WCC news: After pastoral visit to Cuba, delegation expresses compassionate care

After a four-day solidarity and pastoral visit to Cuba, an international ecumenical delegation, in a statement, expressed the support and compassionate care, particularly regarding the grave humanitarian and human rights impacts of the unilateral economic embargo imposed on Cuba by the US for more than six and a half decades.  From left: Rev. Philip Vinod Peacock, general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches; Rev. Jihyun Oh, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and executive director of Presbyterian Life & Witness; Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins, director of advocacy in the Presbyterian Church (USA); Rev. Dr. Reynaldo Ferreira Leao Neto, general secretary of the World Methodist Council; Rt Rev. Anthony Poggo, secretary-general of The Anglican Communion; Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches; Rev. Joel Ortega Dopico, president of the Cuban Council of Churches. Photo: Panchito González/Prensa Latina 2 March 2026 “The most vulnerable people include 5 million people living with chronic illnesses whose treatments are at risk of disruption and 1 million people who rely on tanker trucks for drinking water,” reads the statement. "The delegation sought to convey the solidarity of the global ecumenical fellowship with the churches and people of Cuba suffering these impacts.” The programme of the visit included meetings with church leaders, the Cuban Council of Churches, government officials, and local communities.  “Discussions focused on the humanitarian situation, the role of churches in accompanying vulnerable communities, and the need for policies that prioritize human dignity,” reads the statement. “Throughout the visit, delegation members witnessed and heard painful testimonies of the suffering of the Cuban people in this situation.” Added to the economic and humanitarian challenges, the Cuban people live under the threat of possible US military invasion. “At the conclusion of this visit, discussions with the Cuban Council of Churches have begun on the possibility of convening an international ecumenical forum, to strengthen solidarity among churches of the world with the Cuban churches and people, and to raise awareness on the international stage of the cruelty and injustice of the indiscriminate collective punishment inflicted on them,” reads the statement. Read the full statement Photo gallery International ecumenical delegation concludes visit to Cuba (WCC news release, 1 April 2026) Ecumenical delegation meets Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (WCC news release, 1 April 2026) “Cuba offers a prophetic witness to the global church,” says WCC general secretary (WCC news release, 30 March 2026) Ecumenical delegation to visit Cuba as humanitarian crisis deepens (WCC news release, 27 March 2026) 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

WCC News: WCC urges binding finance rules for global justice

The global financial system is producing "growth without justice, efficiency without equity, and profit without peace." That was the assessment  Rev. Nicole Ashwood, programme executive for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Just Community of Women and Men, brought to Geneva, Switzerland, on 25 March, speaking at a Human Rights Council side event cosponsored by the WCC and the Sikh Human Rights Group. Muryani harvests peanuts near the village of Kemadang, Indonesia. She participates in a local "food barn" coordinated by the village's Javanese Christian Church congregation. The project helps farmers impacted by the climate crisis to change their farming techniques and store their harvests in order to sell at more profitable times. Like many Indonesians, Muryani uses only one name. Photo: Paul Jeffrey 02 April 2026 The session, titled "Financing the SDGs: Need for a Human Rights Approach,” was one of dozens of civil society events running alongside the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council. But Ashwood's address pressed beyond the standard development framing. At its centre was a theological claim drawn from the WCC Jakarta Declaration, marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: "Every person, without exception, is created in the image of God and is called to abundant life." That principle, she argued, has a concrete corollary: economies that produce deprivation are not merely inefficient. They are structurally misaligned with the purpose of human society. The numbers she cited underline the gap between aspiration and reality. According to the OPHI/UNDP Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024, more than 1.1 billion people, including 566 million children, live in multidimensional poverty. Over the same period, Oxfam's 2025 Takers Not Makers report found that billionaire wealth surged from US$13 trillion to US$15 trillion in a single year. The World Inequality Report 2022 places the income share of the richest ten percent at 52 percent of global income; the poorest half of humanity earns just 8.5 per cent. "Fourteen years after the São Paulo Statement on International Financial Transformation for an Economy of Life," Ashwood said, "inequality remains structural rather than incidental." She drew directly on the New International Financial and Economic Architecture, a joint ecumenical initiative convened by six bodies, including the WCC. The New International Financial and Economic Architecture traces today's inequalities to "the legacy of colonialism, the stolen land of Indigenous communities… and the unremunerated and unrecognised care work of women and girls." For Ashwood, the climate and debt crises are not separate emergencies. Climate disruption, she said, is "the unpaid invoice of extractive growth,” an argument for binding financial mechanisms on climate justice and loss and damage, not further voluntary pledges. She closed with three demands: reform of international financial governance to serve people rather than markets; reparative and ecological justice embedded in debt restructuring; and genuine, not symbolic, participation for women, racialised, and Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities in economic decision-making. "Inclusion without transformation preserves inequality," she said. "Justice in all its iterations requires restructuring power itself." The event was moderated by Albert Barseghyan, UN representative of the Sikh Human Rights Group. The New International Financial and Economic Architecture is a joint initiative of the World Council of Churches, World Communion of Reformed Churches, Lutheran World Federation, World Methodist Council, Council for World Mission, and the United Society Partners in the Gospel. Jakarta Declaration: Witnessing and Anticipating Gender Justice in Unity and Diversity São Paulo Statement: International Financial Transformation for the Economy of Life Sustainability and Economy of Life Communique - 6th Meeting of the Ecumenical Panel on a New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA) 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

