JPANet September 2023 Newsletter

Each month we ask UCC advocates to help us unpack the complex justice issues that we’re working on. As we move into the fall, the UCC Washington D.C. Office will be shifting our focus onto big ‘must pass’ spending bills like the “Farm Bill.” To help us better understand the farm bill, UCC Justice and Peace Policy Fellow, Thaddaeus Elliott, gives us a helpful explainer in this Getting to the Root.

Advocating for a Just Farm Bill

As Congress returns from recess, they have a lot of work ahead with several crucial business items on the agenda. One of their top priorities is negotiating and passing a new farm bill. “Farm Bill” is the colloquial term for the omnibus, multiyear law that sets policy and funds programs relating to agriculture and our food system. Since the 1930s, there have been 18 farm bills passed roughly every 5 years. Over time, the purview of the legislation has grown to impact more than just our nation’s farmers and ranchers. The most recent farm bill, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, was comprised of 12 titles including nutrition, conservation, energy, forestry, rural development and more. Important programs and funding authorized by that bill are set to expire this year. Read more. 

Justice In Action

The March Continues, 60 Years Later

United Church of Christ members, clergy and national staff joined the crowd of thousands in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Aug. 26 for the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. The event was both a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech — and a call for continued action.

The need to protect and expand voting rights was highlighted throughout the day, and you can join in the advocacy by urging your legislators to pass the Freedom to Vote Act. Read the full story.

Observe Just Peace Sunday!

September 17^th is Just Peace Sunday!  Join with congregations around the country in marking Just Peace Sunday using the theme “A Just Forgiveness & the Way of Peace.” As people of faith, we are called to balance the demands of justice and forgiveness, standing in the tradition of Jesus who offered radical forgiveness while also centering the voices of victims. Join us in renewing our commitment to Just Peace!

Oppenheimer Movie Resources

Still in theaters! The popular film Oppenheimer about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb, is still playing in theaters across the nation (Yes, along with Barbie!). The film provides an opportunity to learn more about the health and environmental dangers of nuclear weapons, and need for continued advocacy. Consider using the materials developed by the Back From the Brink Campaign to educate your congregation or community on these issues. And don’t forget – 9/26 is also the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.  

One Home One Future Launch

One Home One Future is a multi-faith coalition effort in the US working for visible and collective climate action by faith leaders. Local churches can participate by signing up for a pathways to climate action toolkit and a free banner. Visit the One Home One Future website and check out this one-page overview of the effort. Finally, join the online launch event at 7pm ET on October 4th.  

Justice Events

Webinar—The Climate Strike Movement 5 Years Later

Five years have now passed from when Greta Thunberg and others launched a movement that reverberated around the world. This webinar will feature faith-based activists who will reflect back on the movement and where we are today. Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time on September 13th at 1 pm ET, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it. Register now!

Attend the 41st Parker Lecture

Join UCC Media Justice Ministry for the 41st Annual Parker Lecture on October 24, 2023 at First Congregational UCC in Washington, DC and online. 

Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel will deliver the 41st Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) will be recognized with this year’s Everett C. Parker Award. Learn more and get your tickets here!

Celebrate Democracy with National Voter Registration Day!

The UCC’s Our Faith Our Vote Campaign is excited to be a part of a national effort to strengthen our democracy by registering voters on this year’s National Voter Registration Day, which will take place on September 19, 2023! No matter the party you support or the issues that matter most to you, National Voter Registration Day is the perfect time to celebrate and contribute to our shared democracy. 

Join the celebration of National Voter Registration Day by checking your registration status at our Civic Action Center, and sharing the link to others to do the same: https://p2a.co/xk9k2Sl.

Join the Movement Commemorates the 60^th anniversary of the 16^th Street Baptist Church Bombing

On September 15, 1963, four members of the Ku Klux Klan planted dynamite inside the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama and at about 10:20am, it was detonated. When that dynamite exploded into the history of our nation, it destroyed the lives of four girls, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley. Unknown to many is the fact that there was a 5^th little girl, 12-year-old Sarah Collins, who survived the bombing and whose life has been shaped by that trauma ever since.

On September 15, 2023, Join the Movement toward Racial Justice is partnering with Nurturing Justice to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the bombing and to support survivor Sarah Collins Rudolph. Through an online symposium, the event will seek healing from the horror of past harms, while keeping the power of the story of survival alive in our communities. Register and join the event, From Surviving to Thriving: Healing for the Forgotten Survivors of Racial Terror.

Stay Engaged in Upcoming Elections with Our Faith Our Vote!

We know that a presidential election year can bring about a range of emotions. Nerves, stress, feeling overwhelmed by the messaging and talking points, we get it! The UCC’s Our Faith Our Vote Campaign is here to try to support you along the way with a range of resources and tools to help you, your congregation, and your community feel equipped to engage this election season. 

We also know you get a lot of messages in your inbox. So we won’t send Our Faith Our Vote updates to this email list, but if you’re interested in more communications as we get closer to the 2024 elections (and all the state and local elections leading up to next November), let us know and we’ll get you signed up! 

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! You can find all the 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 staff of Justice and Witness Ministries.

Featured Topics:

Rooted and Grounded in Love | Growing Into a Tree | Five Years After Greta Thunberg Began Her Strike