Save the Dates! Ecumenical Advocacy Days - April 25-27

Save the Dates for

 Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2022

Fierce Urgency:  Advancing Civil and Human Rights

April 25-27

More information coming soon!

Tell Your Senator to Protect the Right to Vote!

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, we witnessed an attack on our democracy. A mob of insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol building with the intent to overturn the 2020 Presidential election. Using violence and intimidation, the insurrectionists attempted to stop the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. Though their attempt at a coup did not prevail, the attack on our democracy continued.  The 2020 general election had the highest voter turnout in over a century. However, in the months following the January 6th attack, states passed the highest number of voter suppression laws in the last ten years. Nineteen state legislatures passed 33 laws restricting the right to vote. These laws include harsher voter ID requirements, more restrictions on vote-by-mail and early voting, and more. Additionally, "440 bills with provisions that restrict voting access were introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions." In December 2021, at least 13 bills in four states were pre-filled for 2022 that would make it harder for people to vote. It is time for Congress to act and pass legislation to strengthen our democracy and protect the right to vote!   Tell your Senator to Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act!   The Freedom to Vote Act (S.2747) is a broad package that incorporates the main pillars of the For the People Act. It includes protecting the right to vote, ending partisan gerrymandering, and redistricting. It also contains campaign finance reforms and protections against emerging tactics to undermine election results after ballots are cast.  The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (S.4) would protect voters by holding states and jurisdictions accountable for administering elections fairly. S. 4 would prevent voting rules that discriminate against voters based on race or membership in language minority groups. It would also restore voters' right to contest discriminatory laws. Both bills have passed the House of Representatives. Now it is time for the Senate to act! In 2008, the 218th Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly voted to approve Lift Every Voice. This policy statement affirmed that "to deny anyone a fair vote is a sin." Therefore, restricting access to voting is a sin and fundamentally goes against our Reformed Christian beliefs. As people of faith, we have a responsibility to ensure that everyone can participate in our political system for the good of the community. It is essential to ensure that everyone has the ability to make their voices heard in our democracy.  2021 was a devastating year for our democracy. It is more critical than ever that we take action to reclaim the values and promises of our electoral process.    Tell Your Senator to vote YES for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act!   Click the link below to log in and send your message: https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/3hvdjkcTQlshTGv2rU_N8w

Teaching my kids about Jan. 6

How Will We Teach Our Kids About Jan. 6? Adam Russell Taylor Remember the broken glass and broken barricades. Remember the angry chants of “hang Mike Pence.” Remember the estimated 140 officers who were injured trying to protect the members of Congress certifying the election. Remember the misuse and abuse of crosses and prayers and American flags. Remember these and other sobering images of the U.S. Capitol building attacked and overrun by rioters and insurrectionists; those images that can feel unfathomable unless we remember the breadth and depth of racialized violence in our nation’s history. History is about both the what and the why. Given the volumes of footage and visible evidence, it is difficult to refute what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. The deeper struggle will be understanding why it happened. Memory is a powerful thing. Both how we remember and what we choose to remember profoundly shape our sense of reality. A growing body of research shows that “memory allows for a kind of mental time travel, a way for us to picture not just the past but also a version of the future.” Memory is like truth — it can either hold us captive or help set us free. […] I’ve thought a lot about how I will teach my kids about Jan. 6, particularly as they get older. This had to be done in real time as my two sons, who were 8 and 10, caught glimpses of some of the sobering images of the Capitol attack on television. I tried to explain to them that these rioters were angry because they believed the lie that the election was stolen. I tried to teach them that resorting to violence to advance your cause is never justified. READ THE FULL ARTICLE Forward Share

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Our Latest ‘We Have to Be a Counter Voice to White Christian Nationalism’ (by Madison Muller) Many faith groups are marking the Jan. 6 anniversary with prayer and dialogue. After Investigation, Preemptive Love Founders ‘Will Not Be Returning’ (by Mitchell Atencio) In a Jan. 4 letter, the board announced that Jeremy and Jessica Courtney would not be returning to the organization. Let’s Measure the New Year in Love (by Adam Russell Taylor) Let us sojourn in a love that implements the demands of justice and corrects everything that stands against love.  The Stories We Told This Year (by Christina Colón) Sojourners’ 2021 year in review.

