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Dear Justice-Seeker,

This issue of MFSAVoices is jam-packed with resources and information. So much so that it won't all fit in your email message so be sure to click view entire message at the bottom of this email to view the entire issue. Our newsletters are designed to be used all month long. So take a quick glance and take note of important dates to add to your calendar but also come back in the following weeks to work your way through the action items. 

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We continue to see the urgency of our work to make broad systemic change. Change that honors the dignity and worth of all people, puts people over money, and honors the earth and all her inhabitants. Since 1907, MFSA has been shining a light on injustice and organizing to change it. 

You make our collective work possible by your witness for justice every day in your church, community, and Annual Conference. MFSA does not receive any financial support from the United Methodist Church's giving channels. 100% of our budget is funded through your membership dues and your generosity in giving.

2022 Lenten Devotional-Week 6
By Trish Gunby

I never, ever thought I would run for elected office. As a preschool board, welcome ministry, VBS and youth group mom, there was always enough on my plate. Still, I was mindful that that my children were growing up, and I constantly wondered where God would call me next.

Fast forward to 2013. More than in any year when I’ve knocked on voter’s doors or called their phones or marched in parades, 2013 brought me several “God Moments” that changed the course of my life and led me to public service.

I don’t know precisely how to define “God Moments,” but for me, they were a series of callings too personal to mistake for chance. Early on, I didn’t heed the call, my distractions were plenty, so I simply kept on with daily life. But the final nudge was too obvious to ignore—it told me to follow my heart and start to make the difference I had always dreamed of.

It began when I started a ministry at my church, pursuing the full inclusion of all persons in the United Methodist Church. It grew more apparent as our early work spread across the Missouri Conference—inspiring others, connecting likeminded ministers, and growing our numbers. And its final reveal came during this past Christmas holiday, when I celebrated with an LGBTQ+ Family Support Group (over 50 strong!) grown from that original ministry. Now, talk about a “God Moment.”

There have been others, for certain: the days where I’ve marched for racial justice, the days I’ve stood and spoken on the Missouri House Floor, and the days where I’ve simply sat and listened, hoping God would give me the strength to keep fighting.

I’m here to tell you God will. And when God provides that strength, in whatever mysterious ways or messages, don’t ignore them. Don’t be afraid to make waves with your compassion.

Because doing so will change your life. But more importantly, it will change the lives of others.

You make our collective work possible by your witness for justice every day in your church, community, and Annual Conference. MFSA does not receive any financial support from the United Methodist Church's giving channels. 100% of our budget is funded through your membership dues and your generosity in giving.

Racial Audit Team Reflection

When I was asked to write a reflection on what my experience has been being part of the MFSA Racial Audit team, I found myself filled with a variety of thoughts and emotions. As I reflected more on this, I realized that this audit experience has coexisted with a lot difficult personal and corporate things. I remember early on in the pandemic it impacting how we would engage the process together, for example. The intersecting places of this audit to recent history add dimensions to this experience.

In the midst of lots of family and vocational challenges I have experienced tremendous grace from my fellow participants. I can genuinely say it has been a gift to know these persons and to be known by these persons. I am grateful for the dedication my teammates have shown for the process of racial equity. I am grateful for the kindness they have demonstrated me. I am grateful for their examples of critical self-reflection.

I have also learned so much from the process itself. In many ways I have felt affirmed – that my experiences are seen, that they matter, that they are not in my head. I have learned about the ways Supremacy Culture permeates our systems, our ways of seeing ourselves, each other, and how we operate in the church and beyond. I have learned how to ask better questions. I have learned more clearly to think about when our intent doesn’t match our impact. I have learned that racial equity is both a process and an outcome that requires lifelong effort. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this work with this group and I am hopeful and also nervous about how we might commit to this work that does not end simply when this intentional audit is completed.

Stealing the Earth Part 5: Undoing the Doctrine: Developing a Theology of Repentance & Repair

Register for Stealing the Earth: Part Five, “Undoing the Doctrine:” Developing a theology of repentance and repair on April 27, 2022 at 1:00 PM ET. 

You can watch the previous four webinars in the Stealing the Earth series and access the resources here. 

