Lombard Mennonite Peace Center will be presenting a webinar entitled Social Distancing, Not Social Isolation on Wednesday, May 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

This timely webinar integrates Bowen family systems theory with the research of the late John Cacioppo, social neuroscientist. Join us and find out how the church can lovingly respond and care for those suffering from the “radical aloneness” that can result from social distancing.

Receive monthly notices about upcoming webinars that feature speakers who will assist churches in learning about best practices for ministries related to caring for God’s creation. Each webinar will have a focus pertaining to one of the four areas of discernment for Creation Justice Churches: theology and worship, institutional life and practice, circles of awareness and advocacy, and connections to a broader movement. Participation in the Creation Justice Churches program is not required to join a webinar.

National Nurses Week Appreciation!

In Celebration of National Nurses Week 2020

Three major ecumenical groups in the United States are coming together to invite their member communions and organizations to join in unity this May for training and support. As followers of Christ prepare for Pentecost, Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC), Christian Churches Together (CCT), and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) are offering voices of hope and reconciliation.

Join with UCC leaders in the largest digital and social media gathering of poor and low-wealth people, moral and religious leaders, advocates and people of conscience in the nation’s history on June 20th.

Statistics and studies have demonstrated the link between COVID-19 death rates and environmental injustice. This UCC Creation Justice webinar will address this link from three perspectives: scientific research, front line experience, and government response. Senator Cory Booker, Harvard researcher Francesca Dominici and the Rev. Lionel Murphy from the frontlines of the cancer alley in Louisiana will be the featured guests as we consider what faith communities can do to make a difference on this vital matter of life and death.

Register today!

“​In response to global and community health concerns, we will NOT be gathering together IN PERSON for our 3 day pilgrimage this September. Instead, we will be offering a variety of opportunities for pilgrims to connect, pray, learn, grow and walk TOGETHER IN SPIRIT (while physically distant) in the coming months.”

"Dying from COVID-19 must not be another collateral risk for the incarcerated or immigrants held in detention centers. From Ohio to California, prisons are predictably becoming the epicenters of COVID-19 outbreaks. How can a system that sustains brutality and exploitation possibly keep incarcerated people healthy during a pandemic?" –Rev. Tracy Howe Wispelwey, Minister for Congregational and Community Engagement for the United Church of Christ

This issue of the newsletter focuses on resources you can access related to Coronavirus COVID-19.

Getting to the Root of It

Each month, the Justice and Peace Action Network meets to discuss possible topics for the next Getting to the Root. This month we asked the Associate for Global Advocacy and Education at Global Ministries, Rebekah Choate, to help explain the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women in the U.S. and globally.

Thanks to those who have given, we are almost 1/3 of the way to raising $15,000 to retire 1.5 million dollars of medical debt in Arizona.

Help put a dent in the $210 million of medical debt in Arizona. Every dollar you give abolishes $100 of debt.

With every donation, RIP uses its precise data analytics to pinpoint the medical debt of those most in need of relief: households whose income is less than two times the federal poverty level guideline or are insolvent.

The Arizona Faith Network’s (AFN) Interfaith Youth Council (IYC) is designed to help prepare Arizona’s next generation to be key leaders in interfaith communities.

The IYC program seeks to help educate and connect young leaders from diverse faiths throughout the state. These young leaders engage in interfaith dialogue and interfaith education experiences with trained religious leaders from faiths represented throughout the state. Leadership training and development is offered in important areas including civil dialogue, social justice, advocacy work, and public speaking. 

Youth accepted into the IYC program will help design their own experiences with AFN mentors. Youth will commit to attending quarterly meetings for a period of two years.

Updates on the progress of Hope House of Sedona, a ministry of Church of the Red Rocks UCC. So much good work goes on despite the disruption caused by COVID-19!

From the Social Justice Action Team at The Church of the Palms UCC:

One of the positive things about being hunkered down in our homes during the COVID19 pandemic is that it provides opportunities to do something special for those who have it so much worse than we do. Take, for example, our growing homeless population. The Palms provides several programs for this growing population in Phoenix and communities in the Northwest Valley.