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From the Magazine The Capitol Attack Held Up a Mirror to the Nation (by Lisa Sharon Harper) A year after Jan. 6, we must reckon with what the country has become since its founding.

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The Polished King: Living Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. This book explores the oratorical style and technique of Martin Luther King, Jr. and examines how these gifts alongside his deep passion and conviction forged a movement and transformed our society. And it delves into the ‘living words’ of Dr. King’s sermons and speeches and how they continue to resonate across generations and inspire activism and advocacy worldwide. Is there more to life than working and spending? Faith and Money Network’s study groups meet via video conference to study and discuss faith-driven approaches to daily life’s money choices. New group starts January 19!

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Petition - Install traffic signals or signs at a dangerous intersection in Bennington Township #LLP

18-year-old Payton Jones died in a fatal car accident last August. Unfortunately, Payton’s accident was not the first of its kind. According to petition starter Kiah, the intersection where the accident took place is dangerous and has been the center of many other motor vehicle tragedies. Add your name today to urge the Bennington Town Council to install proper signage and lights at this deadly intersection Install traffic signals or signs at a dangerous intersection in Bennington Township #LLP 2,603 have signed Kiah Potter’s petition. Let’s get to 5,000!

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Signing this petition will allow us to bring this dangerous intersection that has had many horrible accidents, to the councils attention so proper signage and lights can be installed. We want no more families to have to suffer this loss.

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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

WCC NEWS: Across the world, churches work to end child abuse by bringing it “Out of the Shadows”

From diverse regions and churches, hundreds of people drew together in 2021 to find ways to end child abuse. Through a campaign called “Out of the Shadows,” churches held workshops, trained champions, distributed materials, and augmented the drumbeat for awareness, buoyed by resources from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its partners. 2021 Workshop in West Africa on the new curriculum, "Because God Loves Me - Affirming My Worth in Christ" - a collaborative effort of the WCC's Churches' Commitment to Children, Just Community of Women and Men and Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy. Photo: Ayoko Bahun Wilson/WCC 06 January 2022 As one straightforward workshop participant put it: “It’s our responsibility to protect the rights and dignity of our children.” Out of the Shadows workshops were held in parts of Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa, with the goal of training church leaders so they can train others. The “ripple effect” is already in evidence. For example, in Nigeria alone, almost 200 leaders from church-run schools participated in the most recent workshop led by the Christian Council of Nigeria.  The Christian Council of Nigeria, in an online meeting of its synod, officially adopted the Out of the Shadows toolkit as an official document in all Nigerian official languages.  In Asia, 38 people from 13 different countries attended a regional consultation, bringing their insights back to their home contexts. Across the board, the first step in all the workshops, as another participant said, was: “learning about the various definitions of child abuse and how to identify abuse.” One workshop participant, when reflecting on what she learned, wrote: “It is important never to ignore children; they may have different ways of communication. If sensitive, you will be able to tell when something goes wrong with the child.” The work ahead The campaign’s name is based off a phrase coined by the Economist Intelligence Unit of the Economist Group on global business intelligence, which developed an Out of the Shadows Index that measures how national actors in 60 countries address child sexual abuse and exploitation. The index, which focuses on policies, practices and standards, reveals that much more needs to be done to achieve the United Nations’ goal of ending all forms of violence against children by 2030. In a post-workshop report by the United Theological College of the West Indies, the authors underscored how important it is to involve churches in preventing child abuse. “Most of the reports from the Caribbean mention that although new laws and regulations are being instituted, it is very difficult to enforce them, largely due to inadequate funds and personnel,” the report reads. “Many churches are involved in work related to child care and protection, and in providing care and support for children who are victims of abuse.” WCC a ‘shining light’  The Out of the Shadows project ties into Churches’ Commitments to Children, a programme launched in 2017 through WCC’s partnership with UNICEF, resulting in a comprehensive and impactful action plan developed with churches, child rights experts and children themselves. In a report about the impact of the Out of the Shadows initiative, Frederique Seidel, programme executive for Child Rights, detailed the impact of the Out of the Shadows campaign, expressing appreciation for a grant from Ignite Philanthropy. “Through the materials adapted to churches, the WCC provided guidance on how to integrate Out of the Shadows actions into all relevant activities of the Churches’ Commitments to Children initiative,” explained Seidel.  An Out of the Shadows toolkit includes leaflets summarising key messages of the Out of the Shadows Index and linking these to existing resources to implement Churches' Commitments to Children. The toolkit also includes posters with toll-free numbers of national helplines, as well as a Spiritual Life booklet with a selection of Bible studies, songs and prayers supporting church engagement on ending sexual violence against children. This booklet includes a hymn which was composed for the “Out of the Shadows” campaign by one of WCC’s member churches in Argentina. Spreading the word Through workshops and distribution of materials, the objective is to keep building momentum for worldwide advocacy. “It is an ambitious project that builds on a number of fruitful partnerships, and develops and disseminates materials with a large number of key counterparts in now 10 pilot countries, at regional and global levels,” said Seidel.  Out of the Shadows will also be linked further with the Thursdays in Black global campaign for a world free from rape and violence. The toolkit contains a one-page document with suggestions on how to forge and strengthen this link. “These suggestions were developed because the Thursdays in Black campaign is very familiar to many of our churches, and a very popular initiative,” said Seidel. “Connecting the two is conducive to sensitizing to the specific risks of child abuse, through Out of the Shadows materials, across church communities.” Out of the Shadows resources for churches Learn more about WCC's Engagement for 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 349 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

