| | | | | | | NCC Staff Join Faith Advocates
for Strategy Session | | Faith-based advocates in Washington DC gathered Friday for a day-long retreat at a church on Capitol Hill. The Washington Interreligious Staff Community (WISC) came together to provide mutual support and strategize about how to work together to advocate for the most vulnerable in our communities. WISC is an informal network consisting of staff working in faith-based advocacy offices in DC. This includes the DC–based staff of many of NCC's member communions. Participants shared their organizations’ goals and initiatives as well as ideas on how to address the changing social and political landscape in our country. The group discussed common areas of work and explored ways of increasing collaboration and coordination to effectively help protect the most vulnerable. They also discussed new possibilities for cooperation and joint efforts to amplify advocacy work, programs, and opportunities to mobilize on all levels. | | NCC Staffer Speaks at Climate Change
Press Conference | | Video of Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune speaking at press conference outside EPA's headquarters. | On Thursday, February 6, Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune spoke at a press conference outside the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) headquarters in Washington, DC. The action was sponsored by Climate Action Campaign and Sen. Ed Markey's (D-MA) office. In addition to her role as senior associate general secretary and advocacy director of the NCC, Rev. Dr. Copeland-Tune serves as the board chair for the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. The EPA is responsible for keeping water and air clean in the United States. Recent efforts by the current administration to gut federal agencies such as the EPA pose a threat to our health and safety as Americans. Dr. Copeland-Tune spoke briefly about the importance of caring for God's creation. Other speakers included Sen. Markey, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY 12th), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ 3rd), Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR 3rd), Leslie Fields (WE ACT for Environmental Justice), Stephanie Reese (Moms Clean Air Force), Dr. Matt Tejada (National Resources Defense Council), and others. | | Rev. Dr. Copeland-Tune with Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) | | WCC Issues Statement on the Future of Gaza | | Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes, after an Israeli airstrike, amid fighting between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip (Photo: Anas-Mohammed / Shutterstock) | The World Council of Churches strongly believes that the proposal made by the President of the United States of America regarding the future of Gaza is tantamount to proposing full-scale ethnic cleansing and neo-colonization of the homeland of the two million Palestinians of Gaza. It violates every applicable principle of international humanitarian and human rights law, flouts decades of efforts by the international community — including by the USA — for a just and sustainable peace for the peoples of the region, and would if implemented constitute multiple international crimes of the most serious kind. The standing of the United States of America as a responsible member of the international community has been gravely diminished by the proposal itself, not to speak of any actual implementation thereof. The World Council of Churches calls on President Trump to reconsider this disgraceful proposal, and to respect international law and equal human dignity and rights of the people of Gaza. Further, the WCC calls on all people of faith and good will to stand against this egregious violation of human dignity and international law. We urge churches and Christian communities worldwide to raise their voices in defense of justice, to advocate for the protection of Palestinian lives and rights, and to press their governments to reject any proposal that facilitates ethnic cleansing and permanent occupation. We affirm that peace cannot be built on the dispossession and suffering of an entire people but must be rooted in justice, dignity, and the fundamental rights of all. | | | ELCA's Presiding Bishop Eaton Debunks
Claims of ‘Illegal’ Federal Funding | | Video message from Bishop Eaton | By Jack Jenkins, Religion News ServiceA prominent Lutheran leader invoked the story of a martyr while defending work to help the needy after billionaire Elon Musk, who runs a Trump administration government efficiency task force, described federal funding for Lutheran aid organizations as “illegal.”
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the country, posted a video debunking comments by Musk and others on February 2.
“Despite misinformation and baseless doubt cast today on funding that supports Lutheran organizations across our country, the ELCA remains steadfast in our commitment and work with our many Lutheran partners and expressions of our church,” Eaton said. “The ELCA is also concerned for other faith-based communities and organizations who have similarly come under attack.”
The controversy began late February 1, when Michael Flynn, a Catholic and retired Army general who previously served as an adviser to President Donald Trump, published a post on X alongside screenshots of a spreadsheet detailing federal funding dispersed to Lutheran groups in the last two years. The spreadsheet — which also included organizations that were not Lutheran — listed groups such as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (now Global Refuge), one of several organizations that partner with the federal government to resettle refugees; Lutheran colleges such as Pacific Lutheran University; and various local chapters of Lutheran Social Services. | | | A Message from Bread for the World's President Cho | | I write to you with a heavy heart. You’re aware of the recent executive orders and other directives that are impacting many of the hunger, poverty, and malnutrition policies and programs that Bread for the World has supported over the last five decades. Bread for the World is doing everything we can to gather information, advocate directly to Congress, collaborate with partners to share news and impacts, and organize to raise voices of faith. We are committed to responding with reason, strength, and moral conviction. You can read here Bread’s press release: “Bread for the World Urges End to the Pause on Foreign Aid.” Bread is also moving forward with our 2025 advocacy campaign, Nourish Our Future, which focuses on WIC, the Child Tax Credit, and global nutrition. Many people have reached out to ask what Bread members can do right now, and the truth is that continuing with this campaign is one of the best things we can do. In fact, there’s never been a more important time to organize and advocate for nutrition. For every $1 invested in addressing undernutrition, countries see $23 in returns. Now more than ever, it is important that our congressional representatives hear voices advocating for the protection of nutrition programs. Please reach out to your elected officials and share this action alert with your circle. Please also consider a financial gift that will allow us to expand our advocacy, analysis, and organizing to fund domestic and international nutrition programs. Finally, please join us in prayer. While some may scoff, prayer, in itself, is action but let’s be sure that we put feet, hands, and advocacy to our prayers as well Rev. Eugene Cho President and CEO | | AME Church Gains Control of
Proud Boys Trademark | | Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC (2020, Photo: AgnosticPreachersKid, Wikimedia Commons) | A historic Black church in Washington, DC is now the owner of the Proud Boys’ trademark.
