Change.org - The Paralympics

The International Paralympics Committee claims their goal is to “make for an inclusive world through sport.” Despite this claim, the Paralympics has limited the entire US team to one personal care assistant (PCA). For a team of 34—there is only one PCA to ensure athlete needs are met. Meghan started her petition because she knows the quality of disabled life should not be sacrificed in exchange for compromise during the pandemic. She’s asking the Committee to allow each athlete their own PCA. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee: Allow athletes to have their own PCA’s 293 have signed Meghan Gragg’s petition. Let’s get to 500!

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On July 19th, 2021, Becca Meyers, a member of the U.S. Paralympic team posted on Instagram that she has decided to withdraw from the Paralympic games in Tokyo sure to her being denied her own PCA (Personal Care Assistant.) Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the U.S. team is only allowing one PCA for all 34, now 33 of it’s team members. While the members of the Paralympic team have varying support needs, and all may not need a PCA, some do. The vision statement of the International Paralympics Committee is to "make for an inclusive world through sport." Inclusivity means accommodating the individual needs of athletes and the IPC and the U.S. Paralympic team is failing to live up to this vision.  It is understandable that compromises must be made to ensure people’s health and safety during this pandemic. However, the quality of disabled life should not be the thing that gets sacrificed. Becca Meyers should not have to give up her dreams and a chance for representing her country because the IPC refuses to accommodate for her accessibility. We call on the IPC and the U.S. Paralympic team to give a way to make the Paralympics to live up to it’s vision and truly make a "more inclusive world."

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At Change.org, we believe in the voice of everyday people. Is there something that you want to change? Start a petition today

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - Sunday at the border

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - Sunday at the border: Presbyterian border ministry leads a pilgrimage of prayer, lament, repentance and commitment at the wall July 31, 2021 The Rev. Mark Adams, ...

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - With glad and generous hearts

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - With glad and generous hearts: Love requires only one skill — caring for others July 30, 2021 Annie Spratt via Unsplash Over the past year amid a pandemic, protests and po...

Rest is holy, not a reward for the productive

Rest Is Holy, Not a Reward for the Productive Sandi Villarreal Earlier this month, Pope Francis, in his first public appearance after returning to the Vatican following an 11-day hospital stay for a scheduled surgery, told those gathered in St. Peter’s Square to “learn to take a break” and truly rest. “Let us beware, brothers and sisters, of efficiency,” Francis said, “let us put a halt to the frantic running around dictated by our agendas.” He was reflecting on Mark 6:30-34, in which Jesus instructs the disciples to “come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while,” after they told him all the preaching and teaching they had been doing. “Rest a while,” he told them. Holy, ever-elusive rest — it’s a simple command but, in my experience, a complicated practice. The pandemic has forced workers and corporations to engage in conversations around overwork, death-by-a-thousand-efficiencies, and the trauma that burnout unearths, but we still lack the vocabulary to really talk about rest. When I was recovering from my own surgery and accompanying hospital stay in late January, my body forced bed rest. I had planned for a couple of days off of work, but it stretched into more than a week; the severity of what had just happened caught me off guard. And I was restless. I wanted a lesson; this all had to mean something. So I took doses of books like medicine; I thought I could force a healthy mind and spirit with the wisdom of others, giving purpose to my newly foregrounded mortality. Friends sent me reading lists; my husband teased me about my emotional support pile. READ THE FULL ARTICLE Forward Share

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Our Latest As Eviction Moratorium Ends, Faith Groups Brace for Impact (by Jeff A. Chamer) With millions behind on their rent, many could be at risk of homelessness when the moratorium expires on Aug. 1. My Lola Is Decolonizing the Garden of Eden (by Yanan Melo) It is possible to imagine a new ecological reality outside of colonialism. Women are leading the way. ‘The Terrorists Perceived Themselves To Be Christians’ (by Lexi McMenamin) In testimony to Congress, Daniel Hodges and other officers described what they saw on Jan. 6 — including Christian nationalism. Snorting Nutmeg at Vacation Bible School with Lucy Dacus (by Jenna Barnett) In her new album, Home Video, Dacus unpacks her often churchy adolescence.

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From the Magazine What Otters Can Teach Us About Dismantling Empire (by Rose Marie Berger) When empire is “game master,” Jesus-followers should interrogate the “play.”

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Job Opening: Director, Inclusive America Project The Inclusive America Project at the Aspen Institute is looking for a new Director. If you are interested in helping us build a more inclusive and just society, apply to be a part of our team by clicking the link above. Tell the Senate to Reauthorize VAWA The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) became a law 25 years ago, providing crucial protections for women and survivors of domestic violence. VAWA is now up for reauthorization but is being held up in the Senate. Please ask your senators to vote for this important bill.

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Change.org - Chosen name on student ID cards

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has a student ID card policy that is not inclusive of trans students. SCAD does not currently allow trans and nonbinary students to have their chosen names on their ID cards. This is not only a matter of equity, but also a safety issue for trans individuals—as it opens the risk of misgendering and deadnaming. Join Francesca today to urge SCAD to protect and respect trans students. Allow trans SCAD students to have preferred names on student IDs 427 have signed francesca boylston’s petition. Let’s get to 500!

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As the new school year begins many trans students  will be attending school on various levels. College is the place where these students can finally feel open and present as their true selves. Preferred names are one way that these students take control of their situation. SCAD forces students to have students IDs with trans students dead names on them rather than giving the option to put their preferred name on their IDs. This not only emotionally harms these students but puts them at risk and opens up doors for misgendering and deadnaming. This petition is a call for action to give students the option to put their preferred name on their ID.

