In Solidarity with Portland: Statement of the Central Pacific Conference, UCC
In Solidarity with Portland:
Statement of the Central Pacific Conference, UCC
In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote:
“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
We, leaders of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, met September 26-28 onsite in Medford, Oregon, and online October 4, 2025 for our Annual Gathering. We came from Oregon, Idaho, and Washington, from rural, suburban, and urban communities, from large and small churches, comprised of people of many races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and political affiliations. While here, we learned of President Trump’s plan to deploy federal troops to Portland, authorizing them to use “full force if necessary.” After prayer and discernment, we raise our voices to say no to this deployment.
We join our elected officials in declaring: Portland needs zero federal troops. The occupation in Portland today affects all of us in the Pacific Northwest and the nation as a whole. We will not sit idly by while Portlanders are harassed and bullied by an unwarranted show of federal force.
The President has described Portland as “war-ravaged” and “like living in hell.” That is a lie. Those among us who live, work, minister, and raise families there witness that Portland is a beautiful, complex, passionate city with struggles and disagreements like any other. Portland does not need soldiers on its streets. Portland does need a federal government that keeps its commitments to fund schools, arts, health care systems, social safety nets, and mental health programs — and one that respects the freedoms of speech, assembly and peaceful protest.
The Central Pacific Conference is a Just Peace Conference. This means we are:
A community of resistance, standing against structures of violence and injustice.
A community of sacrifice and commitment, going the extra mile in the search for justice and peace.
A community of hope, believing a Just Peace is possible, working toward it, and proclaiming its promise.
In keeping with these commitments, we pledge to offer creative, nonviolent resistance; sacrifice and commitment; hope and possibility in these times of unprecedented threats to our democracy. We believe the God we know through Jesus Christ calls and empowers us to this work. Today, we stand with Portland in solidarity and hope, knowing a better world is possible — and that it is up to all of us to bring it into being.
“In Solidarity with Portland: Statement of the Central Pacific Conference, UCC”
Medford, Oregon, September 28, 2025
