a social media post that criticized an immigration officer. Voting continued as normal, but state prosecutors are now looking into the incident because of concerns about federal law enforcement at polling sites. Additionally, ICE detained more than 10,000 people over the last five days across the United States as part of a push to reach an internal goal of 2,000 arrests per day. International ceasefires remained fragile while Venezuela faced a humanitarian crisis. Israel launched new attacks on southern Lebanon just two days after signing a U.S.-brokered deal, including a large explosion in Majdal Zoun. Since March, the conflict has killed more than 4,000 people, injured over 11,000, forced more than 1 million people from their homes and destroyed thousands of buildings, making several southern villages unlivable. The United States and Iran started indirect talks in Doha after more military strikes put their fragile ceasefire at risk. They are negotiating over reopening and managing the Strait of Hormuz, but still disagree about Iran’s control of the waterway and the details of a long-term deal. In Venezuela, two strong earthquakes damaged or destroyed nearly 60,000 buildings and forced many people to leave their homes. More than 100 people who had been deported the day before the earthquake were killed when their hotel collapsed. Rescue teams keep searching through the rubble, while aid groups warn that hundreds of thousands of children need urgent help. Take Action • We’re demanding an end to the blockade against Cuba and providing resources to those in need on the island. • We invite you to join us on July 13th for Poll Chaplain training to help protect our elections in November. What We’re Reading • “As U.S. Blockade Squeezes Cuba, Christians Push Solidarity Over Sanctions”| As Cuba continues to face severe blackouts, economic crisis, and political pressure, Christians on the island and their allies in the U.S. are working to save lives and advocate for Cuban freedom. (By Ethan Meyers) • “Why These Conservative Evangelicals Rejected Christian Nationalism” | Political theorist Stephen Wolfe, along with ministers Zachary Garris and Sean McGowan, all believe the government has a role to “promote true religion.” (By Liam Adams) Deep Breaths Ancestor Langston Hughes speaks loudly this weekend. Take a moment to listen. ––Rev. Moya Harris, Senior Director of Programs Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was America to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”) Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars? I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one’s own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years. Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That’s made America the land it has become. O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home— For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore, And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came To build a “homeland of the free.” The free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we’ve dreamed And all the songs we’ve sung And all the hopes we’ve held And all the flags we’ve hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that’s almost dead today. O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME— Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose— The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives, We must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be! Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All, all the stretch of these great green states— And make America again! 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 Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842

SojoMail - Jesus, algae, and America's birthday

View this email in your browser By Betsy Shirley Editor in Chief, Sojourners Last week, I was lying silently on my mat at the end of yoga class when a B-2 bomber suddenly blasted overhead, en route downtown for one of President Trump’s “Freedom 250” celebrations. I wasn’t thrilled: A plane that can drop 60,000 pounds of nuclear weapons on our enemies celebrates a very particular kind of “freedom.” As a D.C. resident, it’s been extra-hard to ignore what Adam Russell Taylor calls the “hyper-partisan and nationalistic nature” in many of the planned celebrations for the U.S. sesquicentennial. And given that, I’ve felt a not-very-Christ-like twinge of satisfaction watching the never-ending algae saga in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool or reports of low crowds at the president’s “Great American State Fair.” But our calling as Christians isn’t to smirk as Trump’s July 4 celebrations flounder, Adam reminds us. Instead, Adam points to the work of the biblical prophets, which never ended with merely condemning evil. “If Trump’s hubris is all we see as we observe this national milestone, we’re missing the bigger story,” he writes. Elsewhere this week: While navigating severe blackouts, several Cuban Christians used their limited electricity to talk with my colleague Ethan Meyers about the crisis their country is facing—one that deserves more attention. We’re thinking about the uncertain future of a faith-supported reparations project and the next stage of solidarity with migrants now that the Supreme Court has ended Temporary Protected Status for Syrians and Haitians. And if you’re looking to escape the heat this weekend, you may want to sit in the dark and watch a show that simultaneously evokes Stephen King and the late theologian Walter Wink. Celebrating America Without Losing Our Soul (by Adam Russell Taylor) If Trump’s hubris is all we see as we observe this national milestone, we’re missing the bigger story. Read the full article Advertisement Our Latest Stories As U.S. Blockade Squeezes Cuba, Christians Push Solidarity Over Sanctions (by Ethan Meyers) In between long blackouts, Cuban Christians ask their U.S. counterparts to remember the embargo “isn’t a faraway policy.” Read more Faith Leaders Say End of TPS is a ‘Moral Failure,’ May Tear Families Apart (by Bekah McNeel) The Supreme Court declined to restrain the administration’s ending of Temporary Protected Status. Advocates fear for refugee families. Read more The Ghosts in ‘Widow’s Bay’ Reminded Me Why I Believe in God (by Abby Olcese) Apple TV's hit series is like if ‘Parks and Rec’ was written by Stephen King... with a dash of Walter Wink's theology, for good measure. Read more My Church Supported Our City’s Reparations Program. Trump Wants to End It (by Michael Woolf) The DOJ is attacking faith communities like mine who support Evanston’s reparations program. Read more Advertisements Last Chance to Order the June Special Issue Sojourners has a very limited number of June magazines (our special issue on Christian responses to America's 250th birthday) still available. The cost for 5 copies, including shipping, is $50. To place an order, please email magsubs@sojo.net and include your name, address, and phone number. Action Alert: End the Blockade Against Cuba Join us now to contact Congress and demand an end to hostilities against Cuba. In this moment, we must follow the best traditions of our faith and extend our hand to Cuba in love and charity. Demand that we start true diplomatic talks paired with natural disaster aid for the island while respecting the Cuban people’s right to determine their own government. Donate Subscribe Unsubscribe or update email preferences Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. 611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #342, Washington, DC 20003 Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842