JPANet August 2024 Newsletter

Each month we unpack the complex justice issues that we’re working on. This month, Rebekah Choate, Minister for Global Advocacy and Education, reflects on the upcoming anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the failure of the US government to compensate those harmed by nuclear testing, and the critical need to abolish nuclear weapons. 

Our Nuclear Legacy
This summer is the 79th anniversary of both the Trinity test that launched the atomic age, and the U.S.’s nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed and injured hundreds of thousands. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversaries are a somber, annual reminder of the horrors of nuclear weapons and why abolishing nuclear weapons and preventing nuclear war is a matter of faith for the United Church of Christ as a Just Peace church. Read More

Justice in Action

Our Faith Our Vote Campaign 

Our Faith Our Vote Campaign 
The United Church of Christ’s Our Faith Our Vote Campaign is our ongoing commitment to equip you with the tools for nonpartisan faithful engagement in our democratic process. The 2024 Our Faith Our Vote campaign asks the church to answer the call of 1 John 3:18 to “let us not love with words or speech, but in action and in truth,” by “voting with love.” Check out the Our Faith Our Vote website for: 
✅ Issue-specific resources  
✅ Guides for having faithful and respectful discussions 
✅ Resources to #GOTV  
✅ Guidelines for 501c3 activity 
✅ New blog posts every Tuesday! 

---

Joint prayer service for peace in the Middle East held before Netanyahu’s D.C. visit 

Joint prayer service for peace in the Middle East held before Netanyahu’s D.C. visit 
In Washington, D.C. last week, the Churches for Middle East Peace — a coalition of more than 30 national church communions and organizations in Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Evangelical traditions, including the United Church of Christ — organized a Joint Prayer Service calling for justice and peace. This was held just before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress on July 24. The purpose of the service was to gather people of faith in prayer for an end to violence and military action in Gaza ahead of Netanyahu’s address to Congress. Read more here!

---

Spiritual Care for Justice Seekers in a Season of Division 

Spiritual Care for Justice Seekers in a Season of Division 
The seriousness of the choices awaiting us this election season and the impacts they will have for the future are overwhelming for many of us, especially those of us committed to using our voices and votes to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). And purposefully divisive messaging fills our devices with the language of fear and hate.

If you are looking for ways to stay centered and connect to the divine image that dwells in each of us, Join the Movement toward Racial Justice has curated a collection of practices, prayers, and art to for such a time as this. Our Election Season Spiritual Care Package offers everything from rituals for when you’re feeling unwanted, to gender affirming chants and centering meditations. We hope that these resources will offer you a tender place of care as we wade in the God-troubled waters of this election season, seeking a more just world for all. Learn more here!

---

Bold, prophetic, legal: UCC leaders offer advice for churches navigating the election 

Bold, prophetic, legal: UCC leaders offer advice for churches navigating the election 
As the election approaches, many United Church of Christ congregations have been asking where, exactly, churches should draw the lines around political engagement. The webinar, “Be Prophetic, Not Partisan: Navigating Election DO’s and Don’ts for Churches,” which took place last week, has answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. Find the full recorded webinar here! 

---

Become a Poll Chaplain or Poll Worker for the 2024 Election

Become a Poll Chaplain or Poll Worker for the 2024 Election
August 1^st is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day! As part of the UCC’s Our Faith Our Vote campaign, UCC members are encouraged to consider becoming a trained Poll Chaplain for the 2024 election. This training is offered through the Faiths United to Save Democracy (FUSD) campaign, of which the UCC is a sponsor. These multifaith, multi-racial poll chaplains (ordained and lay leaders) will help promote the peace and provide a calming and moral presence at vulnerable polling places. Register now for one of the trainings that begin in July.  You can also get more information about registering to be a poll worker here.   

---

Encourage Others to #VoteWithLove! New Yard Signs Available for Purchase 

Photo Credit: Rev. Mike Denton, Pastor of the United Church of Christ of Pittsfield, MA.

Encourage Others to #VoteWithLove! New Yard Signs Available for Purchase 
Election Day is just around the corner and so much is at stake! Remind your neighbors, friends, and colleagues of the importance of exercising our right to vote using this “Our Faith Our Vote” yard sign with the call to “Vote with Love”. These yard signs are available for purchase through UCC Resources.  You can purchase signs here!

---

Justice Events

UCC Webinar: Defending the Sacred—An Apache Holy Site under Threat 

UCC Webinar: Defending the Sacred—An Apache Holy Site under Threat 
For the Apache and other Indigenous peoples, Oak Flat is a sacred site akin to Mount Sinai. It is currently under threat of being mined for copper. Join us to hear from those struggling to defend it. Even if you cannot make it at its scheduled time on Wednesday, August 14^th at 1 pm ET, still sign-up, and we will send you a recording. Register now! 

