| | | | | | | | Room Block Now Available for CUG 2025/NCC 75th Anniversary Celebration | | Reserve your room now at the special rate of $219.00 per night at the Boston Marriott Newton | | | | | | CUG/75th Anniversary sponsorships are available at four levels, with each of the tiered levels offering commensurate perks. Please note that due to scheduling, sponsor exhibitor tables are only available for Monday, October 13.
Silver ($500) — Silver level sponsorship includes mention (with name and/or logo) in all Anniversary/CUG promotional materials.
Gold ($1,000) — Includes sponsorship mention (with name and/or logo) in promotional materials, on the Anniversary/CUG landing page of the NCC website, and on all NCC social media outlets.
Frankincense ($2,000) — Sponsorship includes mention (with name and/or logo) in promotional materials, Anniversary/CUG landing page on NCC website, social media accounts, plus a two-minute video greeting played during the event.
Myrrh ($3,000) — Sponsorship includes mention (with name and/or logo) in promotional materials, CUG landing page on NCC website, social media, and in person or video greeting during the Anniversary/CUG gathering. | | | | ARE YOU FOLLOWING NCC ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Check out our social media accounts for NCC updates! | | DC Takeover Interfaith
Resistance Resources | | Members of the National Guard stand by at Union Station on August 14. Under presidential order, federal officers and the National Guard were deployed to the District to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) | A working document of resources has been compiled for interfaith resistance collaboration during these difficult times of the takeover of DC by the current administration. The document is for organizing leads and should not be sent broadly. Consider it a cafeteria list for leaders to pick and choose what they can use and share. If there are any questions or concerns, please email: Min. Christian S. Watkins of NETWORK Lobby/Asbury UMC DC/BWCUMC Legislative Advocacy at cwatkins@networklobby.org.
CONTENTS | | | TENx10 Announces 'Quick Tips' to Help Offer Guidance to Young People | | Quick Tips are practical, bite-sized resources designed to help you walk alongside the young people in your life. Whether you’re guiding conversations, offering support after school, or simply showing up in the everyday moments, you have a front-row seat—and more influence than you realize.
Got three minutes before you have to get out the door? A 15-minute break at work? That’s all you need.
From managing anxiety to staying present during tough transitions, Quick Tips give you real tools for real moments.
Quick Tips and other youth leader resources are available on the TENx10 website. | | International Day of People of African Descent, Black August, and Economic Equity | | By Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith
On August 31, 2020, the first United Nations commemoration of the International Day of People of African Descent honored the approximately two hundred million people in the Americas who identify as being of African descent. In 2025, it remains a day that aligns with the values of recognition, justice, and development in the Second International Decade in Solidarity of People of African Descent that began this year. It is a day of celebration of heritage and cultures, as well as the political and scientific contributions of people of African descent.
This day also coincides with Black August, a month-long observance that originated in California prisons in the 1970s. The commemoration primarily honors those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for the political liberation of People of African Descent and Africans. Both annual events are timely in this moment of geopolitical shifting and a renewed focus on economic enterprise, trade, and a vision of transforming the financial architecture, as cited in the PACT for the Future, adopted by the nations of the world at the United Nations General Assembly in 2024.
The substantive political gains of independence of African nations and policy reforms affecting People of African Descent have occurred primarily in the latter half of the last century. While these have been and are very significant, a systematic and systemic economic agenda that is not only aspirational but also strategic and substantive, with an equitable trade lens yielding renewed foundations for sustainable communities, is needed.
Key to this vision are the aspirational goals of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement of the African Union, the Jubilee Year proclaimed by Pope Francis and continued by Pope Leo that seeks to turn the debt crisis to hope campaign, the reauthorization of The Africa Growth Opportunity Act/The African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AGOA/AWEP), strategic public-private partnerships, reparatory justice and investment with and in African nations, and People of African Descent.
Bread for the World actively engages in initiatives such as these in its vision of ending hunger. At the same time, Bread also understands that while Africa possesses vast natural resources, including minerals, arable land, and diverse ecosystems, thereby contributing to significant wealth, the continent still faces challenges in translating these resources into widespread prosperity, with such issues as poverty, inequality, and resource management hindering equitable distribution.
Further, for People of African Descent in the United States, for example, the latest data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (2024) shows the racial wealth gap in the U.S. increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2019 and 2022, median wealth increased by $51,800. Still, the racial wealth gap also increased by $49,950—adding up to a total difference of $240,120 in wealth between median white households and median Black households.
These issues, in addition to the stubborn history of inequitable policies raised in our Lament and Hope Devotional guide, point out the ever-present challenges related to accomplishing economic equity. Still, the August 31 and Black August commemorations encourage us to push forward.
Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church engagement at Bread for the World and a NCC governing board member. | | Last Pastor in Blockaded
Sudan City Holds Out As two militias fight over the western Sudanese city of El-Fasher, an Anglican priest hangs on to serve a population slowly dying from hunger and stray bullets. | | The Rev. Daramali Abudigin (Courtesy photo)By Fredrick Nzwili
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — In the besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher, the Rev. Daramali Abudigin is staying on, even as random bombs, stray bullets, and hunger kill members of his flock.