SojoMail - Who we put on our cover

View this email in your browser By Betsy Shirley Editor in Chief, Sojourners I keep looking at the latest issue of Sojourners and smiling. On the cover, you’ll find a gorgeous portrait of Georgia Coley, taken by Nashville-based LGTBQ+ photographer Emily April Allen. The photo accompanies Coley’s essay about her hopes as a transgender Christian—hopes that are quite different from the way trans people are often characterized in the media. It’s special to me to see Coley on our cover. “Trans folks like me have been a cultural touchstone of heated debate for the last several years,” she writes, “often talked about but rarely platformed enough to have a conversation with.” And that’s especially true, I might add, in Christian spaces (or on Christian magazine covers). We’re grateful Coley was willing to help us change that. Meanwhile, we journey through Holy Week, meditating on the body of Christ, broken for all of us. And that “all” does mean all: The politicians stooping to Trump-style meme wars. Those blocking Palestinian Christians from Jerusalem sacred sites on Holy Week. Everyone who joined No Kings protests. The people who pick up the pieces when our faith and justice leaders fail. Broken for me and for you. I’m Trans. I’m Human. I Don’t Want to ‘Transcend Humanity’ Peter Thiel wants technology to turn us into immortal machines. My hopes and dreams as a transgender Christian could not be more different. Read the full article Advertisement Our Latest Stories Israel Is Blocking Palestinians from Easter at Church Where Jesus Resurrected (by Tate Young) In an unprecedented closure, the state is barring Palestinian people of faith from normal Holy Week activities in the Old City of Jerusalem, citing the war with Iran. Read more The Best ‘No Kings’ Protest Signs From Our Readers (by The Editors) Protesting the Trump administration’s authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, violence at home, and war abroad, millions of Christians joined their neighbors to stand for democracy. Read more After Chávez Abuse Allegations, Faith Leaders Refocus on Farmworkers (by Bekah McNeel) How movements inspired by Chávez’ Catholic nonviolence and labor justice are reckoning with the fallout of his disgrace. Read more Gavin Newsom Wants to Overcome Evil With Evil (by Tyler Huckabee) “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” If beating Trump means stooping to his level then what do we really win?  Read more Advertisements Free Webinar on Co-op Development Join Faith and Money Network for a 90-minute webinar with co-op developer Jonathan Welle. On Wednesday, April 22, at 7:00 pm Eastern, Jonathan will share lessons from Cleveland Owns, an economic democracy incubator that enables neighbors to build cooperative businesses and organize campaigns for community control of resources. 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 Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842

MLP April Newsletter!

