JPANet December 2023 Newsletter

Each month we ask UCC advocates to help us unpack the complex justice issues that we’re working on. This month, the Rev. Noel Andersen, national field director for Church World Service and minister for immigration justice for the United Church of Christ, helps us understand the current debate in Congress around including changes to asylum laws in any deal reached on foreign aid.

U.S. Asylum Laws Rooted in Sacred Tradition Must Not be Traded Away for Military Aid

Right now, a group of U.S. Senators are discussing which pieces of our asylum laws they would like to cut as a bargaining tool to reach an agreement on foreign aid to Israel and Ukraine. The types of proposals being considered would re-work asylum as we know it, making it much more difficult for people to win their asylum case. Read more.

Justice In Action

Education Resources for Advocacy on the Farm Bill

The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that contains a range of important agriculture and food programs. Congress recently passed a continuing resolution that included an extension of the current farm bill into 2024, giving advocates more time to push for more robust funding, and equity in the programs we care about.

We need you to get involved in the advocacy for a more just farm bill in the upcoming year. Our three part webinar series, paired with action alerts and educational resources, will give you the tools you need to be a skilled farm bill advocate! Find the resources on our web page, and get started today! 

Abolition Advent Calendar from Join the Movement

Join the Movement toward Racial Justice is thrilled to offer their second annual Abolition Advent Calendar. This year, our theme is “Freedom for All Bodies.”

Every day we are seeing more and more dehumanizing efforts to limit embodiments of liberation. Enslaving paradigms are being deployed in new and all-too-familiar ways to exert violence and control over bodies that some deem undeserving of freedom. In this season we are called not only to recognize the strategies and tactics of enslavement as they manifest among us, but also to witness the way they call us anew to the sacred work of abolition. Learn more and sign up to receive the daily reflections here.

The Work of Justice Needs Leaders

The Justice Leadership Program (JLP) will help you build a foundation of faith-based knowledge, practical skills and confidence. Whether it is the five-month Jubilee program or individual workshops, JLP can support your growth as a leader in the work of justice. Sign up now for Jubilee starting in January or for the December 5 workshop exploring the many different ways to do the work of justice. 

Ensure All Are Fed

For the first time in decades, The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a critical federal nutrition program that provides vital food assistance to over 6 million low-income women and children, is facing a funding shortfall. If Congress does not act to provide adequate funding for WIC, over 600,000 eligible new parents and children would be turned away. 

Join us in contacting your elected leaders, and urge them to support and fully fund the WIC program today.

A UCC appeal: Help give humanitarian aid to people amid war in Gaza, Palestine and Israel

The United Church of Christ, through Wider Church Ministries, is issuing a special appeal Oct. 20 for humanitarian aid to people affected by the war in Israel and Palestine. As we continue to advocate for a cease fire, access for humanitarian assistance, and for the core issues to be addressed, we also invite your financial support to undergird the work of our partners with whom we have had a long-standing relationship. Your gifts will make an impact and a difference on those who are suffering so greatly during these days of lamentation and suffering. Learn more about this appeal.

Justice Events

Primary Season: Prioritizing Climate Solutions

In recent elections, young climate justice activists have been a powerful force through their organizing at the grassroots, but this past year there has been a dip in enthusiasm among climate voters and young voters. In this webinar, we will focus on how climate solutions can be prioritized in the primaries to energize voters and lay the groundwork for advancing just policies. Register to join us on Wednesday, January 10^th at 1 pm ET.

Sign up for 2024 Our Faith Our Vote Communications

The 2024 Our Faith Our Vote Campaign kicks off soon, and we want you to be in the loop! Sign up to receive blog posts, issue education resources, and information on webinars or events as soon as they are available. Make sure you, and those in your community, are vote ready in 2024! Email Jessica Quinn, at quinnj@ucc.org to get signed up today. 

Climate Action Commissioning Service  

The UCC Council for Climate Justice is convening a Climate Action Commissioning Service as the UCC launches its climate justice ministries for 2024. The preacher for this event will be Nellis Kennedy-Howard who once worked alongside Winona LaDuke as the Co-Executive Director of Honor the Earth in addition to later working as the Sierra Club’s Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. Sign-up to join us for this online event on Wednesday, January 3^rd at 1 pm ET.

Praying Through Advent

This series will bring us deep into the Advent story, from escaping the violence of Herod, to journeying through the desert, to being left outside to give birth. Hosted by Rev. Tracy Howe and featuring guests from across the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and Local Church pastors around the country. Consider how these stories are still unfolding in the forms of repression, migration and the housing crisis. We will join in fervent prayer, that we may be part of God’s unfolding love in this world. Register for this series on Thursdays at 3:30pm ET here.

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:

Slowing Down for Justice | It Is Right and Just | Bodily Autonomy Matters! | TRANScending into Liberation