"How to Be an Anti-Racist Church" webinar series

Join the Asian American Language Ministry Plan, the New Federation of Asian American United Methodists, and the Baltimore Washington Annual Conference for part 2 in the "How to Be an Anti-Racist Church" webinar series on April 19th at 8 pm ET. This webinar will feature real life examples from Christ Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Annual Conference. 

From Words to Action-How Church Activists Can Advocate Effectively 

Check out the recording and access the resources from our latest webinar with United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR) titled "From Words to Action- How Church Activists Can Advocate Effectively." 

What We Need to Know About Climate Change and the US Military

By Kathleen McQuillen, member of Iowa Chapter MFSA

The US government and US military know of and publicly acknowledge the significant damage and risks associated with climate change. Sea level rise, wildfires, drought, hurricanes, derechos and floods - the impact of extreme weather is devastating for millions of people whose farms, businesses and livelihoods are destroyed. Forced migration is growing, devastating both sending and receiving countries and generating political instability and power vacuums with subsequent threats to national security.

These catastrophic weather conditions, according to Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (Ret’d US Army) have prompted the US military to make plans for relocating both land and sea bases. He notes the military is taking the lead on climate action because the federal government is “lagging in its response...”

In 2015 President Obama acknowledged global warming as a national security risk. Now, President Biden is calling for a study of the impacts of global warming on migration. Recent military assertiveness by Russia (Crimea/Ukraine) and China (which they see as reasonable response to Western/NATO expansion) are examples of this risk as is the rise of right-wing authoritarianism in the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Poland, Brazil and elsewhere.

Given these realities, Wilkerson notes that much must be done as government comes up short in acknowledging and addressing one of the most significant contributors to the problem: the US military itself. A 2019 report released by Durham and Lancaster University (UK) asserts the US military is “one of the largest climate polluters in history, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more CO2e (carbon-dioxide equivalent) than most countries”. It is disturbing that the government is aware of disastrous effects on millions of forced climate immigrants, sending/ receiving countries, yet there is no top-level study of the military’s contribution to this world-wide disaster.

When pressed for relevant information, the military acknowledges the prodigious emissions created by employing military equipment such as aircraft and naval vessels. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Military roles must also include initial weapon development; resource extraction, production, weapons trade, and transit to 750 US bases around the world. (Aljazeera)

Science Daily {2019} notes the US government’s “... climate policy is fundamentally contradictory -- confronting the effects of climate change while remaining the largest single institutional consumer of hydrocarbons in the world, a situation it is locked into for years... because of its dependence on existing aircraft and warships for open- ended operations..."

It is difficult to measure war/post-war impacts but efforts to do so must include impacts from deforestation to build bases, destruction of land and communities from incendiary weapons, and rebuilding after violence ends. These activities use up important resources and all increase the amount of CO2 the US generates.

Within the United Methodist Church we should all be challenged by Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The treasure within the US budget is invested deeply in militarism, which carries with it the potential for destroying life as we know it. The military budget of the US in FY 2020 was $778 billion*. This is more than the military budgets of the next seven countries combined.

Those among us who identify as Christians should be asking ourselves if this is where our hearts are? Are our hearts about death and destruction? If this is not so, then we should be guided by the words of Rabbi Heschel, “We are not all guilty but we are all responsible.”

*Source: Sipri (sipri.org)

For more information, refer to these linked resources:
1 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/10/infographic-us-military-presence-around-the-world-interactive
2 https://www.dw.com/en/how-climate-change-paved-the-way-to-war-in-syria/a-56711650
3 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962629816301822
4 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/a-major-contributor-to-the-syrian-conflict-climate-change

*This article was republished from Iowa Chapter MFSA's Winter 2022 Social Questions Bulletin

As more and more people use abortion pills, there will be times when they may not have the in-person support they deserve throughout the experience. Also, for those who are people of faith, it is difficult to find affirming and compassionate spiritual resources online in a sea of anti-abortion religious extremism! 

That is why pro-choice faith leaders (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice & Faith in Women) got together to create Abortions Welcome, a site that offers a wide variety of resources with these people in mind, grounded in the guiding values of dignity and autonomy, compassion, and holistic care. 

Visitors can access a huge variety of meditations, rituals and prayers, creative exercises, physical exercises, music, art, abortion stories, and more. You can browse by mode (mind, body, senses), topic/type of resource, and also by the stage of abortion (before, during, or after). This site was created with the user experience in mind, with the goal of creating an experience as smooth, comforting, and restorative as possible.

