Carrying One’s Faith onto the Public Square: Voting and Faithfulness

by Jessica McArdle, Environmental Ministries Team

When serving in the parish, I quickly learned that the chief task facing a Stewardship Team was getting folks to pledge. While pledging was important because it aided in budget projections, the more pressing reason had to do cultivating faithfulness in "even little things". Coupled with parables Jesus told, our Lord illustrated that even when change is gradual, small actions can be profoundly consequential.

As people of God, we may well be in the wake of the most tumultuous and I would add, precarious periods in our recent historic memory. Much is at stake. Yet paradoxically the fate of this year’s national election rests on our “being faithful even in little things.” It is hard to believe, but in 2016 only 77,000 votes across three states decided the election. Given that 10.1 million voters who listed the environment and other progressive concerns as a top priority did not vote in that election, imagine the outcome if they had? Read more

Add your name to the Creation Care Voter Pledge

Congregation Climate Justice Voter Challenge

Creation Care/Climate Justice Voter Resources

UCC Grants Available Now to Help Register, Educate and Mobilize Voters Locally

by Hans Holznagel, United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ’s advocacy office is encouraging local churches to be creative and COVID-conscious as they apply for “Our Faith, Our Vote” grants in support of work to inform voters on key issues and motivate them to vote.

Five grants of $2,500 each are available “for use in local and regional Our Faith, Our Vote organizing,” said Sandy Sorensen, director of the UCC office in Washington, D.C. Churches can apply online, here. Applications are due Aug. 14. Read more

Crisis Can Help Us Reorient What We Prize

by Jim Antal, author, denominational leader, climate activist, public theologian - commentary for Sojourners

In the course of a few terrifying weeks, humanity has rediscovered our superpower: We can make radical change more quickly than we ever imagined. Because we value our own life and the safety of others, we have overturned “business as usual.” Suddenly, we have modified our behavior and brought a halt to society as we have known it.

It must be said that not everyone is on board. Some people are refusing to cooperate and a small but noticeable set of leaders are unwilling to heed the urgings of the Centers for Disease Control. Nevertheless, for most of us, social distancing is the new normal, as is a new awareness of our interdependence. For the United States, this change is especially remarkable. As America trims its mainsail of rugged individualism, we are taking up our oars and beginning to row together. Read more

Care for One Another: Immunize!

by Deborah Ringen, Transitional Minister of Health and Wellness

The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused uncertainty, fear, and loss of control in many areas of our lives. However, there are things which we still have within our control. Maintaining our general health is still possible. Healthcare providers are working diligently to provide safe medical visits. Preventive care, including immunization, is even more important now.

Immunization protects individuals and communities from outbreaks of preventable diseases. Even in the midst of the pandemic it is important to check with your healthcare provider to schedule routine immunizations for children, adolescents, and adults. When we are vaccinated against a disease our bodies build immunity to keep us from getting sick. Read more

Reflection: Wine, Milk and Bread

by Elizabeth Mae Magill, author of Five Loaves, Two Fish, Twelve Volunteers: Growing a Relational Food Ministry, and pastor of Ashburnham Community Church (MA)

As the pandemic approached, the people from many congregations came to Jesus and said, “This is crowded and chaotic, and it’s already getting dangerous. Send the hungry away, so they can go buy themselves some food.”
Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
“We don’t have enough masks or hand sanitizer,” they answered.

Connecticut State House News

Police Reform Bill Passes

The State Senate early Wednesday voted 21-15 in support of a hotly contested police accountability bill after over 10 hours of impassioned debate led by New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield, culminating his decade-long quest to convince a suburban-dominated legislature that Black lives matter when it comes to law enforcement.

Read more

A Few Final Thoughts

by Kent Siladi, Departing Bridge Conference Minister for Justice Ministry

As I finish my time in Conference Ministry I am writing one last time in this setting of the United Church of Christ to offer some final reflections. After serving for 23 years in Connecticut, Florida and Southern New England I have seen some dramatic and significant changes take place over the past two plus decades.

Jesus is at the center. Our vision to “live the love and justice of Jesus” makes it clear who we follow. It means we model our ministries on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We proclaim a Jesus who embodied radical love and who worked to provide a different way to live in order to make the world more just, more compassionate and more loving. Read more