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At Change.org, we believe in the voice of everyday people. Is there something that you want to change? Start a petition today

Change.org - Fire Blizzard Employees Responsible for Sexual Assault

Fire Blizzard Employees Responsible for Sexual Assault

Roleplayers Against Sexual Assault started this petition to Blizzard Entertainment and it now has 3,370 signatures

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Sexual assault is far too prevalent in game development culture, least of all in Blizzard Entertainment, developers of popular games such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo. We, the consumers of their products, would like to feel respected, safe, and heard when playing Blizzard’s game. That is why, in light of the recent lawsuit, we demand that these accusations be taken seriously. Not only should everyone involved be fired and prosecuted, those involved in covering up or making excuses for these heinous acts should also be let go from the company. Accountability is key in moving forward and changing the culture and attitude in the gaming community. These changes should be public, with transparency and understanding, so that it was clear that Blizzard is willing to make the necessary changes to its culture. We aren’t looking for a sacrificial lamb - ALL guilty parties needs to be cut out from the company’s culture.  This change is not only to honor those that were forced to go through horrific experiences that they will likely carry for the rest of their lives, but also to respect the player base, that is up largely of women, that Blizzard has built its fame and fortune around.

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Spread the Word: Emergency Rental Assistance

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, billions of dollars in federal rental assistance is reaching renters behind on housing costs, as well as landlords who have struggled during the pandemic. These programs are run locally, and right now emergency rental assistance is available across the country. 

The federal government is continuing an all-out push and issuing a call to action to Members of Congress, state and local officials, companies, advocates, nonprofits, the faith community, and more to conduct an all-out push to make sure tenants and landlords take advantage of federal rental assistance to help cover rent, utilities, and other housing costs and keep people in their homes.

Please spread the word about emergency rental assistance. Help is available for renters who are having trouble paying rent, utilities or other housing costs as well as for landlords who have tenants in this situation. State and local programs are distributing billions of dollars in rental assistance. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently developed a new “Rental Assistance Finder” tool for renters and landlords to find information on rental assistance in their area. The tool is now live at: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/renthelp . The CFPB’s site also includes resources to help renters and landlords understand other resources to help navigate various financial hardships related to the pandemic.

For additional information about the Emergency Rental Assistance program, visit the unified federal housing assistance portal hosted by the CFPB.

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - Dismantling racism together in West Virginia

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - Dismantling racism together in West Virginia: Momentum grows for what began as an adult Sunday school class focus July 29, 2021 J. Spenser Darden What started off as an initiative of the...

WCC NEWS: Kenyan works with Bible to support churches and community on HIV and AIDS

Esther Linda Kwamboka works with the Bible when she counsels sex workers and long-distance truck drivers, and those with HIV and AIDS.  She also offers support to those of different faiths. Photo: Esther Linda Kwamboka 28 July 2021 Kwamboka was introduced to World Council of Churches-Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy in 2009 when she was sponsored to attend a Contextual Bible Study workshop in Accra, Ghana. She openly lives with HIV, a widow and a mother of 2 children. Kwamboka graduated with a theology degree from St. Paul’s University near Nairobi, Kenya in October 2013. “Since then, I have been involved in projects touching on different issues affecting the communities I serve,” she says. “These include HIV and AIDS literacy programmes, community capacity building, counselling support, women empowerment programs, referrals, education and medication support.” They have spanned over the Nairobi, Kajiado and Homabay Counties. Clear goals after graduation When Kwamboka graduated, she had a clear roadmap of her goals and the work she sought. These included community capacity building, counselling support, referrals, educational and medical support, networking, and collaboration. She spearheaded a draft plan to mitigate HIV and AIDS in Machakos County through the Anglican Church of Kenya local diocese for capacity building. “Our target groups were mainly sex workers along the Nairobi Machakos Highway, long-distance truck drivers, vulnerable women and youth,” Kwamboka explained. The goal was to educate them and take precautions, voluntary testing and referrals to the nearest health facilities to seek treatment. She offered psycho-social support to community members and prevented their distress and suffering from developing into something more severe. Counselling those who are HIV positive It involved counselling people to cope better and become reconciled to everyday life, especially those who had just learned of an HIV positive status. She encouraged them to engage in income-generating activities. For the members of the community who required more psycho-social support, for example, she showed people such as orphaned and vulnerable children where to find scholarships. “In mid-2017, I stayed in the house of one of the women elders in the Holy Spirit Church in Homabay County, organizing a community mini-workshop,” said Kwamboka. “We did a contextual Bible study with them,” she said, elaborating on the importance of such reading. “It can also capture sexual education.” Workshops open for men, women, and youth Women, men, and youths all attended the workshop. “It was one of the best moments in my life. At the time, I met other church leaders receptive to the idea of having a contextual Bible study. I promised to go back and hopefully train other community leaders by God’s grace,” said Kwamboka. However, her chosen path was disrupted for a time.  At the end of 2014 when she had health complications that carried on through most of 2015, and she spent spells in hospital. In addition, an absence of logistical support, education materials and other necessities posed challenges in achieving her goals. Between 2018 to 2019, Kwamboka spearheaded the formation of a syllabus at the Africa Mission Training Institute (AMTI). “At AMTI, I have had the privilege of introducing contextual bible studies. We had planned a three-day workshop in Kilifi county in collaboration with the Methodist Church at the beginning of 2020. But COVID came,” rued Kwamboka. “I found it easier to work with small churches than the mainstream ones, mainly because they didn’t require a lot of protocol to get my message across.” Kwamboka sees a need for more collaboration among different faith groups and citing high teenage pregnancies she says that sex education is needed that also brings to light the peril of gender-based-violence. “Stigma and discrimination amongst those living with HIV is an issue that still needs to be addressed at all levels,” she notes. Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy (EHAIA) 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 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland