Global Ministries

Religious leaders, including the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, speak out against "Muslim-free zones" in a "Statement of Principles from Faith Leaders of Shoulder to Shoulder."  The Disciples and the UCC are both members of the Shoulder-to-Shoulder campaign.

Church World Service issued the following Action Alert today:

As we grapple with increasingly heartbreaking and tragic reports of Syrian refugees dying as they seek safety in the region and in Europe, it is clear that the United States must respond with leadership.

The fact that the U.S. has only resettled 1,517 Syrian refugees since the beginning of the conflict is inexcusable.

The Division of Overseas Ministries is delighted to announce the appointment of Tom Morse as Executive for Mission Education and Interpretation. Tom has worked with DOM/Global Ministries since 2007, serving 5 years in China with the Amity Foundation and Drum Tower Hospital before working as the program associate for Resource Development.

This opinion article originally appeared as part of the United Church of Christ's Witness for Justice series.

Whether by force or by choice, the movement of people is as old as human history. The effort to control and restrict such movement is just as old. The powerful have always sought to determine who may enter, and who may not. We have built walls to protect and defend, including the Great Wall in China against northern invaders; the Berlin Wall, the most visible symbol of the Cold War; the Separation Barrier Israel continues to build to wall off Palestinians; and the wall along the US-Mexico border, to prevent immigration from Latin America. Physical walls create and reinforce psychological barriers, stereotypes and fears.

Shoulder to Shoulder is hosting a webinar tomorrow, May 12 @ noon ET with the Aspen Institute's Justice and Society Program, the Kaufmann Institute, and Religions for Peace USA called "Strategies for Expanding a local Interfaith Movement." It will feature findings and key lessons learned from a multi-year study of interfaith work in West Michigan. Please join us! Here is the live link to join the webinar directly, but we do appreciate registration (linked here) if you can take the time so we know who to expect. Additionally, here is the link to the Aspen Institute's full report on Interfaith Engagement in West Michigan.  The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ are members of Shoulder to Shoulder.

A meeting of the National Muslim-Christian Initiative, a major dialogue between Muslim and Christian leaders, took place in late March, gathering together nearly 40 Christian and Muslim senior representatives from around the country to engage issues of concern to both communities, including deliberate discussion of Islamphobia in the US and religious extremist ideology abroad. The meeting included a public evening program with more than 100 people present, on the intersection of religious freedom and respect for what others hold sacred.

On July 30, 2014, I received an email from the Consulate stating: “We have received authorization and your visa can be issued at the Swiss Consulate General in San Francisco.” At that moment, I was so excited and began jumping for joy in my small apartment in Denver. Within no time I was ready to travel abroad and study for a Complementary Certificate of Ecumenical Studies at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey/University of Geneva. “Switzerland, here I come!” was my exclamation.

Matt Fehse serves with the UCC Disaster Ministries.  Previously he served as a Global Mission Intern with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.  His work with Disaster Ministries is supported by your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing.

On Tuesday, an act of senseless violence ended the lives of three students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; her husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

Regardless of the motivation of this particular tragedy, it has very clearly highlighted concern in the Muslim community about rising anti-Muslim sentiment.  Now is the time for those of us in the faith community who are not Muslim to stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters. 

We, the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, call on clergy and religious communities to remember the lives of the three American Muslims killed in Chapel Hill this week by incorporating scriptural calls to love into religious services this weekend.  Use and follow #SpreadLove to amplify the impact of our combined voices of solidarity, condolence and support. 

The National Council of Churches joins the world in grief and outrage at ISIS’s executions of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, and Jordanian hostage Moath al-Kasasbeh. The utter bankruptcy of this extremist ideology, which looks to horrific violence to prop up its credibility, cannot be allowed to stand any longer. We join with people of faith and goodwill all across the world in condemning these horrific, inhumane acts, and call upon the nations to join together to eliminate this threat.