Urge your senators to protect voting rights

The very foundation of our democracy—free and fair elections—is in danger. Numerous states are enacting laws by simple legislative majorities that degrade voting rights due to weakened federal oversight, often under the false pretense of election integrity.  We need the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Advancement Act to restore much-needed protections for all voters. As we approach the January 6th anniversary, we need every member of the Senate committed to combatting restrictive voting laws and preserving democracy.  Take Action We need you to join us in reminding the Senate that they have a sacred responsibility and duty to protect our democracy. Any law that restricts the sacred right to vote is unjust because it denies citizens their agency and voice. Put in theological terms, unjust laws assault the imago dei, the core belief that every person is made in God’s divine image. What is true for unjust laws, is also true for unjust rules—particularly the current filibuster.   The filibuster rule that is meant to encourage cooperation and ensure the minority party has a greater voice has become twisted for anti-democratic and immoral purposes, most pressingly to prevent reforms that would protect the right to vote.   By emailing your senator today, you can help us match the urgency of this moment in history and call on the Senate to reform the filibuster and pass voting rights and pro-democracy legislation.   Take Action There is no more urgent moral cause right now than protecting the right to vote-- which benefits and impacts almost every other justice cause.  By joining together to make our voices heard in the Senate we can ensure that voting rights truly becomes a bipartisan cause and nonpartisan issue.   Thank you, Rev. Adam Taylor President of Sojourners

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We’re so glad you’re here

As 2022 begins, we want to take a moment to thank each of you for being here with us. Your time, your generosity of spirit and gifts, and your diverse and beautiful voices bring strength and hope to this work.

Here’s a glimpse into what your support is helping to make happen this year:

We're starting 2022 by calling on households of upper and mid-level income around the world to reject the desecration of people and planet; instead embracing joyful lives of simplicity and solidarity with our Time for Living the Change initiative.

Then in February, we’re taking on the world’s biggest asset managers - BlackRock, Vanguard and others - who are recklessly STILL financing new fossil fuel and deforestation projects with our Multi-Faith Climate Finance Campaign. Details to come!

During our Sacred Season for Climate Justice initiative from March-May, we’ll send a clear message through rituals and spoken teachings: no new fossil fuel projects and green jobs to build back fossil-free from COVID.

Throughout the year, we’re organizing opposition to new fossil fuel projects like the East Africa Crude Oil pipeline, gas projects in Texas, and coal development in Indonesia and Japan. We resolve to put a stop to these dangerous and destructive projects and to build support instead for a surge in renewable energy for all. Check out the wrap-up video from last year’s Faiths 4 Climate Justice campaign here.

We couldn't do all of this without you. We’re so glad you’re here.

Stay tuned for more details, and we hope your year is off to a great start!

Warmly,

Rev. Fletcher Harper