Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson represents UCC at Ash Wednesday events across Washington, D.C.

This past Ash Wednesday, March 5, the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, appeared at press conferences, vigils, and rallies in Washington D.C. On a Holy Day grounded in reflection, lamentation, and repentance, these events centered around calling on our federal government to act with boldness in the face of executive overreach and attempts to cut lifesaving public programs such as Medicaid and SNAP.    

“Ash Wednesday: A Call to Action for a Compassionate Budget”

Members of Congress and faith leaders gathered on Capitol Hill to share Ash Wednesday prayer, distribution of ashes, and lament the House budget reconciliation resolution and what it could mean for individuals and families across the country.  The event was organized primarily through the Washington Interfaith Staff Community (WISC) working group on Domestic Human Needs—a working group the UCC Office of Public Policy & Advocacy belongs to.  

Thompson spoke to the group, lamenting Congressional attempts to cut healthcare, food assistance, and housing. She also warned against the sins of greed, selfishness, and complacency, urging all to build broad coalitions and work together in justice work.   

“Today we stand with the hungry. We stand with the poor. We stand with our low-income communities, our indigenous communities, and all those who are suffering from the policies and funding cuts being taken from this Congress,” Thompson said. “Cuts lacking in compassion for those we are called to love as we love ourselves.”
   

Ash Wednesday National Call for Repentance and Truth Telling

Later, Thompson attended an event organized by Repairers of the Breach called for truth telling. Faith leaders marched to the U.S. Supreme Court to preach, pray, and urge action against this administration’s policy and budget proposals.  

The crowd heard from a powerful group of faith leaders including Thompson, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, and Rev. Amanda Hendler Voss, Senior Minister at the First Congregational UCC Church of Washington, D.C., who called on our nation for repentance from the sins of injustice, apathy, and oppression.  

Protest signs read “The Budget is a Moral Document,” “$4.5 Trillion Dollars in Tax Cuts for the Rich = Hurt for the Poor” and “Congress: Give Billionaires Up for Lent,” as well as “We Demand Justice, Not Idolatry.”   

The event was recorded and can be found here.   

Faithful Witness Wednesday: A Call for Congressional Courage

Faith leaders gathered outside the U.S. Capitol in the first of a weekly series called Faithful Witness Wednesdays. Organized by Sojourners and the Washington Interfaith Staff Community (WISC), these multi-faith vigils will be calling on Congress to exercise greater moral courage in upholding its Article 1 powers and preventing executive overreach.   

Lunch and reflections with local UCC clergy

In addition to those interfaith events, Thompson took time to have lunch and hold a conversation with local UCC pastors from around the D.C. area. They discussed how their churches are navigating the challenges of this moment, with many local congregations experiencing direct impact from mass illegal firings of federal workers.  

Mike Neuroth, director of the Office of Public Policy and Advocacy of the UCC in Washington, D.C., said “This Lenten season is a moment to reflect on how we arrived at this place and grieve the suffering we see around us.  It is a time to reflect on and repent for the ways we have failed to live into our values and hold our policymakers accountable.”

Neuroth continued, offering hope. “Lent is not a time to lose hope! It is rather a time to sow seeds of joy and resistance through our grief, knowing that ultimately love will win, and one day, as the Psalmist envisioned, ‘justice and peace shall kiss’.  Let us hold on to that hope in the darkness. This Lent, let us “give up” all cynicism and hopelessness, and rather take courage in the struggle for a Just World for All.”  

Speaking as one voice

Abigail Cipparone, domestic policy advocate at the UCC Washington, D.C. Office, said, “Congress is hurtling towards cutting Medicaid, food stamps, clean energy tax credits, and student loan forgiveness programs to pay for huge tax giveaways for wealthy households and businesses and mass deportations in its upcoming budget reconciliation bill. This is not only a betrayal of President Trump’s campaign promises to protect families who struggle financially, as well as his specific pledge to not cut Medicaid, it is also a fundamental violation of longstanding General Synod resolutions calling on this nation to provide for the most vulnerable among us and welcome the immigrant.”

Cipparone stressed that the Ash Wednesday turnout was meaningful. “Today’s events, marking the start of the Lenten season, were filled with lament, as we mourned the promises made to the American people.  But these events were also a demonstration of strength. The religious community came together with lawmakers and impacted communities to demand protection for the most vulnerable. We will continue to speak as one voice – opposing tyranny, greed, and selfishness, and centering love.” 

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