The News and Information Resource of

THE OHIO COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

OCTOBER 2024



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Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan Jr., Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Churches, recently worshipped at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Springfield. He and other local faith leaders released a letter decrying the false statements from Republican vice presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. JD Vance, running mate of former president Donald Trump, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating pets and wildlife.

“We are disturbed and outraged by the reports that have masqueraded as news regarding many of our siblings in Springfield, Ohio,” Dr. Sullivan wrote. “Public and prominent figures have intentionally crafted untruths that have assaulted the culture and character of Haitians residing in Springfield.” The letter can be found here.

Read more here.

JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL

WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY FORUM 

Oct. 10 @ 10 A.M.

Death Penalty Action is partnering with Journey of Hope ... From Violence to Healing and the Ohio Council of Churches for a special World Day Against the Death Penalty event. 

The World Day Against the Death Penalty theme this year is “The Death Penalty Protects No One.” Our program features a conversation with a law enforcement professional and two murder victim family members who share their experiences of how the death penalty did not protect their loved ones.

FEATURING:

• Deacon George Kain, Police Chaplain; Chair, Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty
• Rev. Sharon Risher, Board Chair, Death Penalty Action
• Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan Jr., Board Chair, Journey of Hope ... From Violence to Healing

This event is pre-recorded, so you don’t have to catch it live, but it will become available on numerous social media channels starting at 10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 10. Learn more here.

THE OHIO COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

SUPPORTS A “YES” VOTE ON ISSUE 1

The Ohio Council of Churches, a 105-year-old Jesus Christ movement for unity, justice, and peace comprised of 17 Christian denominations across 22 judicatories, urges our member congregants to vote YES on Issue 1 in the upcoming election.

The Council has worked tirelessly with our faith, civic, and community partners since 2015 to ensure that legislative maps in Ohio are drawn fairly. We have spoken to legislators and attended meetings and rallies and were part of a nonpartisan video presentation that supports this effort. We believe voters should choose their representation, not the other way around. We have seen how some of our representatives continually change the rules to assure they get to keep their power without regard for the wishes of the people who elect them, including openly defying the law.

We witnessed last year the refusal of the current redistricting commission to obey the very laws they swore to uphold when they drew unfair maps not once, not twice, but seven times. Issue 1 is designed to correct this miscarriage of justice by replacing the current commission made up of elected officials to a nonpartisan commission of non-elected persons. Though no system is perfect, we believe the nonpartisan commission will go a long way toward making sure that the wishes of Ohio voters are respected.

There is misinformation being spread about Issue 1 including the misleading language the ballot board placed on the actual ballot to confuse the voters. Just know that a Yes vote establishes the nonpartisan commission and a No vote keeps the current process in place.

The Ohio Council of Churches has been actively pursuing justice and fairness for all Ohioans for the last 105 years and we intend to continue this necessary work. Please spread the word to your friends, family, and faith communities to vote Yes on Issue 1 this election.

In the cause of justice,

The Ohio Council of Churches

Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan Jr. Executive Director

Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins, Governing Board Chair

TOOLKIT WILL HELP CONGREGATIONS UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF PROJECT 25

Project 2025, the blueprint for erasing the democratic government as we know it and replacing it with an authoritarian government where the executive branch has full control, contains information that we feel all Americans should know. The policies proposed for a Conservative administration might be said to be in alignment with what the Founding Fathers intended when they wrote the Constitution, but that vision clashes with the fact that this country is “home” to the marginalized as well as to the privileged. It is our hope that the information contained in this toolkit will make it easier for clergy and community leaders to address and answer the questions that this plan evokes.The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. offers a toolkit with information it believes will assist religious leaders – particularly in the Black church – who are wrestling with the implications of Project 2025 for Americans who are not white, wealthy, male, and Christian.

Join the National Council of Churches Christian Unity Gathering in Nashville, TN, from Oct. 15-18, 2024.

This year's theme is “Equitable Futures: Paving the Way for Environmental and Economic Justice.”

Register today for this gathering of prominent faith leaders from across the country to discuss critical issues that deeply impact the present and shape the course of the future. We will explore the critical intersection of ecological sustainability and socio-economic equity with prominent leaders.

Invite seminary students in your network to attend! Seminarians get 50% off registration when using the code “seminary.”

Here is a link to register.

REGISTER HERE

Ohio’s reentry community is gathering soon for our 5th annual Building Bridges of Opportunity Community Experience on Oct. 16-17. Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to connect and collaborate with your fellow reentry co-laborers.

Each year, the Community Experience brings together community leaders, government officials, nonprofits, policy makers, faith and community-based organizations, correctional professionals, law enforcement personnel, legal services, academics, justice-involved citizens, and others interested in learning about and developing better community reentry responses.

From workshops to collaborative environments, the annual Community Experience is where Ohioans find their passion point, purpose, place, and people to co-labor in Building Bridges of Opportunity for reentry.