---

Congregation and Community Safety Webinar Training 

Congregation and Community Safety Webinar Training 
How can congregations build an ecology of community safety that is rooted in care, investing in each other, believing in each other, and trusting each other and the rhythms and cycles around/within us?  What community safety practices can we engage in now that also help us build the world we long for?  Our experienced trainers will expand on our “Ecology of Community Safety” guide to offer practical skills, psycho-social care practices, planning tools, and analysis of current conditions, all towards practicing new ways of creating safety within our own congregational contexts.  

This series is hosted by Liberating Lineages Collective and the FaithINFO team at the National Ministry setting of United Church of Christ and is open to all faith traditions. Register Here!

---

UCC Climate Action Assembly on September 4th 

UCC Climate Action Assembly on September 4th 
Every two months the UCC Council for Climate Justice hosts a Climate Action Assembly to further collective efforts rooted in General Synod Resolutions. On Wednesday, September 4^th at 1 pm ET, our Climate Action Assembly will feature a briefing on the Vote for Climate Hope campaign as we enter the final months before the election. Climate Action Assemblies are open to all members of the UCC. Register Here!

---

Join the Justice Leadership Program for their Fall 2024 Jubilee Co-hort!

Join the Justice Leadership Program for their Fall 2024 Jubilee Co-hort!
Join our collaborators at the Justice Leadership Program for their Fall 2024 Jubilee Co-hort! You can learn more about this exciting opportunity by visiting their website: Justice Leadership Program and click here if you are interested in applying for the October Jubilee cohort.  Even more exciting, FaithINFO is providing a 50% scholarship to the first 12 UCC members to enroll in the fall Jubilee cohort – just email hutchisone@ucc.org with interest and/or questions. Learn more here!

---

SAVE THE DATE: Just Peace Sunday, September 15, 2024 

SAVE THE DATE: Just Peace Sunday, September 15, 2024 
The Thirtieth General Synod called on the congregations of the United Church of Christ to mark the Sunday preceding September 21 (which the United Nation recognizes as the “International Day of Prayer for Peace”) as Just Peace Sunday. This year, we will be reflecting on the theme “Things that Make For Peace” based on Luke 19:41: “As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes…’ 

Check back to our Just Peace Sunday 2024 webpage for upcoming resources!  

---

The Southern New England Conference Justice Summit on Politics as an Act of Faith 

The Southern New England Conference Justice Summit on Politics as an Act of Faith 
The Southern New England Conference Justice Summit on Politics as an Act of Faith will take place on Saturday, September 14, both onsite in Connecticut and online, and is open to people of all UCC Conferences and denominations. This full day program will include a range of workshops, with some oriented to churches that are starting to exploring what faithful political engagement might look like for them and others designed for leaders looking to deepen their grounding for faith-based political action. Contact Rev. Noah Brewer-Wallin, brewer-wallinn@sneucc.org, with questions.  Register Here!

---

Register Your Congregation for Vote for Climate Hope 

Register Your Congregation for Vote for Climate Hope 
Between now and November 1st, UCC churches from across the country will be collecting Climate Hope Voter Pledge Cards. We know that people are more likely to vote if it is connected to a cause they care deeply about, if they make a commitment to someone else, and if they receive a reminder near the time of the election. Register your congregation to collect pledges in your church and broader community. Take the pledge yourself! 

---

People’s Prayers for Peace

People’s Prayers for Peace
The UCC has issued an open invitation for people to offer a prayer to end violence in any manifestation, and to bring about peace. Share your prayers using the  People’s Prayers for Peace form 

---

Justice Resources

DC Action Center
Each week, the D.C. Office creates an action alert based on what is happening at that time in Congress and offers you the opportunity to contact your legislators with just one click! For the month of August 2024 we will be pausing our weekly action alerts, but will resume in September. In the meantime, you can take action with our previous action alerts here.

The Pollinator
The Pollinator is a digital platform of the UCC for the sharing of ideas and inspiration. Its focus is the building of a faith-filled and faith-rooted movement for the care of creation.

Witness for Justice
Looking for up-to-date social justice commentary? Check out Witness for Justice, a weekly editorial opinion column written by the National Staff.

Our Faith Our Vote Blog 
Our Faith, Our Vote is an ongoing commitment to equip you with the tools for nonpartisan faithful engagement in our democratic process. The 2024 Our Faith Our Vote campaign asks the church to answer the call of 1 John 3:18 to “let us not love with words or speech, but in action and in truth,” by “voting with love.” Learn more here to find GOTV resources, weekly blog posts, and issue based educational resources.