We gather in community to sing together songs of peace, justice, protest, solidarity, empowerment and more. This gathering is to help us prepare for action on Palm Sunday. We will take time for a potluck dinner after our singing, so please bring food to share if you like. Water will be provided.

The next presentation in our Taking a Faithful Stand series will be Tuesday, March 10th at 6:30 pm, and will feature Rev. Mark Richards, hospice chaplain and President of the Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist State Action Network (WUUSAN). We will be discussing the upcoming Wisconsin State Supreme Court election.

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With federal immigration and customs actions occurring in new ways, it is important to be prepared, know the right questions to ask, and have all documents available if you have an encounter with federal agents.  Everybody has rights under the U.S. constitution that you may exercise in such a situation. There are also a number of steps you can take ahead of any encounter to minimize panic, family separation, and loss of financial assets. In this webinar, speakers will cover helpful information on preparing as well as responding to ICE presence in your home, workplace, or in a public space.

Statewide, 17 counties and one municipality, have 287(g) agreements with ICE.  This webinar, featuring ACLU WI’s Senior Staff Attorney Tim Muth, will give an overview of what 278g agreements are (how they work, who signs them) and the implications these agreements have toward communities. 

Faith leaders are increasingly finding themselves navigating interactions with law enforcement—at houses of worship, during pastoral care, at public witness events, or in moments of crisis. This training will equip clergy and faith leaders with a clear understanding of their legal rights and responsibilities when engaging with federal agents.

In Wisconsin, where dairy is the state’s largest agricultural sector, migrants make up an estimated 40% of the workforce, and UMOS reports that at least 90% of migrant dairy workers are undocumented.  Drawing on decades of relationships, John will share how current immigration systems, including the limits of the H-2A program for year-round dairy, shape daily realities, while bringing a human lens to a topic often discussed only in policy terms. He will be joined by Layla  who will highlight how NFU is advocating for practical immigration reforms that support family farmers, protect workers, and strengthen the future of U.S. agriculture. Together, the session connects lived experience with policy solutions in a complex, deeply interdependent issue.

In February, we continue our conversation about the impact of HR 1 in Wisconsin. Join Linda Ketcham, Executive Director of Just Dane, to hear about the impact of local municipality budget shortfalls and how federal and state policy exacerbate them. Linda has a long history of advocacy and will bring her knowledge to help us understand how these changes impact vulnerable communities and how we can play a role in the shifting ecosystem of city, county, state, and federal government.

Clergy: Join us for a two hour training session on preparing for immigration enforcement in your community. Topics include situational awareness and risk assessment, emotional and spiritual preparedness, getting connected to local organizers, Know Your Rights and anticipating legal situations you may encounter, an introduction to nonviolence, and security. Speakers include Wisconsin organizers, Minnesota clergy, and legal professionals.

The Palm Sunday Path is a growing movement of church leaders who have decided that now is the time for Christians to stand up to rising authoritarianism and white Christian nationalism in a new way. Palm Sunday places before us a lasting contrast. Jesus enters Jerusalem not through force or spectacle, but in humility and mercy—exposing the limits of power built on fear and domination. Matthew tells us that when Jesus entered the city, the whole city was shaken. Not by an army, but by truth. The Palm Sunday Path is anchored by the Matthew 25 values of feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and welcoming the stranger, and envisions actions of tens of thousands of Christians across multiple states on Palm Sunday afternoon.

HOPES, FEARS, AND REALITIES: RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP AND AI

Wisconsin Council of Churches Annual Meeting 2025

December 9, 2025 | Appleton

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Kate Ott 

For generations, faith communities have asked, “How do we get people to come to church?” This session explores a flipped script: what do we need to do to prepare and enter communities authentically and with intention?

One of the most prevalent concerns in our faith communities right now is the rise of Christian nationalism, a weaponized religious movement that seeks to declare that Christianity is intrinsically aligned with American values and that the United States was both founded as and should be a Christian nation.

The next presenter in our Taking a Faithful Stand series with be Rev. Jason W. Coulter. Pastor Jason is one of many pastor-activists in Evanston, IL, and will speak to us about what resistance looks like there in this era. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 11th, beginning at 6:30 pm, via Zoom. 

Feeling despair from the 24-hour news cycle? Overwhelmed by your inbox? Numbed out scrolling social media?

The next meeting of Taking a Faithful Stand will be on Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 PM on Zoom. 

Jim Santelle, former United States attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, will present on the impact of this year's US Supreme Court decisions.

Darryl Morin will share a presentation on Immigration: Fiction, Facts & Faith on Tuesday, June 10th at 6:30 PM.

At the WCC, we often discuss the “big ball of yuck” and coach ourselves to focus on addressing one piece at a time. But how do you choose where to start responding to a chaotic world where crises seem like a daily occurrence? How does the Church respond?

Join the WCC staff and Milwaukee area colleagues to discuss chaplaining in an apocalypse and address the needs of our world through community care.

Join the Wisconsin Council of Churches and Worker Justice Wisconsin to learn about the intersection of Worker Justice and Immigration and how your congregation can engage in both issues with Rebecca Meier-Rao, executive director of Worker Justice Wisconsin.

Many of us have heard the School House Rock song “I’m Just a Bill”, but do we actually understand how a bill becomes a law? And do we understand there are ways that we can engage in the process, especially for local and state laws? Join Rev. Breanna Illéné, Director of Ecumenical Innovation and Justice Initiatives at the Wisconsin Council of Churches, to learn about advocacy and engaging in legislative hearings. We will discuss how a bill becomes a law at the state level and the process of engaging in public testimony, along with why it’s important that we, as people of faith show up.

Join the Wisconsin Council of Churches and Voces de la Frontera for a Know Your Rights Training in English on March 27th at 9:00am.

Led by Ruby De Leon and Voces de la Frontera staff. This training will be recorded.

Many people in the WCC network have been asking how to care for our LGBTQ+ kin when there is so much legislation specifically targeting this community. We would like to invite you to a conversation circle to brainstorm what you and your congregation can do to support LGBTQ+ people in your community. This is an open, informal, conversation to brainstorm, share ideas, and know that you are not alone.

Our next meeting of Taking a Faithful Stand for Equity speakers will be Omar Mohamed, Lutheran Social Services (LSS) Refugee Resettlement Program Manager, and Sarah Halstead, LSS Manager of Community and Faith Partnerships.

What does it look, sound, and feel like to examine the stories we tell that shape our narratives and build worlds? What could be different if we radically imagine a different way of being and existing and then co-creating it? Join leaders and practitioners in grounding our understanding of narrative building and storytelling for change.

As the new administration takes power in 2025, immigration issues are going to affect clergy and congregations across our nation. Whether your congregation has undocumented persons, ministers to immigrant families, or would like to help but is unsure how to begin, this interactive online workshop is for you! Our panel of experts in immigration ministry, rights, and legal issues will offer important information and guidance for how to effectively navigate the changing landscape in 2025.