Each year, over 400 participants leave prepared and properly positioned to effectively strengthen Ohio’s reentry continuum of care with local coalitions, community members, agency partners, and organizations. 

This year, we offer workshops and presenters that focus on developing community pathways for goal setting, agency, and opportunity to generate hope in supportive reentry environments. Our three reentry focuses this year are:

1. Serving Families Through the Reentry Journey
2. Support Returning Youth
3. Soliciting Victims’ Voice in Reentry Efforts 

Join us in Bridging Pathways to Hope. Register here. Or click on the QR Code below.

The Community Experience is FREE to attend. Additional details can be found here in a printable flyer.

Check out our Community Experience Info Hub for schedules and workshop details.

Please share this invitation within your network of co-laborers and those you serve.

See you on Oct. 16-17!

Reba Collins

rebakco@gmail.com

Community Experience Lead Coordinator

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR 4TH ANNUAL

ANTI-RACISM SUNDAY

OCT. 20, 2024

As a Jesus Christ movement for unity, justice, and peace, the Ohio Council of Churches invites congregations to participate in the 4th annual Anti-Racism Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. This year’s theme is Dismantling Racism — Building Community.

Anti-Racism Sunday is an opportunity for congregations to publicly declare during their Sunday morning worship services that racism is a sin incompatible with God’s vision for humanity. It is also an opportunity for them to build relationships with other Christians and people from other faith and civic realms to create listening experiences that are safe for all as we seek to eradicate racism and heal from its harms. All congregations are welcome to participate. 

On Oct. 20, we invite you to join us on YouTube for a special Anti-Racism Sunday worship service featuring a message from Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins, the Conference Minister of the Heartland Conference of the United Church of Christ and President of the Ohio Council of Churches’ Governing Board. 

The Ohio Council of Churches will provide suggestions for an adult sermon, Bible readings, and Sunday school lessons and activities for different age groups that speak to this focus. We will also provide resources for individuals interested in learning more about anti-racism as a practice and movement. Learn more here.

Worship in Our House: All member churches are invited to attend and participate via Facebook in the Council’s virtual worship experience on Oct. 20. There will be music as well as an adult and a children’s sermon.



Worship in Your House: Again, all member churches are invited, but we are looking for commitments from at least 12 congregations from different parts of the state to fully engage and create their own Anti-Racism Sunday experience on Oct. 20. Contact us here.

To let us know if you are interested in viewing the online worship experience, please click here.

To register your congregation for participation in Anti-Racism Sunday, please click here.

The late James Baldwin once said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” As empowered by the Holy Spirit, together we will face racism and work to dismantle it in all of its forms.

PRAYERS AND PRESS FOR HAITIAN COMMUNITY

Faith Leaders from Springfield and throughout Ohio gathered on Sept. 22 with Bishop William J. Barber II, Senior Lecturer and President of Repairers of the Breach and Founding Director of the Center for Pubic Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, to stand in solidarity with the Haitian community and the many citizens of Springfield who are keeping faith with the best of our faith traditions, welcoming the stranger among us and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

SAVE THE DATE

The Ohio Council of Churches is

pleased to present



A PUBLIC LECTURE ON COUNTERING CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM 

Featuring noted Evangelical Minister, Justice Advocate, and Author

REV. JIM WALLIS

Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at 5 p.m.

Trinity Episcopal Church, 125 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio

Admission: Free. Registration Required.

Click here.

Rev. Jim Wallis is the inaugural holder of the Chair in Faith and Justice at the McCourt School of Public Policy and founding Director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice, which advocates for racial justice and building a multiracial democracy, eradicating systemic poverty, and promoting peacemaking in the United States and around the world. Wallis is the founder of Sojourners, a progressive Christian grassroots movement that advocates spirituality and social change. He served on President Barack Obama’s White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. A public theologian, Wallis is a New York Times bestselling author of twelve books, including Christ in Crisis, America’s Original Sin, God’s Politics and The Great Awakening. In 2022, Washingtonian magazine named Wallis one of the 500 most influential people shaping policy in the District of Columbia.

OCC HOSTS WORKSHOP TO HELP THOSE STRUGGLING WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE

To help prevent additional lost lives, the Ohio Council of Churches hosted “Undoing the Stigma: Loving People Who Use Drugs” at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. The event featured workshops and speakers who shared ways faith leaders can provide support to someone struggling with substance use.

“No one’s exempt from the love of God,” said Ohio Council of Churches Executive Director Rev. Jack Sullivan Jr. “And we want to make sure we do our part to spread that love through programs. To help people know what to do to help their loved ones and people that they know who are using drugs.”

Find a news video about the event here.

Chalice Press offers a new Advent/Christmas/Epiphany devotional specifically designed for African American congregations and families. OCC staff members Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan Jr. and Rev. Dr. Amariah McIntosh both contributed to Melodies of Faith: An Advent Devotional for African American Churches and Families. You can order it here.