Global Ministries

NEW YORK, NY (September 21, 2020) Over 170 international and domestic peacebuilding organizations have issued an urgent call to action for peace. The statement points out that responses to crisis that increase violence, injustice and exclusion will worsen development losses and increase human suffering. A focus on peace, justice and inclusion must be at the heart of the response to COVID-19.

To prepare for the 2020 elections, the United Church of Christ D.C. Office, with the help of ecumenical friends and partners, has been busy working on issue specific resources for you to use and to share with your congregations and communities! We are in the midst of a critical election year, and it is important that we consider some of these major topics and how our faith informs our vote.

For more issue videos, go to the UCC webpage.

The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, of which the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ are founding members, applauds today’s House vote on the passage of The NO BAN Act, which would repeal the harmful Muslim, African, refugee, and asylum bans put in place by this administration and establish vital protections against future discriminatory bans.

We cannot forget that one of the first acts of the current administration was to implement a racist travel ban policy, with the clear intention (based on numerous campaign promises) of banning Muslims.

09 July 2020, originally posted here

In a historical overview of the relationship between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the United Nations, a new WCC publication explores why the shared purposes of the organizations are needed now more than ever.

Join Virtual Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2020 for a ZOOM webinar that will prepare us to take online action with members of Congress on what would have been our Lobby Day, Monday, April 27, 2020, 1 pm EDT / 10 am PDT. Register here.

Originally posted here on April 16, 2020

For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
    I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.
Is there no balm in Gilead?
    Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor people
    not been restored?

-Jeremiah 8:21-22 NRSV

In the midst of a global pandemic with a massive impact on the health and well-being of people throughout the world, President Trump proposes to suspend U.S. funding to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is dangerous, immoral and wrong. Even though international institutions such as the WHO are not perfect, suspension of funding, proposed for 60-90 days while a review takes place, is irresponsible and ill-timed.  

“Protect the life God loves so much”

Call for the immediate and full lifting of those U.S. sanctions that increase the difficulty for nations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and other countries.

Church World Service (CWS), a global humanitarian agency with programs in development, humanitarian aid, and refugee assistance, adds its voice to the increasing number of U.S. humanitarian and religious organizations calling an immediate lifting of those U.S. sanctions that increase the difficulty for countries to protect their populations from the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent further global transmissions.

The United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are founding members of the Shoulder to Shoulder campaign and coalition, which developed a 2019 Ramadan Road Trip.  The Shoulder to Shoulder  team visited 5 Iftars in the American Southeast in order to show the diversity of the American Muslim community and uplift stories of people coming together across difference.

As a result, we are excited to share their 15-minute Ramadan Road Trip 2019 Mini-Doc and accompanying discussion guide that highlights the experience of how communities are creating spaces where individuals and communities can move out of their bubbles to encounter their neighbors and find common ground.

January is recognized in the US as Human Trafficking Awareness Month and the 2009 UCC Synod Resolution and 2011 Disciples General Assembly Resolution against human trafficking urges congregations to recognize January 11 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, affected some 24.9 million people in 2016 and is one of the most profitable forms of transnational crime. Traffickers prey on those who are in vulnerable communities and force them into labor, exploit them in commercial sexual enterprises, and move them across national or state borders against their will.

In a narrow 5-4 decision on Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s Muslim Ban, a policy which, from its inception, was based on blatant discrimination on the basis of nationality and religion.