God's Call to Action Against Racism and Poverty in 2024

Racism (as measured by an array of metrics) and poverty have both increased over the last couple years, and 76 Christian leaders are voicing God’s call to intensify our efforts to deal with these problems. This letter was organized by the Circle of Protection's leaders, who are shown below in the Vice President's formal office just before a meeting with her senior advisors last June.

The church leaders’ statement emphasizes the importance of anti-racism education in local churches and the urgency of Senate action on the Child Tax Credit expansion that the House has already approved  The statement and a new guide to anti-racism educational resources for local churches were posted this morning at circleofprotection.us.

We have sent the church leaders’ statement to the White House and every member of Congress. The Christian leaders who signed the statement will share it in their churches and networks, and Religion News Service has published a news report on this initiative (https://religionnews.com/2024/05/01/75-christian-leaders-urge-president-congress-churches-to-act-on-racism-poverty/). 

World Food Prize Laureates Speak Up

President Lula of Brazil is a World Food Prize Laureate, and he has been elected chair of this fall's G20 Summit and next year's big environmental conference, COP30. He's made hunger and poverty central to the G20 agenda and is proposing a new structure of mutual accountability among governments and other institutions, the Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.

27 Laureates yesterday wrote to all the G20 heads of state, urging them to join Lula in a push to get progress against world hunger back on track. I'm proud to have played a leadership role in this initiative.

The Laureates stressed the urgency of humanitarian assistance to a world on fire. $9 billion for humanitarian assistance has been approved by President Biden and the Senate, but is stuck in the House of Representatives. There's lots of talk about military aid to Ukraine and Israel, but we can urge our Representatives to make sure that $9 billion for humanitarian assistance is not forgotten.

https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/laureate_letter/

Buy Jim Wallis’ book to influence this year’s elections

Jim Wallis’ new book, The False White Gospel, can help change the press narrative about the role of religion in this year’s elections and influence the results of the elections.

We can help get Jim’s book listed as a New York Times bestseller by buying it on-line before its release on April 2. Being listed as a bestseller will boost attention to the book in the months to come.

The False White Gospel is a theological critique of the set of beliefs that Jim calls Christian White Nationalism. It is grounded in six iconic Bible passages, and I think it will be read and discussed in many congregations.

Christian White Nationalists are typically supporters of Donald Trump, and Jim draws parallels between Trumpism today and the rise of fascism in Germany.  I’m grateful for this timely book.