The 44-year-old priest has kept St. Mathew, of the Anglican Church of Sudan, open to all Christians, after increased fighting has forced other pastors and priests to flee. Here, people live one day at a time, and if stray bombs and bullets do not kill them, hunger does not spare them, especially children.
In May, the priest lost five church members who were living with him after the armed men randomly shot at the church compound. The deaths nearly moved him to abandon the city. “I didn’t leave the church. In a while, I considered leaving, but I changed my mind. I am still staying with my flock. Whenever we lose a person, it makes me very sad,” said Abudigin, who lives in the city with his wife and three sons. | | | Massacres in Eastern Congo Cast Doubt on U.S.-Mediated Peace Deal | | M23 rebel soldiers aboard a pickup truck in Goma on May 18, 2025. JOSPIN MWISHA/AFP
By Emmet Livingstone
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Rwandan backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed 141 villagers in July, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, despite hopes that the US-backed peace talks would end long-running violence in the troubled region.
The rights organization found that the rebels committed massacres in at least 14 villages in the province of North Kivu, in eastern Congo, between July 10 and 30.
The attacks targeted mostly ethnic Hutu villagers, according to Human Rights Watch, as part of an apparent military campaign by the M23 against the Hutu extremist militia Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR.
Eastern Congo, home to vast reserves of critical minerals, has endured armed conflict for more than three decades. The violence traces back to the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, when the Hutu-dominated regime collapsed and millions of people — including Hutu extremists — fled into Congo. Their arrival fueled a cycle of wars and instability that continues today. The U.N., U.S., and many regional governments say the M23 rebellion, which grew out of earlier Tutsi-led militias in the region, now operates as a proxy force for Rwanda's interests.
The scale of the recent killings in North Kivu is likely larger than reported by Human Rights Watch, which compiled a list of the people either killed or feared dead. | | | Join the National Action Network
March on Wall Street, August 28 | | | UN Chief: Famine in Gaza ‘A Failure
of Humanity Itself’ More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new UN-backed food security report released on Friday. | | © UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel A child suffering from malnutrition lies on a bed in the Patient Society Hospital in Gaza City. | UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the results of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis were no mystery: “It is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment – and a failure of humanity itself. “Famine is not about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival.”
Famine conditions are projected to spread from Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks, the IPC estimates.
UN agencies have collectively and consistently highlighted the extreme urgency of delivering immediate and full-scale humanitarian aid given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition, and plummeting levels of food consumption in Gaza, with hundreds of thousands going days without anything to eat. | | | UN Video: Preventing Famine | | | NYC Faith Leaders Coordinate to
Address Food Shortages With federal funding cuts impacting food pantry resources across the nation, faith leaders in New York pledge new collaborations to sustain the city’s food banks and soup kitchens. | | Attendees ask questions during a panel discussion at the Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen Summit, Aug. 20, 2025, at Salvation Army’s Medford Hall in New York City. (RNS photo/Fiona Murphy)
By Fiona Murphy
NEW YORK (RNS) — About 300 faith leaders and community activists met this week in Manhattan to strategize how religious organizations can better address rising food insecurity in New York City — even as food pantries face federal funding cuts.
On Wednesday morning (Aug. 20), religious leaders from across faiths gathered at the Salvation Army’s Medford Hall for a Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen Summit hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, in collaboration with New York Disaster Interfaith Services and the Salvation Army.
The goal of the summit, according to the Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, was to connect different faith-based food pantries and nonprofits across the city to facilitate networking, provide resources, and strengthen the city’s response to food insecurity.
“To have faith-based organizations in this space, it’s very important for New York City,” said Pastor Gilford Monrose, a Brooklyn pastor and the executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Partners. “Faith-based food pantries are the drivers. They don’t have a lot of funding. They don’t have a lot of resources, but they are very high on compassion and care for our community.” | | | MCC Sponsors 'Democracy in Crisis' | | | | LWF Announces Funding Opportunity for Youth-Led Climate Justice Projects | | The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is inviting young people ages 18-30 to take the lead in addressing climate change through small-scale, community-driven projects. This funding opportunity is designed to support innovative initiatives that promote climate justice, environmental stewardship, and equity.
Applications close on August 25, 2025. Projects must run between September 2025 and January 2026 and be locally designed and implemented. Please contact Deacon Gretchen Peterson at gpeterson@elcic.ca for the ELCIC endorsement of your application.
