Since 1907 the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) has been mobilizing clergy and laity to speak out and take action on the pressing issues of our time. Your support makes this work possible.

Becoming a member of MFSA means making a financial contribution to MFSA and joining other activists who care about issues of justice and peace and actively work to make a difference.

As a fully donation and member-supported organization, MFSA depends on people like you to sustain our prophetic witness for justice in The United Methodist Church and beyond. When you become a member, you’re not only supporting national and international efforts — 20% of your contribution goes directly to your local MFSA Chapter/Regional Community. If there’s no chapter near you, that portion helps seed and grow new MFSA communities.

In a time when the call for justice in our Church and our world is more urgent than ever, MFSA continues to organize, advocate, and witness boldly.  Supporting LGBTQIA+ inclusion in The United Methodist Church; raising awareness and building solidarity with Palestine; resisting anti-trans and anti-abortion legislation and advocating for racial, disability, economic, and climate justice, we remain committed to prophetic action grounded in faith.

We invite you to join or renew your membership today. Your support sustains our work, fuels our organizing, and strengthens our collective voice.

Stories of Hope and Resistance

The church has long been a place where justice is not only preached but lived out in times of political and social upheaval. However, with the arrival of a new administration intent on rolling back hard-won rights and freedoms, faith communities across the country are refusing to remain silent.

This new section of our newsletter is dedicated to sharing the ways churches are standing firm in their commitment to justice. We're excited to highlight actions and movements within faith communities that resist oppression, embody radical hospitality, and insist on a future where love, dignity, and equity prevail.

Whether through direct advocacy, sanctuary efforts, mutual aid, or prophetic witness, these faith communities remind us that another world is possible—and we are called to help create it. If your church is engaged in work that challenges injustice and fosters hope—especially through acts of subversion and resistance against oppressive policies—we want to hear from you.

Here are some stories of hope and resistance:

Organizing Vigils at Detention Centers:
A Call to Witness and Action

By Cameron Helwege, MFSA Communications Coordinator

The Vigils in Protest of the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz”

On Sundays in August, hundreds of people of faith have been gathering at the gates of Florida’s new detention facility, known by many as “Alligator Alcatraz.” Located deep in the Everglades, the site was built hastily on an abandoned airstrip and now cages hundreds of immigrants in inhumane conditions. Reports of broken toilets, moldy food, and sweltering tents make it clear: this is a moral crisis.

Faith leaders in close partnership with Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Miccosukee Tribe joined together for five consecutive Sundays, standing in a small clearing on the side of US 41 outside the entrance of the facility for prayer, testimony, and lament. Their message was simple: no one belongs in cages. Over 280 people attended the August 17 vigil, arriving by bus and carpool from churches and community groups across the state. Diverse voices—Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Indigenous, and people of moral conscience—lifted prayers and poems, refusing to look away from the injustice happening just across the street.

But this story is bigger than Florida. Detention centers like this one exist across the country, and in every case, they are places where immigrants—many fleeing violence, poverty, or disaster—are stripped of dignity, locked away without due process, and too often denied access to legal aid. Behind the fences and razor wire, families are torn apart and human beings are warehoused as a matter of policy emboldened by authoritarian leaders who see immigrant lives as disposable.

By gathering publicly, we shine a light on what those in power want hidden. We remind one another that love crosses borders, that solidarity is stronger than fear, and that cages will not have the last word.

What is happening in Florida can serve as a model for a broader justice-seeking movement. Vigils at detention centers are a way for people of faith and conscience to bear public witness, to disrupt the narrative of fear, and to stand alongside immigrant communities who demand freedom.

How to Organize Something Similar

If there is a detention center in your region, consider gathering your community in witness and protest. The Florida vigils offer a template:

• Florida's organizers have been holding vigil from 5-6 PM and have been encouraging others to use the same time slot for solidarity.
• Make travel accessible. Organize buses and carpools to lower the barrier for participation.

• Prioritize safety. Enlist volunteer medics and train safety marshals.

• Connect with local leadership. Partner with people who know the land and community. In Florida, faith leaders worked alongside members of the Miccosukee Tribe.

• Stay peaceful. Do not engage with hecklers or opposition; the focus is on witness, not confrontation.

• Create solidarity opportunities. If you are too far from a detention center, host a vigil outside a local courthouse, city hall, or church to align in spirit with those at the gates.

A Framework for these Vigils

Each vigil is different, but a basic flow can include:

• Opening Gathering: Words of welcome and a moment of silence for those harmed in detention.

• Invocation: Short prayers or readings from diverse traditions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Indigenous, secular, etc.).
• Song or Chant: Simple, repeatable songs like We Are a Gentle Angry People or We Shall Overcome.
• Testimonies: Stories from those directly impacted, alongside reflections from faith leaders.
• Litany of Lament and Hope: Call-and-response naming the cruelty of detention and the hope for liberation.
• Closing Blessing: Leaders from multiple traditions offer short blessings for strength, courage, and freedom.

