About the Justice and Peace Action Network

The Justice and Peace Action Network (JPANet) is our denomination’s grassroots advocacy network composed of individual members and local UCC congregations across the country.

The JPANet both educates and engages its members in shaping public policy and keeping with God’s vision of a just and loving society. Our work is grounded in General Synod resolutions, consonant with historic UCC witness, and formed by a biblical understanding of prophetic ministry.

JPANet members collectively advocate on a variety of issues for social change. These issue areas are resourced by a team in the UCC’s Washington D.C. Office, part of the Justice and Local Church Ministries, who work with UCC advocates to shape coordinated strategy on our common witness. For global issues, the D.C. team partners with Global Ministries, a common missional witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.

FAQs

What resources and opportunities does the Network provide?

• Weekly Legislative Action Alerts:
  Brief email synopsis of pending legislation or current justice issues, and a call for action each week. Perfect for taking personal action on the justice issues you care about and suitable for posting in newsletters and bulletins.
   
• Monthly Newsletter:
  Includes invitations to regional and national gatherings, resources and opportunities for witness.
   
• Biblical and liturgical material for interpreting issues and action

What Happens When You Take Action?
When you take an online action, you will be directed to a webpage that will explain the current legislative issue and provide a sample letter for you to send to the targeted decision-makers. When you fill out your information, your letter, which you can personalize according to your own particular views on an issue, will be sent to the indicated decision-makers (i.e. Senators, Congresspeople, the President, or whoever is the appropriate recipient of your message). These messages appear in their email inboxes as though you had sent it from their website email form or your own email. You will also have the opportunity to tweet at your legislators with tweets drafted that you can personalize before sending.

Does taking action electronically make a difference?
Yes! Decision-makers take notice when their mailboxes fill with emails. Congressional staff members keep regular tallies of the number of messages they receive on an issue, and it can make a difference on whether or not members of Congress support or oppose legislative measures. UCC JPANet advocates have sent messages on an wide range of issues from accessible healthcare, environmental justice, hate crimes, global poverty, violence against women, federal budget policy priorities, fair treatment of workers, the minimum wage and the protection of civil liberties.

Your support helps us to provide this resource. Please support the JPANet with an online gift to the Annual Fund! Donate now.