Voting and Climate Justice Resources

Curated by the SNEUCC Environmental Ministry Team

Worship and Preaching Resources

New! Faith Matters Voting Challenge Brochure

Recorded sermons:

• Rev. Michael-Ray Matthews 

• Rev. Leslie Callahan 

• Reza Nekumanesh 

• Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp 

• Valerie Kaur 

​Our Message Matters preaching workshops from Faith in Action:

• Led by Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp & Rev. Leslie Callahan 

• Led by Rev. Anastassia Zinke & Bishop Elton Amos 

Worship Resources

• Sacred Season of Voting – 2020 interfaith thematic guide 

• May You Vote – 2020 voting blessing 

• Collection of worship resources from Sarah Are: “A liturgy of hope & release for Election Season & the weeks following an election.” 

• Election Season prayer from UCC Worship Ways  

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Resources for Discussion Groups and Video Screenings

• Rev.  Dr. Jim Antal reflects on voting as a sacred responsibility as part of the SNEUCC Faith Matters Voting Challenge. Watch here:  Lift up voting as sacred responsibility - Rev. Dr. Jim Antal on Vimeo

• Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, co-founders of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University, reflect on voting as an act of faith as part of the SNEUCC Faith Matters Voting Challenge: Voting as an Act of Faith

• Read and reflect on this piece, “Voting as a Spiritual Practice"

• Super Saturday EVP webinar  

• Watch this short video about the Pro-Democracy Faith Movement, featuring two UCC leaders, Revs. Traci Blackmon and Otis Moss III.  Discuss the five principles articulated here, drawing upon the full report on The Pro-Democracy Faith Movement, as desired.

• “Bring Spirit to the Polls” - Rev. Traci Blackmon and Civil Rights Leader Ruby Sales speak together about activism, then and now, and voter suppression tactics. Ruby Sales is an historian, Griot, and Member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the founder of SpiritHouse Project, a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization that uses the arts, research, education, action, and spirituality to bring diverse peoples together to work for racial, economic, and social justice, as well as for spiritual maturity.  

• Screen the 2022 PBS 3-part series on “The Power of Big Oil”
• Part 1: Denial  
• Part 2: Doubt   
• Part 3: Delay   
• Check out the screening options available through Interfaith Power and Light.  You can download discussion guides for each movie to help you plan your screening. 

• Virginia’s Calling - a sensitive look into the human effects of climate change on an evangelical family that never thought climate change would affect them.  DVD and screening kit available here.

• Get a copy of the Interfaith Power & Light Faithful Voter Reflection Guide here.

• UCC Our Faith, Our Vote resources

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Resources on “Sound the Alarm for Climate Action” Bell-Ringing

Church bells have a long history of calling communities together to respond to a crisis.  In the Southern New England conference there are several clusters of congregations gathering on the 11th of every month to ring their bells and sound the alarm that we are approaching the “11th hour” of the growing climate crisis.

Sound the Alarm for Climate Action is also an excellent opportunity to invite participants and passersby to take the Creation Care Voter Pledge and increase the number of voters concerned about the environment.  If your congregation decides to make a commitment to ring your bell on the 11th of each month, we want to hear about your ideas and experience. Contact Karen Methot and share your story so that we can get the word out and inspire others!

Read: Guilford Church Sounds the Alarm for Climate Action

For more information, visit 11th Hour Calling and check out these articles about congregations in our conference.

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Voter Registration Resources and Conducting Voter Registration Drives in CT, MA, RI

• State-specific information on registration status, first time registration, requests for absentee ballot, vote by mail, early voting, election reminders 

• Third Act’s new “Senior to Senior Intergenerational Voter Challenge” to help every graduating high school senior to become a voter.  

• Future Voters Project from Learning for Justice. Includes educational resources for teaching young people about voting rights and voter suppression and registering future (under 18) voters. 

• Conducting a Voter Registration Drive in MA  

• Conducting a Voter Registration Drive in CT  

• Conducting a Voter Registration Drive in RI  

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Resources on Hosting a Candidate Forum

• Hosting a Candidate Forum.  

• Guide to Hosting a Successful Candidate Forum for 501(c)(3)s

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Voter Activation Campaigns

• Get involved with the Environmental Voter Project 

• Sign up to be a Faithful Advocacy Captain for your Congregation with Interfaith Power and Light  

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Other Resources for Congregations

Responding to election-related violence:

• Building a Resiliency Network: A toolkit for building community resilience during a contentious election cycle 

• Election Chaplaincy: All over the country, people of faith are rising up to defend democracy by being a vigilant spiritual witness at the polls. This training will cover what the role of the precinct chaplain is, how we plan to show up as a faith witness on election day, strategies for monitoring precincts, best practices for voter care & comfort, and tools for de-escalation and crisis management at the polls. Led by Billy M. Honor, Director of Faith Organizing for the New Georgia Project. 

•  5  Nonpartisan Ways Religious Leaders Can Support the 2020 Election 

• What Houses of Worship Can and Can Not Do in Elections 

• UCC Guidelines for Congregations on Political Action