WCC NEWS: Webinar will commemorate World Food Day with theme “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow”

A webinar on 16 October will commemorate World Food Day and say farewell to the UN special rapporteur for the Right to Water and Sanitation.  Photo: Gregoire de Fombelle/WCC 08 October 2026 The webinar will take the World Food Day theme “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.” The discussion will explore what innovation can look like when we place food security, water, land, human rights, and ecological sustainability at the centre. World Food Day is observed on 16 October each year and provides an opportunity to draw attention to hunger and food insecurity while strengthening collective action towards food systems that are sustainable, equitable, and resilient. This year’s webinar will bring together United Nations mandate holders, faith-based organisations, civil society organisations, and community practitioners to explore some of the challenges shaping food insecurity today – including poverty, unsustainable agricultural practices and climate change – and to share approaches that are contributing to resilience, food sovereignty, and sustainable livelihoods. The session will also provide an opportunity to hear from Prof. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN special rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, whose six-year mandate concludes in November 2026.    Registration for this webinar 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: “Follow the Money” event will examine banks’ role in ecological destruction

The World Council of Churches will host a hybrid event entitled “Follow the Money: Multilateral Development Banks, Fossils Fuels and Climate Justice” on 14 October. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth 08 October 2026 The event will occur as International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings are underway. With their public mandates, financial resources and ability to leverage additional investment, multilateral development banks could play an important role in financing the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient, and sustainable economies. Yet concerns remain about the banks’ continued support for fossil fuel projects and other investments that contribute to ecological destruction, carbon-intensive development, and climate vulnerability, as well as about debt-based financing that place additional burdens on countries already facing climate and debt crises. This hybrid event will examine where money from multilateral development banks is going, what kinds of energy systems and development pathways they are helping to finance, and who bears the costs and risks. A case study will illustrate the social, ecological, and financial impacts of bank-supported investments. The discussion will then turn to pathways for change, including legal and accountability tools that communities, civil society, and affected peoples can use to challenge harmful financing and hold public financiers to account.   Registration for this webinar 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

EarthBeat Weekly: Nigerian sisters minister amid inaccessible roads and flood disasters

EarthBeat Weekly Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change October 9, 2026   Nigerian sisters minister amid inaccessible roads and flood disasters by Patrick Egwu A hospital run by the Daughters of Divine Love faces challenges from heavy rains and floods, which have damaged sections of the road leading to their community. Read more here »   Supreme Court hears key climate change lawsuit, but procedural question remains by Kate Scanlon, OSV News In the first case of its new term Oct. 5, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit from officials in Boulder, Colorado, against two major oil companies over climate change. Read more here »   Featured Advertisers Learn more about graduate theological studies at Boston College. 100% of master’s students receive financial support. Enhance your ministry and advance your degree. Explore flexible online certificate and degree programs at Saint Vincent Seminary. Advertisement

