Change.org Petition: Allow backyard Chickens in Fort Mill,SC

Allow backyard Chickens in Fort Mill,SC

Alicia Aguilera started this petition to Guynn Savage, and it now has 38,139 signatures

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Given the current economic crisis and the high cost of living, we thought having organic eggs would be a good idea for our family and neighbors since we value self-sustainability and neighborhood cooperation. Soon we realized that our local government had the time and the money to spend on prosecuting citizens like us by sending letters without giving them the right to appeal and sending inspectors to our property. Backyard chickens have numerous benefits that could benefit our community as listed below, Backyard chickens provide a better alternative to the excessive environmental impact of factory farming. Backyard chickens are pets since they provide companionship to their owners and are able to recognize faces and come when called. They provide an organic and healthy source of food. They are great as pest control for gardens Decrease the use of harmful herbicides since they eat unwanted weeds. They make less noise than the cars that pass by or dogs, so they cannot be a noise problem. We believe that politicians who get paid a high salary from our taxes should have the dignity to review the laws and change them in favor of the people who vote for them. The laws in Fort mill are contradictory, on one hand, they have laws against animal cruelty stated in sec 4.2 of the code of ordinances and they declare themselves as a bird sanctuary, and on the other hand, they prohibit having chickens sec 4.4, and order their removal. Isn’t this "removal" cruel to the hens that have lived with us since they were chicks and live happily and free in our backyard? What i am supposed to do with my hens when they tell me to "get rid of them"? What are they implying with this ordinance? Slaughter of animals? Abandonment? This situation is very hurtful and our family and the many others that have been affected by this. With this petition, we want to change the Fort Mill ordinance sec. 4-4 since surrounding cities like Tega Cay, Clover, Charlotte, and Rock Hill allow the ownership of backyard chickens. We ask the help of anyone who is reading this to sign this petition to end this ordinance. Thank you!

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Change.org Petition: Remove Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN's Commission of Status on Women

Remove Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN’s Commission of Status on Women 7,728 have signed Mahshid Bozorgnia’s petition. Let’s get to 10,000!

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Dear CSW leadership and members, Seeing the Islamic Republic of Iran listed as a member of the United Nations "Commission on the Status of Women" (CSW) is not only surprising but deeply troubling and it makes one question the validity of the United Nations.  As the commission is indubitably aware, on September 16, the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman from the province of Kurdistan in the custody of “ Gasht Ersahd (Guidance police), ignited peaceful protests all around the country, which the Iranian regime has responded to with violence, having killed hundreds of protestors and injured even more. The bravery of Iran’s youth in continuing to fight has moved the world, inspiring some of the world’s most significant and influential figures from all fields to speak up in support of Iranian women’s rights. As the resiliency of the Iranian people remains unwavering, the regime’s brutality becomes more unhinged and fatal. On October 2, the regime killed and arrested university students participating in a peaceful sit-in. This human rights crisis has provoked Amnesty International to demand the UN Human Rights Council to act urgently, creating a petition to garner support for international support in ending this increasingly dire situation.  Under these circumstances, the UN CSW’s inaction at this point in the crisis is incomprehensible. In order to gain some understanding of this deafening silence  of CSW, we have a few questions for its leadership and members: 1-Does the CSW believe that the Iranian government is fit to serve in a Commission that claims to be “the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women”? Have the other members of the Commission read the constitution of the Islamic Republic, which is packed with discriminatory provisions and statutes, making women half the person of a man in the eyes of the law and granting them half the rights of men? For example:  a)Women receive half of what men inherit regardless of the specifications of the deceased b)Testimonial or witness statements provided to the courts or law enforcement by women are valued at half of that of a man’s. c)Women do not have agency over the way they present themselves in public or in spaces with men present, according to the same dress codes that justified Mahsa’s murder.  d)Women are not permitted to ride bicycles, sing in public or become professional singers. They are also not allowed to serve as judges or run for president.  e)Women do not have the right to seek divorce unless the man is considered clinically insane or struggling with addiction.  f)The indemnity provided in the case of the death of a woman is half of a man’s. 2-Is the massacre of peaceful protestors that includes the children, in line with the values and mission of this commission?  3-Does the Iranian government’s continued arrest and battering of thousands of protestors who are fighting for the same rights that are the basis of the existence of this commission, protestors who include the very women that this commission reportedly aims to protect, qualify them for a seat on this commission? 4-Is the state-ordered trapping students in their own university in order to kill, wound, and forcibly separate them from their families consistent with the provisions of the regulations of this commission? We, the people of the world, request the CSW to summon the commission’s Iranian representative and hold them accountable for crimes against women and terminate the Islamic Republic’s membership from the commission to not only show their solidarity with Iranians but reaffirm their commitment to the issue their commission would not exist without. Most importantly, the United Nations and all its bodies must do their job of holding world leaders accountable and making peace in times of injustice.

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GreenFaith: World leaders - For God’s sake, do what only you can

Send a Message to COP27: We need a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

This past month during Faiths 4 Climate Justice, you’ve shown how much you care about climate change.

Now, we’re calling on world leaders to show that they care too.

Send a Message to COP27: We need a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

We’ve talked with thousands of people from different religions and countries about why the world needs an end to new fossil fuel projects.

A fair phase-out of coal, oil, and gas. A generous investment in a better future.

But you didn’t just talk.

Thousands of you - members of the international GreenFaith community - took action to support these simple, clear demands.

You prayed. You spoke out. You demonstrated peacefully.

Some of you risked your own safety, because something deep within you felt that this was the right thing to do.

This November, world leaders will meet at COP27 in Egypt and at the G20 meetings in Indonesia.

Grassroots GreenFaith community members will be at both meetings. They will deliver this multi-religious letter calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.  

Will you add your name now?

We want your light to shine. Your voice to be heard.

We want our grassroots community members who are delivering the letter to know that they are representing our global multi-faith community.

The only way through the climate crisis is together, supporting positions that reflect our deepest values.

That’s why we’re supporting a Fossil Fuel Treaty.

And it’s why we would like your name to be on the letter when we deliver it.

Can we count on you to sign the letter today?

In solidarity,

Rev. Fletcher Harper
Executive Director

Your Fall Edition of Earth News

EARTH: Earth Action, Reflection, Theology and Hope International Connections and Bridge Building According to a recent United Nations report, just 26 of 193 countries have followed through on commitments they made last year to increase their work to fight climate change. We cannot wait for governments to take action. We must work individually and collectively to save our plant. Environmental stewardship starts at home, but to make meaningful progress, our work must extend to the far corners of the world. This edition of Earth News highlights just a few of the ways working across borders can make a real difference to our world. Mother Nature doesn't recognize political boundaries and neither should we. We must become environmental missionaires and spread healing around the world. In faith and hope, Eric Diekhans Editor Land As the climate crisis intensifies, stopping land grabs and defending the land and territory rights of Indigenous, Black and African-descended peoples, family farmers, and traditional communities are essential to protecting peoples and ecosystems. READ MORE Building Bridges to Armenia The Armenian diaspora has spread to many corners of the world. Armenia Tree Project has brought them together to turn a looming environmental crises into a model of hope and resiliance. READ MORE Wisdom Weavers In 2014, Ilarion “Larry” Merculieff carried his wisdom and energy from a remote Indigenous community on an island in the Bering Sea, and offered it to a Presbyterians for Earth Care conference. READ MORE Inspired by the vision of Alaskan Unangan traditional and environmental leader, Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff, invitations were sent out to gather Elders from the four directions to sit in council and hold ceremonies for the purpose of deep listening to the wisdom streams that were ready to be shared. Over ten thousand years ago, Elders at that time knew that a great imbalance was coming, so the original instructions of how to live in harmony as one Earth family were partially hidden by a wave of forgetting to keep them safe. Each group of people had enough wisdom to survive and continue on, but no one people had all of the knowledge once available to them.