Now's the Time for Action

Here are a few ways you can seek justice and work for broad systemic change:

1. Call on Congress to pass an Afghan Adjustment Act which will help keep families together and ensure lasting protection for at-risk Afghans. 
2. Urge members of Congress to pass a FY 2022 federal funding package that increases funding for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs, including an expansion of rental assistance. 
3. Join a National Nonviolent Moral Direct Action Call-In in calling the offices of Senator Manchin, Senator Sinema, Senator McConnell, and Senator Schumer. 
4. Write your Representative to join Representative Susan Wild and urge the Administration to hold officials responsible for grave human rights violations in the Philippines accountable through targeted sanctions.
5. Sign up for Coalition of Immokalee Workers Fair Food mailing list to learn more about what you can do to advocate for farmworker rights. 
6. Contact your members of Congress and tell them to stop the use of Title 42 policy to deny Haitian migrants' rights to seek asylum, restore asylum protections, and stop all deportation flights and expulsions to Haiti.
7. Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor HR 2590: Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act. 
8. Join the #WelcomeWithDignity movement by signing the pledge to reimagine the way our country and our communities treat people seeking safety.
9. Contact your Senators and Representatives to pass common sense legislation that saves the lives of farm workers like the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act.
10. In solidarity, join workers demanding $15/hr and tell McDonald’s to raise wages now.
11. Check out what military acquired by your local law enforcement, and sign the petition to demanding more police transparency.
12. Contact your elected officials and demand Congress cut funding for ICE and CBP and defund hate.
13. Tell your Member of Congress to support the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All (AAIA) Act, an act that can help bridge the digital divide that disproportionately impacts Black, Latinx, Indigenous, rural, or low-income people.
14. Write to the leadership of the township of Fairfield, CT to contact Sturm Ruger, the largest firearm manufacturer in the United States with headquarters in Fairfield, and demand the company suspend weapon and bullet sales to Israel.
15. Tell President Biden and Vice President Harris to hold Israel accountable to its obligations as an occupying power and insist that Israel provide COVID-19 vaccines equally and fairly to Palestinians living under its occupation.
16. Contact your elected officials to take an intersectional response to the incidents of AAPI hate and to center the needs of those most impacted, Asian American women and elders.
17. Check the State Voting Bills Tracker to find out if your state lawmakers have introduced one of the 253 bills aimed at suppressing voting rights, and contact your state lawmakers to demand they support voting rights.
18. Sign the petition and tell Congress to abolish the federal death penalty.
19. Has your country signed on to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons?  Contact your elected officials to support the end of nuclear weapons in the world.
20. Check out the BDS Toolkit and learn what economic actions you can take to fight along the side of Palestinians and their struggle.
21. Manufacturing in an illegal Israeli settlement is a war crime.  Tell General Mills to stop making Pillsbury products on stolen Palestinian land by signing the petition, sending an email to the CEO, and #BoycottPillsbury.
22. Write a letter and join the grassroots organizing for the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants.
23. Sign the petition and join Palestinian Cry for Hope: a Call to Decisive Action, a global movement set by Kairos Response that "rouses churches to action and awakens civil society to the reality of Palestinian suffering."
24. Take free online university courses on systemic racism.
25. Host a virtual Card Writing Party to write and mail letters to immigrants in detention via The Casa Mariposa Detention Visitation Program.
26. Call your legislators (202-224-3121) and advocate for permanent federal paid sick leave, expanded unemployment benefits, SNAP increases, and a moratorium on evictions, utility shut-offs, and payments. 

In Case You Missed It

1. MFSA Statement on the Delay of General Conference 
2. Access the latest webinar and resources from MFSA and UMKR's webinar: "From Words to Action- How Church Activists Can Advocate Effectively." 
3. Watch the fourth webinar in the Stealing the Earth series: "Centering & Othering: Elevating White Normativity , Suppressing Racial & Indigenous Identities." 
4. Watch our discussion with David Wildman on the current situation in Afghanistan: "Update on Afghanistan." 
5. Access the latest webinar and resources from MFSA and UMKR's webinar "Labels & Laws: Silencing the Voices of Injustice."