Take the Next Step

The invitation is clear: if there is a detention center in your area, you can organize too. Whether you bring ten people or two hundred, whether you stand at the gates of a facility or hold a solidarity vigil miles away, your presence matters. Together, our collective voices can declare that love will not be detained, and that every human being is worthy of safety, freedom, and belonging.

You may have heard the recent news that “Alligator Alcatraz” has been ordered to shut down. The vigils will continue until every cage is empty, and when that happens, faith leaders in Florida will continue holding vigil at other detention camps around the state.

Interested in Connecting on Vigils

Contact Noelle Damico
Director of Social Justice
NDamico@circle.org

Churches push back on armed troops in US cities

By Heather Hahn
Aug. 27, 2025 | UM News

As armed military troops and masked federal agents patrolled D.C. neighborhoods, religious leaders joined in a prayer vigil that offered a more hopeful vision for the U.S. capital.

“There is enough — enough time, enough compassion, enough money — if only we would choose to use our resources for healing rather than control, for liberation rather than bondage,” preached the Rev. Donna Claycomb Sokol, pastor of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church.

She spoke at the Aug. 22 “Multi-Faith Prayer Vigil for Healing and Justice,” whose sponsors included both Mount Vernon Place and Foundry United Methodist churches. Hundreds of people crammed into the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza to join the prayer gathering led by around 40 faith leaders from across D.C. 

Pastoral Leadership in a Time of Christian Nationalism

September 24-25, 2025

In a time when Christian nationalism is gaining both cultural and political traction, the work of pastoral leadership requires renewed theological reflection, moral clarity, and prophetic courage. Candler is hosting this set of four public lectures to start conversations and offer resources to equip pastors and church leaders to respond faithfully to the challenges posed by this growing movement.

Across two days, we’ll hear from four nationally recognized speakers whose work engages the intersections of religion, politics, and culture:

Tim Alberta, journalist, author of The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory, and son of an evangelical pastor

Kristin Kobes Du Mez, historian and author of Jesus and John Wayne

Katherine Stewart, investigative journalist and author of Money, Lies, and God

Matthew D. Taylor, scholar of religion and extremism and author of The Violent Take It by Force

All lectures are free and open to the public in both in-person and virtual formats, with advance registration required.

Lighting the Candle of Peace, Hope, and Justice

As we navigate the realities of this new administration, justice-seeking congregations across the country are standing in solidarity with those targeted by oppressive policies. We've seen churches respond by incorporating the Candle of Peace, Hope, and Justice into their worship services, lifting up prayers and commitments to resist injustice.

Inspired by the Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg, which lit a candle encircled in barbed wire during the struggle against apartheid, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol of Mount Vernon Place UMC in Washington, D.C., is one of the pastors who has reintroduced this practice. Rev. Andy Oliver of Allendale UMC in St. Petersburg, Florida, is another. Now, more than 50 congregations—including several MFSA-aligned churches—have joined this movement, lighting a candle each week and naming those suffering under policies of cruelty and exclusion.

Recently, churches have lit the candle:
🕯️ For migrants—asylum seekers facing deportation, undocumented families living in fear, and faith leaders offering sanctuary.
🕯️ For federal workers—those losing their jobs, living in uncertainty, or suffering retaliation for speaking out.
🕯️ For USAID—millions impacted by halted humanitarian aid, from hungry children to struggling farmers.
🕯️ For the National Institutes of Health—patients, researchers, and those dependent on lifesaving medical advancements.
🕯️ For the conflict in Ukraine—those enduring war, Russian dissidents, and leaders seeking true peace.
🕯️ For the judicial branch—judges facing threats, courts upholding the rule of law, and those caught in legal battles over justice.
🕯️ For institutions of higher education and students—scholars facing retaliation, lost funding, and threats to free expression.

Each time the candle is lit, congregations proclaim that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never overcome the light.

You can access the liturgy below. This document will be updated weekly, with liturgy uplifting a new group targeted by this administration.

In this moment, as faith communities, we must recommit to resisting evil, injustice, and oppression in all its forms. Together, we will continue to bear witness, proclaim justice, and keep the light shining.

"We Believe" MFSA T-Shirt and Yard Sign

We recently launched a new t-shirt design. Boldly affirm your faith-rooted commitment to justice. Featuring core convictions from our movement, this shirt lifts up the truths we live by as Justice-Seekers.

We also just launched a new yard flag, based on our popular t-shirt design! Place this fabric sign in front of your church or home to share these Justice-Seeking truths.

Racial Audit Implementation Team Update

Call Your Representatives and Demand Accountability

We are reminded that respect for the office does not mean silence in the face of harm. Our democracy is under threat, and our most vulnerable communities are at risk. Now is the time to speak up—call your representatives and demand accountability.

MFSA is now on Bluesky

We've noticed many of our friends and partners making the move to this platform, and we're thrilled to join the conversation there. Stay connected with us for updates, advocacy, and conversations that matter.

Connect with us @mfsavoices.org