LWF: Join the Climate Conversation: COP30 Youth Delegate Nominations
This is a unique chance to engage directly with international climate discussions and bring the voice of youth to the forefront. If you're interested in being nominated, learn more when you click here. Please contact Deacon Gretchen Peterson at gpeterson@elcic.ca if you're interested in being nominated. | | FACE Marketing Internship Opportunity | | | | Creation Care and Resilience: Oreon E. Scott Clergy Conference, September 16–19 | | Register now for the "Resilience and Restoration in the Mountains" Clergy Retreat on September 16–19, 2025, at the beautiful Christmount Christian Conference and Retreat Center. This retreat focuses on clergy and community resilience, and creation care and climate justice.
You'll spend transformative days with distinguished speakers, including Rev. Dr. Heber M. Brown III (keynote speaker and founder of the Black Church Food Security Network), Rev. Carol Devine (Faith and Climate Educator), Rev. Dr. Dara Cobb Lewis (Spiritual Director), and Luke Cannon (Mountain Ecologist), alongside ecumenical colleagues and pastoral innovators.
Whether you're new to creation care or a long-time advocate, you'll gain new language and tools to inspire your congregation to care for God's good earth, interwoven with space for rest, relationship, prayer, and good food.
Registration is open to all ordained Christian clergy with sliding scale options and travel scholarships available. (Email Rev. Carol Devine, carold@ecoamerica.org, if you need travel assistance.) | | | Congressional Black Caucus Annual NREI Summit November 1, 2025 | | Come to New Orleans to commemorate five years of the National Racial Equity Initiative for Social Justice (NREI)! The 2025 NREI Summit will bring together thought leaders, advocates, and changemakers committed to advancing racial equity across the justice and education systems. Together, we will explore transformative solutions that center Black communities and reimagine pathways to opportunity and justice. From dynamic conversations to community-focused engagement, the Summit will offer space to reflect, strategize, and build power. 📌 Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details on programming and registration. | | | Freedom Church of the Poor Holds Black August Sunday Service / Bible Study Series | | | Black August is a holy season of resistance, reflection, and rededication to a revolutionary love ethic that compels us to struggle with and for each other. It began in the 1970s inside California prisons, after the deaths of Jonathan and George Jackson and other incarcerated Black freedom fighters. It is a time to honor the legacy of those who have struggled for freedom—and to prepare ourselves for the battles ahead.
In the face of growing repression, state violence, and religious nationalism, this season calls us to spiritual clarity, deep connection, political competency, and steadfast commitment to liberation for all who are oppressed. Freedom Church of the Poor believes in a God who breaks chains, who sides with the poor and dispossessed, and who calls believers to build a Beloved Community on earth.
Black August is presented in partnership with the SSING Network, New Disabled South, Highlander Center, and The Black Joy Experience with Black Youth Project 100. Featured Artists & Cultural Organizers Airika Cross (Dream Defenders), ana lara lopez (La Iglesia del Pueblo), Arnaé Batson (The SSING Network), Minister Ciara Taylor (FCOP), Jarvis Benson (Kairos Center), Jendog Lonewolf (People’s Music Network), JeNaé Taylor (Highlander Center), Jonathan Lykes (Black Youth Project 100), Lindsey Wilson (People’s Music Network), Oshara Hayes (We Cry Justice Artist Collective), Patience Rowe (Highlander Center), Rabbi Koach Baruch Frazier, Shun Tucker‑Allen (New Disabled South), and Steff Reed (Dream Defenders). Freedom Church of the Poor Sunday Service Sundays | August 3 – August 31 6:00PM ET / 5:00PM CT / 3:00PM PT
Freedom Church of the Poor Bible Study (Virtual Only) Wednesdays | July 30 – August 27 6:00PM ET / 5:00PM CT / 3:00PM PT | | | Register for Virtual
Christian Climate Training | | September is the Season of Creation, and Blessed Tomorrow is partnering with nine denominations to offer a free live, virtual Christian Climate Training on Saturday, September 27, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 - 11:30 am PT. It will include breakouts by denomination. The majority of Americans are concerned about climate change. But they think only half of those around them feel the same way. As a person of faith, you can help others see they’re not alone in their concern and invite them to take action. The Christian Climate Training equips you with the knowledge, hands-on experience, and resources to speak and take action on climate change from a Christian faith perspective in your home, neighborhood, church, community, with policymakers, and beyond. After the training, you’re invited to become part of the Blessed Tomorrow Climate Ambassador Community, which provides ongoing support, resources, events, and a vast community of Climate Ambassadors from across the U.S. | | | North Carolina Council of Churches Prepares for 90th Anniversary Celebration | | This November, the North Carolina Council of Churches will celebrate 90 years of prophetic witness, faith-rooted advocacy, and ecumenical partnership. We invite everyone to celebrate with us for a day of worship, community, and joy!
NCCC is inviting congregations and organizations to be a part of this historic milestone by becoming a sponsor for this event. Sponsorship will offer a unique opportunity to support our continued work for justice while also receiving exclusive benefits, including:
VIP access to a private reception with the Right Reverend Michael B. Curry Reserved seating during the worship service, where Bishop Curry will deliver a powerful message, followed by a live podcast recording of Everything Happens with Kate Bowle
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