IN THIS ISSUE * Notes from the Staff * Statement from MLP on the SCOTUS ruling on conversion therapy * Register for the MLP Retreat * Upcoming Events

From our Director of Engagement

We are right in the middle of Holy Week, knowing the horrors that come for speaking truth, for living in truth; but also knowing that death is not the end, that there is life on the other side.  For us at MLP, the other side at the end of Holy Week is rest, connection, and renewal. We are two weeks away from the MLP retreat! I am so pumped! There is still time to register, and we still have scholarships for trans and BIPOC people.  The retreat will officially begin at dinnertime on Friday, April 17th and will end on Sunday, April 19th around 11 am. What kind of programming can you expect? Worship, s’mores by the fire, hikes, sitting with old and new friends. This is really a retreat. No agendas, no workshops, no need to come out to every person and share your whole life story to everyone in the room.  What to pack: casual clothes, sunscreen, bug spray, comfortable walking/hiking shoes, leisurely clothes, a book, a journal.  We will have transportation from the airport at 1:30, 3:00, 4:00, and 5:15 pm. If you signed up for transportation, we will email you the week before the retreat asking for your time preference. -Claudia

From our Director of Operations

April Fools' Day doesn't even seem real this year, as every day feels like another ridiculous prank that we are all living through.  I know I am not alone in my deep desire to let my body rest — to truly rest. I am thankful that MLP is offering an opportunity for this community to gather at Ferncliff and let the wounds we carry have time to heal, and for our bodies to take the time they need for renewal, as we prepare to continue the fight ahead.  I hope you will use the link below to register for the MLP Spring retreat, and we look forward to gathering with you.  Happy Holy Week -Jesy

Statement from MLP on the SCOTUS ruling on conversion therapy

More Light Presbyterians unequivocally oppose the decision by the Supreme Court to overturn the ban on conversion therapy. Please read the full statement by clicking the link below.

Read the Full Statement Here

Register for the MLP Retreat!

Join us this Spring at Ferncliff Camp & Conference Center for a weekend of rest, renewal, and connection! In a world that feels relentless, loud, and heavy, we are choosing something radical: Rest. More Light Presbyterians is gathering at Ferncliff Conference Center for a retreat centered on rest, renewal, and connection — because the work of justice is holy work, and holy work requires sustained souls. Rest is not indulgence. It is preparation. It is preservation. It is how we stay in the fight for the flourishing of God’s creation. Come sit in the rocking chairs by the lake Come warm your hands by the fire. Come walk the trails. Come rest. Click HERE for lodging and cost information and click HERE to register.

Upcoming Events!

Be sure to mark your calendars for these upcoming MLP events!

April 17-19th — MLP Retreat. Register using the link above!

Get Involved!

Our collective wisdom and knowledge can take us farther than what we can do on our own. You can help us this month in a few ways: *Has your congregation paid dues this year? If not, you may submit them here. Your dues help us do this work. *Donate! We educate individuals and congregations, offer pastoral care to queer people and the ones who love them, we guide congregations as they seek to discern best steps, we advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community in our denomination and in the public arena. We can’t do it without your help.  *In light of recent political developments, the number of LGBTQIA+ couples seeking to get married has increased. More Light Presbyterians is compiling a list of queer and queer-affirming clergy willing to officiate wedding ceremonies and preach at MLP congregations on short notice. Please spread the word widely within your networks. If you are in need of an officiant, please contact us at hello@mlp.org indicating your location and the date of the ceremony.  *Is your congregation supporting the LGBTQIA+ community in your context? If you have pictures, be sure to share so we can highlight your awesome and holy work!  Please email them to hello@mlp.org

Mail a Check: More Light Presbyterians, Inc. P.O. Box 735764 Chicago, IL 60673-5764   Contact Us: More Light Presbyterians 14301 Laurel Bowie Road Laurel, MD 20708 hello@mlp.org Website: www.mlp.org