The decision Monday came years after members of the far-right group vandalized a Black Lives Matter sign in front of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church following a 2020 rally for President Donald Trump.
“We do not allow persons to violate us and that violation go unanswered,” said Rev. William H. Lamar IV, a pastor with the church. Metropolitan took the Proud Boys to court to recoup damages and were eventually awarded $2.8 million, which the group never paid.
“It’s not a sprint, but a marathon,” Lamar said. “It takes strategy, it takes partners and it takes belief that you deserve to be treated humanely." He said they want to send a message.
Monday’s ruling allows the church to seize money the Proud Boys make using the name. | | | Black History Month: Welcoming the
Second International Decade for
People of African Descent | | Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith (left) and Rev. Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | On the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith had the honor of being with the Rev. Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a gathering of Pan African faith leaders. She exhorted those present to “stay on the mission!” These are words to reflect on during Black History Month 2025. Rev. Dr. King told us to reclaim space and time for the mission. She reminded us that mission is not about “you,” but rather, about all of us, as we seek to be people of faith. She reflected on the mission of her mother, Dr. Coretta Scott King, to pass legislation naming a national holiday in her husband’s honor, which we have commemorated since 1980. This year’s remembrance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Black History Month coincide with several notable anniversaries that remind us to “stay on the mission.” This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, which is foundational to the Christian faith—and which was influenced by Origen of Alexandria, an Egyptian theologian who is considered one of the African Fathers of the Church. This is also the 140th anniversary of the “Scramble for Africa” that colonized the nation states of Africa. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the Kairos document in South Africa, a foundational statement of faith toward a free South Africa and the end to Apartheid. This is also a Jubilee Year—which began on December 24, 2024, and will run through January 6, 2026. In his proclamation, Pope Francis calls for debt relief of some of the poorest countries in Africa. The theme for this Holy Year is “Pilgrims of Hope.” Black History Month 2025 captures all of this and much more as we welcome the Second International Decade for People of African Descent. The second decade focuses on reparatory justice, with attention to kinship in Africa—particularly toward the children of Africa who live outside the continent. Did you know there are more than 200 million people of African descent in the Americas? We number close to 350 million globally. This Second Decade was proclaimed on December 17, 2024, as “an opportunity to take concrete actions to confront the legacies of enslavement and colonialism, deliver reparatory justice, and secure the full human rights and freedoms of people of African descent worldwide.”
Bread for the World celebrates the contributions of Pan African communities this month as it celebrates its own 50 years of advocacy. Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith is strategist for Pan African and Orthodox Church Faith Engagement at Bread for the World and World Council of Churches president from North America-Turtle Island | | MCC Hosts Second Online
'Town Hall' Gathering | | Join the Maine Council of Churches on Thursday, February 13, at 4:00 p.m., for the second in a series of online "town hall" gatherings to discuss ways Maine's communities of faith can be prepared to respond when vulnerable groups are targeted by the new administration. The focus will be on effective strategies for for especially vulnerable groups — immigrants, LGBTQ folks, women seeking reproductive health care, and the environment.
This second session will focus on effective strategies and responses to threats of harm for LGBTQ+ folks. Guest speakers include Rev. Tara Humphries, Ophelia Hu-Kinney, Gia Drew, Rev. Kharma Amos, Rev. Amanda Gerken-Nelson, and others.
Registration for this free online event is required to receive the Zoom link. The event will not be recorded. | | | | | | Join One Home One Future | | The impacts of climate change touch us all, especially impacting the most vulnerable among us. If we are called to support the most vulnerable, to work for justice, and to care for creation, then we are called to respond to climate change.
Join One Home One Future for more Climate Justice resources!
| | Immigration Resources for Churches | Use the link below to access a list of resources for churches to use regarding the new administration's executive orders about immigration. Within these resources, you can learn what churches can do if ICE shows up at the door, different legal services and hotlines available, and online webinars and trainings that the ACLU and other organizations are hosting soon. | | | ACLU Offers Know Your Rights
Immigration Facts Web Page | If Law Enforcement Asks Your Immigration Status Regardless of immigration status, persons have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more below about immigrant rights and how to express them. Resources In Other Languages | | | | | | | | | | | |
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