BJC: Serve Your Neighbor This Election Season
BJC’s October 2026 newsletter offers timely opportunities to support religious freedom for all, protect houses of worship, and participate in nonpartisan election service. The next deadline is October 15, when the final poll chaplain training prepares volunteers to serve on Election Day, November 3.
For Lutherans in the Grand Canyon Synod, these opportunities connect with our baptismal call to serve all people and strive for justice and peace. Loving our neighbors includes defending their freedom of conscience and helping our communities participate in civic life.
Read BJC’s full October newsletter for registration links, advocacy tools, and additional coverage.
The newsletter from BJC—the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty—includes:
Poll chaplain training, October 15: Learn to provide an approachable, nonpartisan presence at polling places. The final session runs 4–5:30 p.m. in most of Arizona and Nevada; 5–6:30 p.m. in Utah and the Navajo Nation (7–8:30 p.m. Eastern). BJC says one session prepares volunteers to serve November 3. Find training and election resources in the newsletter.
“Faith and Freedom at 250,” October 21–22: Maya Wiley headlines the Shurden Lectures at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her October 21 keynote begins at 5 p.m.; an October 22 panel conversation begins at 11 a.m. Both events are free, with registration requested. A livestream link will be available for the first lecture.
Religious liberty in the courts: BJC previews disputes involving prayer gatherings in a private home and government-required Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms, explaining its advocacy for religious exercise and against government-imposed religion.
An invitation to contact Congress: BJC encourages readers to urge lawmakers to pass the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, seeking protections from immigration enforcement at houses of worship and other sensitive locations.
Clergy connection, November 12: A virtual Clergy Quarterly Touchpoint welcomes faith leaders from all traditions for encouragement, conversation, and opportunities for action. It meets 10–11:30 a.m. in Arizona, Utah, and the Navajo Nation; 9–10:30 a.m. in Nevada. Registration is available through the newsletter.
The issue also invites donations before BJC’s fiscal year ends October 31. Explore the full newsletter and consider how you or your congregation might participate in this work of neighbor-love.
