Almost two dozen United Methodist clergy joined other faith leaders at statewide rallies calling for the protection of voting rights for all eligible voters in Michigan.
JAMES DEATON
Content Editor
On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, United Methodist clergy joined other interfaith clergy at rallies in Detroit, Lansing, and Grand Rapids to publicly stand in shared witness to defend the election process and every citizen’s right to have their vote counted.
News reports say that some 200 faith leaders from various religious traditions came to support this event. It’s part of a nationwide campaign coordinated by the nonpartisan group Faith in Us, which has created a letter that more than 2,000 clergy across the country have signed, opposing any attack on our right to vote and calling on elected leaders to do the same.
The statewide rally follows news that federal election monitors are being sent to Michigan for the upcoming primary election on August 4. Three Michigan cities — Detroit, Lansing, and East Lansing — received letters from the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting documents and citing long lines, a lack of provisional ballots, and concerns about Voter Accessible Terminals during the 2024 General Election.
Michigan Secretary Jocelyn Benson has responded, saying Michigan’s elections are “transparent, accurate, accessible, and secure,” and that the DOJ’s “baseless allegations” are confusing voters about the facts.
Faith leaders in Michigan are concerned about potential interference in the fair and free election process and attempts to intimidate voters at the ballot box. Last week, they stood together in solidarity on behalf of our democratic values and the belief that every voice matters.
These leaders are concerned not only with election monitors coming to Michigan but also with the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act before Congress, which requires voters to prove citizenship and present specific identification to vote in a federal election. A similar bill is before Michigan lawmakers.
In Detroit, at least 11 United Methodist clergy, retired and active, among others, attended the Faith in Us press conference at Central UMC, where Rev. Paul Perez is lead minister.
Perez spoke at the event and cited the recent news about election monitors coming to Michigan and the proposed SAVE Act, which would make it more difficult for eligible voters, especially those without the means to obtain birth certificates and/or passports, to register to vote and increase the burden and cost of local election officials to eligible voters.
He said, “We join those who have raised concerns about the adverse impact on eligible voters who are people of color, tribal citizens, active duty military, low-income, and married women to register and vote.”
He also noted other examples, including continued threats to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and National Guard troops at polling places, of “repeated efforts by the federal government . . . aimed at suppressing the vote, intimidating voters, limiting access to the ballot box, and preventing eligible voters from voting.”
Perez continued by noting that the faith traditions represented at the July 7 press conference affirm the sacred dignity of each person, which is the foundation for participatory democracy, and attempts to limit the right to vote violate that right. “Motivated by these deeply held faith traditions . . . we, as faith leaders, will be active to protect our rights to vote . . . [and] ensure that eligible voters across race and faith are registered to vote.”
Rev. Melissa Claxton, pastor of Warren: First UMC and the Michigan Conference’s Ecumenical Officer, also participated in the event at Detroit: Central UMC. Perez had invited her, and so did Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk, co-chair of the Imams Council of Michigan and president of the Islamic Organization of America. Claxton and Elturk work together frequently on interfaith ministry. Their last event was the World Day of Prayer, the last Friday in March, when they hosted an interfaith service to pray for our country.
Claxton explains how this work, standing up for voting rights, is the work of the church. “Our neighbors’ voices are being silenced in what is transpiring in our nation today through the suppression of voting rights. When people lose the right to vote, no matter what side of the proverbial aisle they may be on, they are silenced. And when people are silenced, it leads to oppression. It moves those folks further into the margins, and they lose rights.”
Claxton encourages Michigan United Methodists who may not be on the same page on this issue to consider the question: What if your voice were being silenced, and would you want someone to speak up for you? And then engage in conversation with people living on the margins.
“As a woman,” says Claxton, “I fear for other women in our nation. I understand the problems that the ‘voter ID’ laws create for women. Fortunately, I have a passport, and Michigan’s Real ID is sufficient. But I have been married twice and divorced once. I had to pull together a lot of paperwork to prove that I was who I said I was (after already proving it when I was 18 and registered to vote before the name changes). It was cumbersome and expensive.”
In Lansing, Rev. Leslee Fritz, pastor of Lansing: Grace UMC, spoke at the Faith in Us press conference on the State Capitol steps, where the Michigan Conference holds its annual Advocacy Day rally. She was joined by one other active United Methodist clergy member, four or five retired clergy, and a number of other United Methodists.
Fritz was asked to speak by a member of her congregation who was part of the event’s planning team. Each participating clergy member was asked to select a value from their faith tradition to address. Fritz spoke on peace, the absence of fear. Others spoke on justice, love, and equality.
“My faith,” said Fritz, “teaches me that God desires all of creation to live in peace with one another and with our creator. And that peace isn’t just an absence of conflict (though that would be a good start); it is . . . knowing you are safe to live fully and freely.”
She continued, “Because of recent efforts to restrict voter registration, to investigate and raid groups trying to register voters, to ‘patrol’ polling places with military or ICE agents, too many of God’s children must now choose between their safety and their participation. That not only violates the basic tenets of democracy, it violates the basic human dignity of us all.”
When asked what next steps local church leaders here in the Michigan Conference can take to act in faith in this moment, Rev. Paul Perez gives several considerations:
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- Talk with trusted local church leaders. “When I returned from a recent Faith in Us training about protecting the right to vote,” explains Perez, “my lay leader, Maureen Taylor, who is a long-time leader and activist with Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, said, ‘Pastor Paul, this is the fight. We have to protect the right to vote.’”
- Read and study our Council of Bishops’ book “Building Beloved Community: The Courage to Love in the Face of Tyranny” with your church. Perez invites, “Prayerfully discern how you can put our bishops’ call to resist authoritarianism and Christian nationalism into practice in your local community.”
- Get trained and commit to serve as a poll chaplain or peacekeeper with Faiths United to Save Democracy, a nonpartisan organization. Learn more.
- Get involved with Faith in Us, which will soon ask city and township council members to pledge to protect Michigan elections. Perez notes, “If you want to get involved in this effort or want to learn more about Faith in Us, please contact me at [email protected].”
The publication of this article was made possible thanks to generous financial gifts from local United Methodist churches in Michigan through Ministry Shares. Thank you! Learn about the impact of Ministry Shares on mission and ministry in Michigan and around the world.
Last Updated on July 20, 2026