Truth and Action Roundup 10.9.26

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. Election Section: As we prepare for the midterm elections, we want to share some of the work being done to protect fair and free elections. Starting with this Sojourners story on how faith leaders are preparing for the midterms.   For those looking to get involved directly, we’re co-hosting trainings in Dallas on October 10th and in the Charlotte area on October 14th and 15th.   There will also be a national No Kings call on October 14th and 29th focused on early voting and knowing your rights. People can sign up to attend here.  This week, a series of disturbing stories about rape and sexual assault has come to light on college campuses and in society. At Louisiana State University, new details emerged about how the Title IX investigation into the rape of Kendall Francis by a football player was handled. The player stayed enrolled and on the team. At Cornell, more information came out about a case where a woman was drugged and raped at a fraternity house, but no one was charged. Also this week, Bernadette Greene-Placentia, a candidate in Arizona, reported that she was raped while working on her campaign this summer. The way police and university officials at LSU and Cornell handled these cases shows ongoing failures to address sexual violence nationwide. Greene-Placentia's hesitation to report her sexual assault points to a culture of shame that these failures create. In response to the Cornell case, some public figures like Megyn Kelly and Michael Tracey have tried to identify and harass the victim by insulting her personal appearance and suggesting that she is not telling the truth. This kind of reprehensible behavior is encouraged by a President who was found personally liable for the sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll. The patriarchy and sexism at the core of Christian nationalism now show up in openly misogynistic ways in our politics. As Christians, we must reject this culture of dehumanization and confront the increasing acceptance of violent hatred for women. –– Rev. Moya Harris and Chad Stanton, Sojourners P.S. We are continuing to build an intentional community of people looking to live out their faith in our Sojourners Faith and Practice Forum on Mighty Networks. Please consider joining us. In the News Here’s a look at what happened this week: The Trump administration’s deportation regime continued its cruel work. A ProPublica investigation found that ICE has detained at least 506 U.S. citizens since the start of the second Trump administration. This number includes 70 children and teens, and at least 63 Americans detained while recording. ICE has been detaining West African women in New York and plans to send them to countries where they have no ties. This practice is called third-country deportation. Many of these women have lived in New York City for decades. ICE officers may soon get gloves that deliver painful electric shocks to people they target. The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it plans to spend up to $20 million by March on thousands of these devices. Martín Alonso Soto Hernandez, a Peruvian asylum seeker who helped organize a hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall in New Jersey, has been released from ICE custody and reunited with his family. His case is still ongoing, and he is now forced to wear an ankle monitor. The November midterm elections are quickly approaching, and important stories about them are unfolding across the country. On Monday, Trump said he would stop using taxpayer money for a pro-Trump ad campaign and that his super PAC would pay for the ads going forward. The administration had previously claimed the ads, one of which was a direct copy of a 2024 campaign ad, were “public service announcements.” ICE’s criminal investigation unit has been looking into voter registration groups and may be using undercover agents to “disrupt” them, according to internal government documents. The documents also say that ICE is using more than 48 million voter records, obtained from a 2020 election denier, to target alleged noncitizen voters. The world remains turbulent, with major happenings in Africa, Europe, West Asia, and Latin America. Ebola has now spread to Kenya. The Kenyan government says that the virus was found in a man who arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He died in a private hospital in Nairobi on Monday. It is not clear how he passed health checks at the Nairobi airport. Young people in France, Spain, and Belgium have led protests about education and housing costs, highlighting a growing problem in Western Europe. Many young people now lack the basic economic security their parents had. In France, the protests have led to over 5,000 arrests and the temporary closure of up to 500 secondary schools on Monday. The White House is defending Trump’s recent comments on Iran, where he said, “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego.” The White House explained that Trump meant these cities would have been at risk if Iran had not been stopped from acquiring a nuclear weapon. California politicians called the comments “deranged and dangerous” and said they could “encourage attacks on American lives.” The U.S. military has moved several “hunter-killer” MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador to use them in strikes against drug cartels. Human rights advocates warn that these attacks could endanger civilians, and experts say that killing cartel members does little to stem the flow of drugs. Take Action SojoAction is currently calling on Attorneys General to commit to protecting free and fair elections. On October 19th the Kettering Foundation will host “This Day Live: The Next Realignment.” What We’re Reading ‘Three Years After Oct. 7, Are There Any Words Left?”| “The endless beauty and strength of my people give me the heart to envision a better future, not as a dream, but a collective responsibility to uphold.” (by Josiah R. Daniels) “Tennessee's Botched Executions Offer No Justice. No Execution Does” | “Love does not have room for the death penalty.” (by Stacy Rector) “Train Up a Green Lantern in the Way He Should Go” | “The concept of passing the torch isn’t particularly pleasant.” (by Tyler Huckabee) Deep Breaths Deep Breaths: “There may not be as much humanity in the world as I would like to see, but there is some. There’s more than one would think. In any case, if you break faith with what you know, that’s a betrayal of many, many, many people. I may know six people, but that’s enough. Love has never been a popular movement, and no one’s ever wanted really to be free. The world is held together, really held together, by the love and passion of a very few people.” -James Baldwin, 1970, Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris. When things are uncertain, I have the habit of imagining the worst possible outcome. I tell myself this is actually for the best and call it "preparation for the worst." I should just call it what it really is—fatalism dressed up as worry and fear. I can’t be the only one who thinks like this, right? Lately, I have been thinking about living in this state of being and what it robs me of. And the answer is: so much. I have so much hope for what this world can be; how people can live in community with one another, the earth, and everything in it. I stubbornly refuse to believe such things are impossible. It might take us generations to get there, but we will, and love will win. There is no other outcome. When I slide into catastrophe mode, I give up autonomy and responsibility to others, letting them dictate my circumstances and keep leading us down this destructive path. I don’t believe I am powerless. I know for certain that I am not, and neither are you. I am part of a community that looks out for its neighbors, builds gardens, delivers groceries to those too scared to leave their homes, and fights back against despair, one kindness at a time. Look around you. How is your community showing up for one another? What acts of kindness are holding back despair? How can you be a part of it? This is how the world is meant to be. This is how the world is held together. — Cortnie Brooks, Education and Engagement Program Manager 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 Education and Engagement Program Manager: Cortnie Brooks Mobilizing & Policy Fellow: Alyssa Parker Donate Subscribe Unsubscribe or update email preferences Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842

