Dear clergy colleagues and faith leaders,

Building on the organizing work against federal attacks on our communities through organizations like the North Carolina Council of Churches and Siembra NC, and congregations like yours, we are inviting you to a meeting on December 11 from 11-12:30pm on Zoom to plan for Lent of Action in your congregations.

As rising authoritarianism takes hold in our national and state politics, we see the same patterns repeated: the targeting of immigrants and poor families, the dismantling of the public good through cuts to schools, healthcare, SNAP, and more, and the sowing of division through fear and cruelty. As pastors, ministers, and lay leaders, we know this moment calls for more than thoughts and prayers. It calls for faithful courage — for us to stand together and guide our communities through uncertainty toward hope and care.

That’s why we are convening a virtual clergy action call to prepare our congregations to resist these threats and embody a different way — one rooted in compassion, justice, and collective care.

During this call, we will:

• Share updates on how rising authoritarianism and federal attacks on the public good are affecting our people here in North Carolina;

• Outline a Lent and Palm Sunday plan for clergy and congregations to make faith visible in public life;

• Provide tools for listening, preaching, and action that build courage and connection

This is what faithful leadership looks like in a season of fear and change.

In solidarity and hope,

Andrew Willis Garcés, Siembra NC  

Jennifer Copeland, North Carolina Council of Churches  

Sadie Lansdale, Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro