| | | NCC Freedom Summer Upcoming Events | | NCC Freedom Academy Session to Highlight Economic Justice | | Join us for the second week of NCC Freedom Academy, "To Bring Good News to the Poor: The Case for Economic Justice," with Rev. Sekinah Hamlin, Advocacy Consultant for the Disciples Overseas Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), this Sunday, July 12 at 6 p.m. ET! This enlightening session will continue the engaging NCC Freedom Summer "Sunday School" series unpacking Luke 4. Participants can download the curriculum series developed by NCC’s Christian Education Department, highlighting civic engagement, social justice, and the importance of voting rights from a faith-based perspective. Invite a friend and participate in this upcoming session! You don't want to miss it! | | | NCC Freedom Ride: First Stop in Jacksonville, Fla., July 19 | | The NCC Freedom Ride will kick off with an ecumenical worship service on July 19 at 7 p.m. at the Church of Oakland, 1025 Jessie Street, Jacksonville, Fla., 32206, where Rev Dr. Christopher McKee, Jr., is Senior Pastor. Join NCC for a time of worship and edification! The guest speaker will be Bishop Rudolph W. McKissick, Jr., Senior Pastor of the Bethel Church in Jacksonville. Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, NCC President and General Secretary, and Rev. Dr. Russell Meyer, Executive Director of the Florida Council of Churches and Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, will be among the notable guests at this event. The first stop of the Freedom Ride will also focus on registering and mobilizing voters, with a special training on civic engagement and canvassing on July 20 at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Oakland. Help NCC by spreading the news and joining us as we engage, educate, and empower voters this election season. | | | NCC Decries Supreme Court Ruling Criminalizing Unhoused Persons | “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Washington, D.C.— The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) strongly opposes the Supreme Court’s recent decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which allows for the enforcement of laws regulating camping on public property and has significant implications for homeless individuals across the nation.
The ruling determined that such enforcement does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, overturning lower court decisions that sided with the plaintiffs based on Martin v. Boise. That ruling, issued without dissent, upheld the finding by the 9th Circuit that persons experiencing homelessness could not be punished for sleeping in public spaces when no alternatives were available.
The Supreme Court’s ruling overturns a broadly agreed-upon precedent and represents a systemic failure to support those most in need. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, approximately 653,100 people in the U.S. experienced homelessness on a single night in 2023, a 12 percent increase from 2022. Further, Black Americans and other people of color are disproportionately affected. This growing crisis severely impacts the most vulnerable, leading to poor health, lack of safety, and limited access to education and employment opportunities.
“Jailing people experiencing homelessness will do nothing to address the poverty crisis in Grants Pass or anywhere else in this country. Indeed, it will likely worsen the crisis due to the collateral consequences of having a criminal record,” stated Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, NCC President and General Secretary. “All this will continue to feed the mass incarceration of those who are poor and will disproportionately affect people of color who have been targeted by policies, including Jim Crow segregation, redlining, and various forms of housing discrimination that persist today.” | | | Poor People's Campaign Moral March Highlight: 'Make Them Hear You' | | The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, co-sponsored with the National Council of Churches and other partnering organizations, the "Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington D.C. & to the Polls" in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 29. This historic event featured a broad cross-section of leaders and included inspiring stories of impacted people urging elected officials to prioritize the needs of poor and low-wage workers. Click the video link above to tune into a clip of a moving moment in the day's events, a poignant rendition of Brian Stokes Mitchell's ("Ragtime"), "Make Them Hear You," sung by Catina Rosemond Ray, Cultural Artist.
| | Updates from the World Council of Churches Gatherings in Africa | WCC Leaders Share Insights at the Baptist World Alliance Global Gathering | | Photo: WCC | By World Council of Churches Staff The Baptist World Alliance global gathering in Nigeria, meeting under the theme, “Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Becoming Agents of Peace,” is being held 6–12 July in Lagos, Nigeria. Among the hundreds of delegates attending are World Council of Churches (WCC) Vice Moderator, Rev. Merlyn Hyde-Riley, and WCC President from North America, Rev. Dr Angelique Keturah Walker-Smith.
The gathering began with the 10th Baptist International Conference on Theological Education, held once each quinquennium to draw together Baptist theologians, theological educators, and others around a specific theme.
“The conference included special guest speakers with teaching and discussions, impactful worship, and networking, creating space for all participants to learn from one another and grow as disciples of Christ,” said Dr. Walker-Smith, who moderated an evening session with Baptist peacemakers from Ukraine, Ghana, Israel, and Palestine.
Read the full article here. | Visiting Ghana, WCC President from North America Presents “Ahead of her Time” Awards and recognition of Achimota Secondary School | | Photo: WCC | By World Council of Churches Staff Rev. Dr Angelique Keturah Walker-Smith, World Council of Churches (WCC) President from North America, visited Ghana to present the Ahead of Her Time awards and the related book to renowned women leaders, past and present. She also had an opportunity to visit the Achimota Secondary School that contributed to the ecumenical and leadership formation of these leaders. The book, Ahead of Her Time: Pan-African Women of Faith and the Vision of Christian Unity, Mission, and Justice, by Dr. Walker-Smith, shows how women of pan-African descent have been and are bringing the wisdom and fire of ecumenism into the hearts and minds of the next generation. The first presentation was to Dr Mercy Oduyoye, former WCC deputy General Secretary. Those gathered—many of them women mentored by Oduyoye—celebrated her leadership at the sixth Pan African Conference of Concerned African Women Theologians at Trinity Theological Seminary, which she founded in 1989 with eight other women theologians while she was WCC Deputy Feneral Secretary. Read more of the article from the World Council of Churches here. | | Washington Interfaith Staff Community to Host Webinar on Cuba's Humanitarian Crisis | | Cuba is at a difficult crossroads and is facing an unprecedented political, social, and economic crisis, affecting the daily lives and survival of everyday people on the island. There are historic shortages, and the majority of Cuban people live with uncertain access to necessities and food. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have been forced to sell their belongings and undertake dangerous journeys to reach the United States via the Southwest border. Despite the crisis, U.S. policy toward Cuba continues to be stuck in an outdated paradigm focused on maintaining an embargo and economically strangling the Cuban people. Our Cuban church partners are urgently asking for American Christians to advocate for an easing of U.S. economic restrictions and a change in U.S. policy to relieve the suffering of the Cuban people, help them to prosper in their own country, and include them fully in the family of nations.
Please join the Faith Cuba Working Group for a webinar to hear from Cuban partners and experts on U.S.–Cuba relations, gain a deeper understanding of the ongoing crisis, explore evolving challenges and opportunities for action, and learn about the recent impacts of U.S. policy.
Featuring Dr. William Leogrande, Professor at American University, and Rev. Dr. Carlos Emilio Ham, former President of the Caribbean Conference of Churches, and past Rector of the Matanzas Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cuba, this webinar will be live on July 23rd, at 12 p.m. EST. | | | Save the Date: 2024 Peter Hinde CRISPAZ Peace Award Ceremony | | | Location: Southside Presbyterian Church | 17 W 23rd St., Tucson AZ 85713
Christians for Peace in El Salvador (CRISPAZ) will award John Fife and Dora Rodriguez the 2024 Peter Hinde CRISPAZ Peace Award for their advocacy work and pushing forward the rights of Central American migrants. Mark your calendars for this celebratory event! | | |
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