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SojoMail - How your church can heal polarization

Being Apolitical Won’t Heal Polarized Churches Adam Russell Taylor The church should be a place where people with divergent political views can coexist and be in fellowship because our unity in Christ supersedes our political and partisan loyalties. As the Apostle Paul reminded the Galatian church, in Christ “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” But that’s not often what we see in our churches today, is it? In 2017, a Lifeway poll found that more than half of Protestant churchgoers under 50 say they prefer to go to church with people who share their political views. And few adult Protestant churchgoers say they attend services with people of a different political persuasion. Instead of being a space where people of very different perspectives can build on a shared unity in Christ, many churches are becoming citadels in which Christians’ pre-existing politics and worldviews are simply reinforced. Given all our nation has experienced in the five years since the poll was conducted, I can only imagine that the polarization in our pews is even more stark today and — like polarization elsewhere — increasingly rooted in contempt. According to a recent NBC poll “some 80% of Democrats and Republicans believe the political opposition poses a threat that, if not stopped, will destroy America as we know it.” If we’re honest, we’ll admit that many churches are exacerbating this polarization rather than trying to treat it. READ THE FULL ARTICLE Forward Share

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Our Latest Criminalizing Abortion Prevents Compassionate Choices (by Hannah Bowman) Communities that help people make more authentic and compassionate choices should be pro-choice and pro-life activists’ main priorities. How To Read the News Without Sacrificing Your Mental Health (by Mitchell Atencio) Staying informed doesn’t have to crush your soul. 10 Films To Experience the Holy Disruption of Horror (by Zachary Lee) The things that unsettle us can point to the ways where God might be calling us to pursue justice work. A Christian Case for Climate Reparations (by Matt Bernico) Our out-of-control consumption has made our global neighbors vulnerable to climate catastrophe. What do we owe them?

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From the Magazine Why Christian Nationalists Want You to Distrust Elections (by Samuel L. Perry) One purpose of “stolen elections” conspiracies is to discourage people from democratic participation. People of faith must speak out against these narratives.

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Where's my polling place? Get your answer at Sojourners' Voter Center. We've got all the resources you need to be vote ready and #MakeJusticeFlow on November 8. Politically Divided Congregations: Reconciliation & Transformation Curriculum This curriculum provides a biblical framework, tools, and tips for politically divided churches to create space for civil dialogue around social and political issues. Designed to be sensitive to the challenges faced by congregations that are politically divided while providing a theological foundation for transformative, faith-inspired engagement in justice work.

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WCC NEWS: Christian leaders from Africa, Europe, and North America unify on climate change and hunger ahead of COP27

At convocations on climate and hunger, held 18-19 October and 21 October, Christian leaders from Africa, Europe, and North America came together in various locations and in diverse ways to pray and work for solutions to the global hunger crisis made worse by climate change. DanChurchAid, a member of the ACT Alliance, is helping families in Akobo with food and livelihood projects aimed at lowering vulnerability and increasing food security at a time when the arrival of many newly displaced families increased competition in the community over scarce food resources. Growing a wider variety of vegetables is an important part of the program, which it carries out in partnership with Nile Hope, a South Sudanese organization. Photo: Paul Jeffrey / Life on Earth Pictures 27 October 2022 The first convocation, held in Nairobi, addressed “Global Faith Voices in Kenya, Listen and Learn: Addressing Hunger Through Climate Smart Agriculture.”  The second convocation was a gathering centered on prayer, exploring solutions, and advocacy.  During an opening prayer, Fr Philemon Zulu said: “Together, we share a fierce resolve to stand and work together to end the hunger crisis made worse by climate instability, to renew your creation, and to bring our planet into balance, forming a beloved community in which all of creation can thrive. We center our gathering around climate Justice as our means for furthering this resolve.” The gathering released a statement, “A Faithful Voice on Hunger and Climate Justice,” in which they expressed a fierce resolve to stand and work together. "To address the hunger crisis made worse by climate change, we draw from the wellsprings of our Christian faith,” the statement reads. “We recognize Christ’s suffering presence in the communities hurt first and hardest by climate change: those without adequate means to flourish, the historically underserved, and those least likely to have a voice at the table where policy decisions are made – the very people who suffer disproportionately even as their contribution to global emissions is almost negligible.” The convocations were organized by Bread for the World in partnership with many faith-based partners and non-governmental organizations.  Find more information about the event here 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 352 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 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