SojoMail - Make elections boring again

View this email in your browser By Betsy Shirley Editor in Chief, Sojourners Normal October things: The squirrels are decimating my neighbors’ decorative gourds. Grocery stores have questionable new pumpkin spice-ified products (pumpkin spice hummus? Umm, no).  And to mark the recent feast day of Saint Francis—the venerable befriender of animals and renouncer of wealth—my church just blessed a dozen dogs, an iguana, and one annoyed cat. Sorry, Louie.   Not normal October things: A president and his administration who, in advance of the upcoming midterms, seem all too willing to “abuse the power of the federal government to overturn the will of voters,” writes Adam Russell Taylor.  We need to take these threats seriously, Adam explains—not so that we become nervous balls of anxiety or harden into cynicism, but to live into our calling as Christians. While others spread lies, we want to be people of truth, who “do good; seek peace, and pursue it,” as the psalms say. And he offers three practical ways we can help ensure the upcoming elections remain safe, free, and fair.   A few more things you need to know this week:    A “good” execution is a myth: Death row inmate Christa Pike recently survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection. The horrific aftermath shows what is often hidden from the public, writes Stacy Rector.  Three years of catastrophe: Artists, activists, writers, and theologians reflect on the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel three years later—and the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has followed.    Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day: But, as Georgia Coley writes, her own “coming out” felt more like “inviting in.”  Politics in the pulpit: As midterms near, pastors told Sojourners about their struggle to preach about politics faithfully, clearly, and without further fracturing the communities they serve.  Green behind the ears? The Bible spends a lot of time talking about training mentees and so does HBO’s Lanterns, writes Tyler Huckabee. But why is passing the torch so hard?  False profits: A new documentary takes a hard look at the truth behind the Christian music industry that created a reliable market by branding itself “safe for the whole family.”  How Christians Can Protect the Midterms From Trump’s Interference The headlines can be scary, but we're not powerless. Here are three ways Christians can help keep the midterms safe and fair. Read the full article Advertisement Community Notes Shortly after we published Georgia Coley’s piece, we got this note from a reader in Virginia:  Thank you for sharing this story and approach. I would like to share it with my PFLAG group, where coming out to extended family is a frequent topic, and coming out to “religious” family members is particularly fraught.— E. Fogarty  We love hearing what you do with the stories we write. Let us know when you’re forwarding something to a friend or a group, taking it to a Sunday School class, or adding it to your classroom syllabus — it gives us a better understanding of what’s resonating and how we’re helping you with our storytelling. Plus, it gives us warm, fuzzy feelings to read your emails. Our Latest Stories Tennessee’s Botched Executions Offer No Justice. No Execution Does (by Stacy Rector) Two recent botched executions have laid bare what we are doing in Tennessee in the name of justice. Read more Three Years After Oct. 7, Are There Any Words Left? (by Josiah R. Daniels) Artists, activists, writers, and theologians reflect on three years of catastrophe. Read more My “Coming Out” Felt More Like “Inviting In” (by Georgia Coley) For queer people, sharing our stories can be an invitation into a deeper relationship. Read more From the Magazine: Write the Vision, Make it Plain (by Ken Chitwood) How these pastors preach on politics in a divisive age. Read more Train Up a Green Lantern in the Way He Should Go (by Tyler Huckabee) ‘Lanterns’ is the first superhero show I've ever seen that got me thinking about mentorship and legacy. Why does passing the torch so often become a wrestling match? Read more A New Documentary Shows Why CCM Was Never Safe for the Whole Family (by Allison McClain Merrill) Former Contemporary Christian Music stars are sharing their experiences of the dark side of the industry in ‘Safe for the Whole Family.’ Read more Advertisements How Stories Shape Justice Movements with Margaret Atwood How do stories help us recognize injustice and remain hopeful enough to act? Join Margaret Atwood and Sojourners president Adam Russell Taylor on November 11 at 1 pm ET for a live conversation about faith, power, resistance, and the stories that can move us toward a more just future. Faith Overcomes Fear: Donate Today Authoritarianism relies on an exhausted, fearful public. But faith calls us to action. Give to Sojourners’ fall fundraising campaign to fuel investigative reporting and equip local churches with tools to defend democracy, protect vulnerable neighbors, and organize for justice. Make your tax-deductible gift today! Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. 611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #342, Washington, DC 20003 Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842