Community Renewal Society is proud to announce that we have signed on to the Apartheid Free Palestine campaign.

As the flowers begin to bloom and the world rejuvenates itself, we too, at Community Renewal Society, turn towards a season of renewal and growth.

Read our statement following a decision from Chicago’s City Council to allocate $51 million to migrant funding.

As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba of May 15, 1948, many commentators have been pointing out that the Catastrophe did not simply occur on that date or year but rather that it is an ongoing catastrophe, beginning prior to 1948 and continuing to the present day.

April is Arab American Heritage Month. Click here to learn how Arab Americans are not accurately represented in the U.S. Census and what you can do to be a powerful ally during this month.

As the nature of the Israeli apartheid regime becomes more and more apparent to the outside world and the rightward shift in Israel becomes harsher and more indefensible, false charges of antisemitism have increased. Learn more here.

Learn about calls to action you can take to support those facing ethnic cleansing and apartheid in Palestine.

Learn about ways you can help communities and refugees affected by the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

CRS mission centers on eradicating racism and inequities in our society. We condemn these murders and all acts of bigotry and biases that marginalize and harm others.

The Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago condemns the racist massacre at Tops Market in Buffalo this past Saturday. We are horrified that African Americans shopping in their own neighborhood were executed solely because of their race.

ACC is grieved by the shootings in Dallas, Buffalo, and Laguna Woods (in addition to many others). On May 11, a gunman open-fired at a salon in Koreatown, Dallas, Texas, injuring 3 Korean women. He is also under investigation for other shootings near Asian businesses in the Dallas area.

Ramadan Kareem to all of our Muslim friends! Ramadan is a festive month given to charity, religious contemplation, and fasting. CRS shares this article By Jonathan Kuttab, Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America.

Community Renewal Society participated in the rally to protest the attacks on the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalen on April 18. We share this article from FightBackNews!

The inequitable use of force against unarmed worshippers and Palestinians at-large are crimes against humanity and there must be outrage and denouncement by global leaders, faith communities, and all who believe in justice and peace for all.

We hold our world in prayer and remain in solidarity with people oppressed everywhere, including Ukraine and Palestine. Community Renewal Society denounces these innumerable acts of violence across the world. The common threads of our beautiful humanity connect us and so does the interconnectedness of our shared struggles.

I have been associated with Tent of Nations and the Nassar family for many years. In fact, my law office in Jerusalem has been and continues to represent them in their ongoing legal battles to save their land from the Israeli government and the Jewish settlers who have been trying for years to steal it from them. I myself have participated in activities on their land. One time, I even found myself alongside Rev. Alex Awad and a Lutheran German minister alone with Daoud in confronting the settlers who were bulldozing into their land.

At the core of international law is the concept of universalism. Essentially, the same rules, values, and expectations apply to everyone, friend and foe alike. It is also the principle behind the Golden Rule and the universal appeals of Christianity as well as Islam. It has its foundations in the unity of the Godhead, the father of us all.

On Wednesday, December 22, 2021, a coalition of Illinois Palestinian, solidarity, civil, and human rights organizations will rally at the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago to protest the Illinois Investment Policy Board’s Committee on Israel Boycott Restrictions’ investigation of Unilever for its subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s July 2021 decision to withdraw business from illegal Israel settlements in the Palestinian West Bank.

A reflection on Haiti by Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Pastor Emeritus.

On September 11, 2001, in his capacity as General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, Rev. John Thomas was visiting church partners in Germany. On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of those events he shares recollections as well as reflections on the significance of the day for himself, the church, and the world in the ensuing years. He shares, “The cascading tragedy in Afghanistan only seems to confirm the timeliness of this kind of reflection.”