Faith In Action
About 80% of the volunteers that food banks rely on to function are retired folks over the age of 65. For obvious reasons, many of them had to stop volunteering. Food banks are now in need of healthy volunteers to help distribute food and build food boxes.
Read MoreChurch of the Palms and Shadow Rock are partnering to assist an immigrant congregation with bulk food because people using SNAP don’t have products available that qualify for the program. Each church is pledging $1500 to buy bulk beans and rice and will deliver to the immigrant church for distribution among their members. $3k will help that community through the crisis.
Read MoreBroad economic sanctions have been shown over the years to mostly affect the wider population in a country, not the leadership or well-off. Especially in a global pandemic, sanctions should be lifted rather than increased. The Trump Administration has made no effort to lift or pause sanctions that are currently in place. The World Health Organization has committed to help all three countries through the pandemic, but we have a responsibility to help as well.
Read MoreThe Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.
Read MoreWe’re experiencing an unusually high volume of emails, and you probably are, too! You can set up your email auto-respond message as a FAQ page. See how Rev. Seth Wispelwey at Rincon Congregational UCC is doing that.
Read MoreThe East Valley Church Network (which sponsored the recent event at Desert Palm) is in special need of bath towels, in case immigrant families, who are scheduled to be given amnesty in the next few weeks, are released by ICE.
To collect towels and/or food donations, our Justice and Witness Team is hosting a Drive-Thru Donation Drop-off Day, (Tuesday, March 24th) in the church parking lot. Donations will be collected between the hours of (10AM-6PM).
Read MoreOur Judicatory Heads agreed on a common letter...which unfortunately was adjusted several times to meet various newspapers guidelines! But the content (as published in the Albuquerque Journal on Sunday, March 22) is printed below. Please let us know if you saw something similar in your local newspaper; we submitted to 30 news outlets across the state.
Read More“As a backup that I truly hope we won't need, I'm pulling together names of volunteers on both coasts who might be able to help sew gowns for medical staff. We're still working out the logistics and are setting up partnerships to do this in a way that keeps everyone safe: volunteers, doctors, patients, hospital staff, drivers, etc.”
Read MoreHow do we care for ourselves and others during social distancing?
Chicago Theological Seminary is committed to the ongoing support of its students, alumni, and community. The CONNECTS Forum provides an open platform to find and share valuable resources.
Read MoreThank you, First Christian Church of Las Cruces for providing this information!
Read MoreFrom Jannah Scott of the U.S. Census:
My Dear UCC colleagues,
Greeting to Dr. Lyons and all of you! It was really inspiring to see how connected you intend to continue to be in the midst of the COVID-19. We would really appreciate the opportunity to stay in touch with you. If there is anything we can do to help people remember to get counted in the 2020 census, there was never a more important time than in the midst of times like this.
Read MoreAs people of faith, we believe in the moral call to care for those in need. In the midst of a global pandemic, it is critical that our elected officials place the wellbeing of people over that of corporations, and that the first priority of Congress is to make sure that everyone has access to the resources they need for their health and wholeness.
Read MoreSwift action is needed; please join with us in contacting your member of Congress, urging them to address paid sick leave. Our call as people of faith rings ever clearer in times of trial and challenge. Making sure that every person can take care of themselves when sick and that our communities are protected is another way that you can take steps to do something right now.
Read MoreThe UCC Mental Health Network has been working diligently to bring attention to mental health in our congregations. The program is for congregations to become WISE (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive and Engaged) about mental health. These days, given that there is global anxiety about this new COVID-19, one of the fallouts could be the lessening of community connections leading to growing isolation. The phrase “social distancing” has a chilling edge to it as well as a reality so as to prevent spreading the virus. Paying attention to the downsides of this pandemic can lead to some creative ways to sustain the connections even when the physical connections are not recommended. Being attentive to any who are disconnecting due to this virus, whether or not there is a mental health challenge, the well being of everyone can be enhanced.
Read MoreFrom Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival:
We support the call to pass House Coronavirus Bill - HR6201 - Families First Coronavirus Response Act because it provides critical resources for food assistance, testing, unemployment insurance, immediate paid sick days, and protection for health care workers. Importantly, this bill also includes things the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival has been demanding for a long time — a suspension of work requirements for SNAP, worker protections in the form of paid sick leave, increased resources for Medicaid and free testing for all, including the uninsured.
Read MoreRight now, Members of Congress are considering an immoral “merit” or points-based immigration system. As people of faith, we recognize the inherent dignity of all people and families - and reject any proposal that commodifies individuals or denies protection to people based on arbitrary evaluations. Any proposal should strengthen family unity, modernize the family immigration system, and remove barriers to immigrants seeking to adjust their status.
We are asking faith leaders to sign on to this important letter by COB Friday, March 20th in support of our current family-based immigration system and diversity immigrant visa program which have helped to create the rich, vibrant, and multicultural U.S. communities of today.
Read MoreConference Minister Rev. Bill Lyons received an email last week, naming Rincon Congregational and First Congregational Flagstaff as recipients of the Neighbors in Need grants. We’re so very appreciative of the close communication we have had here about the ministry that these two churches are doing and our effort to support them in it. Keep telling the story!
Read MoreMarch 19 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm at Temple Chai, 4645 E Marilyn Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85032
With Joy Ladin, the author of eleven books, including 2018’s The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective (Brandeis UP), a finalist for both a Lambda Literary Award and Triangle Award that received a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
Suggested Donation: $18
Read MoreFrom First Church Phoenix:
This Lent we invite you to choose a spiritual discipline that provides an opportunity to put your alms together with others at First Church in partnership with RIP Medical Debt to buy and abolish medical debt, thus manifesting the great commandments: to love God and love your neighbor, and to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.
Read MoreRead the March-April 2020, Vol. 5 Issue 2.
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