REGISTRATION AND PROGRAM HERE
EAD 2022 calls us into solidarity to restore, protect, and expand voting rights in the United States and to realize human rights around the world. As people of faith, we know each person to be created in God’s image, imbued with dignity and having a voice that demands to be heard, heeded, and treated justly. We arise in unity, holding up a mirror to leaders of nations, putting injustice on display and tearing down the veil of oppression that obscures the beautiful, God-born light shining from within us all.
United States policymakers are citing election security to resurrect Jim Crow-era policies that restrict voting rights and further disenfranchise communities of color. States are withholding the right to vote from those with felony convictions, cruelly punishing them beyond the limits of a judge’s sentence. Smaller windows for early voting, reduced ability to vote by mail, and more restrictive ID rules make access to voting – a fundamental right – dependent on where you live. Our vote is our voice at the policy-making table; if a community isn’t represented at the ballot box, the issues affecting that community aren’t on the government’s agenda. This erasure of important voices shatters our national ideals and terminates the path to new creation envisioned by our faith.
We bear witness to a global increase in violent repression of journalists, activists, rights defenders, and social leaders. Political leaders around the world are using the pandemic as cover to boldly steal power and silence opposition through intimidation, torture, and murder. Our government is comfortably complicit in such abuses for economic gain and in the name of “national security,” but true security demands that human rights be protected everywhere. Those asserting the right to speak for their communities and shape policy should be free from fear for their lives. We are summoned by the Holy Spirit to act immediately in solidarity with the world, insisting on an end to repression and drawing attention to God’s image reflected in the rich diversity of humankind.
As we gather in 2022, we are called to reflect the urgency and determination found in Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words. In his Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence speech, he reminds us, “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.” As people of faith, we are called to meet the challenges of this moment.
As such, we demand that the U.S. Congress enhance voting rights in the United States; outlaw all practices that limit Black and Indigenous people and other communities of color striving to fully exercise their right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”; withdraw U.S. assistance from militaries, police, and other forces that restrict civil space; and support actions around the world that aim to fulfill human rights for all.
Opening Worship Preacher, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III
Expect a powerful word, illuminating the intersectionality of the Civil Rights and Human Rights issues we find ourselves still addressing today with the same fierce urgency of previous generations.
With civil rights advocacy in his DNA, Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill., Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III is a preacher, activist, and author. Over the last two decades, Dr. Moss has practiced and preached a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problems of mass incarceration, environmental justice and economic inequality.
A third-generation warrior for civil and human rights, Dr. Moss is committed to preaching a prophetic message of love and justice, which he believes are inseparable companions that form the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Moss is an honors graduate of Morehouse College, and earned a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary. Dr. Moss has a passion for preaching, which led him back to the classroom. In early 2022, Dr. Moss was named a professor of homiletics at McAfee, where he will help up-and-coming preachers build and strengthen their own preaching ministries.
The work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the pastoral ministry of his father, Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. of Cleveland, Ohio, have been primary mentors for his spiritual formation.
Dr. Moss communicates with ease across generations, offering creative bible-based messages, that inspire young and old alike, making him a popular speaker on college campuses, at conferences, and churches across the globe.
He is an ordained minister in both the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the United Church of Christ.
Virtual Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) is a great opportunity to learn about policy and advocacy through informative workshops with policy experts, grassroots advocacy trainings, worship and networking. Participants have the opportunity to join in EAD organized lobby visits bringing a domestic and an international "ask" to their Representatives and Senators. Rev. Otis Moss, III from Chicago will preach at the morning Worship Service on Monday, April 25, 2022. Don't miss this chance to be inspired, to deepen your policy knowledge and sharpen your advocacy skills! Contact Marilyn McKenna at mmckenna@crln.org for more information or to let us know you are registering so we can keep in touch.
Registration: If you register before April 1 the cost is $50. Between April 1-15 the cost is $75.00. You can register HERE
Scholarships: Please contact Marilyn McKenna for more info on scholarships before April 15 at mmckenna@crln.org.
Agenda: View the EAD agenda .HERE
The agenda does not yet show what time particular workshops and trainings will be at. After you register you will receive additional information about these. Below is a list of workshops related to our issues with a link to the full list.
Workshops related to issues CRLN follows
Emerging from the COVID Crisis with Resilience: The Role of a Human Rights Approach
Searching for the Disappeared: A Human Rights Crisis in Mexico
Defending the Rights of Haitian Migrants
Crisis and Hope: Activists Organizing for Rights in Guatemala and Honduras
Human Rights and US Policy Towards Cuba
Advocacy 101
Self-Care and Social Activism
Communications Tools for Divided Times
Using the Racial Equity Scorecard for Policies and Programs
Exporting Violence: How U.S. “Security Assistance” to Police and Militaries Around the World Harms Human Rights
Blunt Instruments: How U.S. Sanctions Both Advance and Restrict Global Human Rights
More workshop listings are HERE
At Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2022, we will unite to amplify our Christian voice in advocacy for civil and human rights in the United States and abroad. Won’t you join us?
“He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’ As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.'” (Luke 19:40-42 NRSV)
“[Loving as God does] is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11, NLT)
REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE
