Nolan Wells should be starting school this year. He should be thinking about what comes next, discovering more about himself, making plans, changing plans, laughing, learning, dreaming, and becoming. He is not. And that is a great tragedy and a loss for us all.

The August 11 storm that struck Northwest Indiana was severe. Winds approached 100 miles per hour. More than half of Gary lost power. Some residents and businesses waited nearly two weeks for electricity to be restored. The damage was real. But so too were the questions it exposed about infrastructure, preparedness, response, and accountability.

Labor Day calls us to honor the history of workers whose labor and organizing helped shape the protections and possibilities we know today. It also asks us to look at the conditions people are being asked to live and work under now and at the systems responsible for protecting communities when crisis comes. That brings our attention to Gary, Indiana.

In Gary, Indiana, Black families have spent nearly two weeks waiting for the lights to come back on. With the call to pay attention, CRS has joined forces with Trinity United Church of Christ in Gary and their Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson Sr. We invite you to join our Eyes on Gary Taskforce.

There are far too few safe spaces for young people to question, explore, learn, make mistakes, dream, thrive, and simply become. That is why CRS is launching Our Faith. Our Schools. Our Community., an initiative inviting faith communities across Chicago to intentionally surround and support young people as they begin this school year.

CRS attended the July 12 Lawndale Christian Community Church Service to celebrate 20 years of The Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago. We heard Firehouse Executive Director Pastor Phil Jackson break down how this beacon of violence interruption and public safety ignited.

Looking ahead to the 250th Independence Day (July 4), CRS further recognizes the sacrifices and resilience of our ancestors who carried the promise of liberty forward, even when it was unjustly denied to them. Yet much work remains until freedom truly flies.

CRS holds Karmelo Anthony and his family in love and compassion. Their lives, too, have been forever altered. Whatever happens next, the circle of their family has also been broken. They are carrying fear, uncertainty, and pain that few of us can fully understand. 

CRS laments the death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton and holds his family, loved ones, and community in prayer following the recent verdict in South Carolina.

CRS grieves with the Islamic Center of San Diego and communities across our nation and world, bereaved due to the unrest of war, genocide, Islamophobia, state-sanctioned violence, and a culture of racism and violence we must decry.

For months now, folks all over this country have been protesting the expanded use and increased militarization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the National Guard. These protests and complaints have been rooted in a meaningful question about our democracy and our ability to move freely and protest. So what is next, and what is our call as people of faith and goodwill in this moment?

CRS condemns the irreversible harm that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and police violence cause in our Beloved Community. We remember Renee Nicole Good and call for justice.

In this statement, CRS Executive Director Rev. Dr. Waltrina Middleton speaks on the urgency of now. She calls on the community to protect the sanctity of life beyond neatly phrased condolences following a tragedy on September 28 in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, which resulted in at least four fatalities and eight injuries.

Minnesota has experienced tragic and traumatic public acts of violence these past few months. In August, school children and other worshippers were gathered at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis to start the school year when their prayers were interrupted by shooting.

The work of building a righteous budget and a righteous city belongs to all of us. As people of faith, we are called to partner in that work, to hold leaders accountable, and to embody righteousness in our public life. Join us in the struggle for economic justice.

News out of Washington is that Chicago is next on the President’s list of cities where he wants to deploy federal troops to “crack down on crime,” which actually continues to decrease. In this moment, CRS believes we must be coordinated in strategy, called in purpose, and sound in our approach. 

CRS reflects on resistance in this blog article by our Community Impact and Special Projects Consultant, Keron Blair. We call you to join us as we offer steadiness and shelter while the world shakes, trembles, and worries.

It is Love that underscores our striving. CRS points to this instrument in the pursuit of justice; the stakes of which could touch the sky. We must mobilize in solidarity in the present, with an understanding of our past, because victory comes to those prepared for the night. And the night is history.

Following busy weeks of mission-driven action, CRS reflects on what justice and liberation mean to us and those across the globe. We remember that we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams and that even in the present, we are the future.

This blog article tracks executive orders issued by the current administration that limit affordable healthcare for low-income individuals, target refugees, roll back environmental protections, deepen disparities among marginalized communities, reinforce inequality, and more.