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Lenten Reflection: The penitent thief and second chances

John B. Johnson, Program Director, Domestic Policy

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.—One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23 32; 39-43)

blog snippThe penitent thief and second chances

Luke’s account of the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross with two other “criminals” intrigues me.  When I read this Gospel, I find myself wondering about the man who made it to paradise with Jesus that day.  Because of his penitence and faith, Jesus gives him a second chance for redemption and for paradise.

I think two of the most important sentences in the English language are I’m sorry and thank you.Lent is a time of penitence and forgiveness.  The penitent thief’s story is, for me, one of the all-time best “second chances.”  I like second chances—and throughout my career, I certainly have needed them.  Second chances are part of our national character in everything from bankruptcy for businesses or individuals, to youth who make mistakes and find themselves in the juvenile justice system.  Individually or as a society, offering a second chance is a Gospel value.

One of my heroes—who I had the pleasure of meeting in person (and I even bought him a Coca-Cola)—is former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said, “No one is beyond redemption.” Forgiveness is more for us than it is for the one who may sin against us.

The opportunity to serve the ELCA in our Washington, DC Advocacy Office as the Program Director of Domestic Policy feels like a second chance for me because I served in a similar capacity with the Episcopal Church some years ago.  I left that job for new opportunities and experiences that were both wonderful, challenging and no-so-great.  What those experiences taught me, however, was that I was “operating outside of my call.” Getting back to faith-based advocacy is a great blessing for me and I love that I have an opportunity to bring second chances into my professional work.

Second Chance Reauthorization Act and Smarter Sentencing Act

Criminal justice reform is becoming a passion of mine in large measure because of my faith in redemption and second chances.  In the last Congress, several promising bi-partisan bills were introduced that would reduce the US prison population, reduce mandatory minimum requirements for non-violent drug offences and improve reentry services to reduce recidivism for the formerly incarcerated.  The Second Chance Reauthorization Act and the Smarter Sentencing Act are two key opportunities to reform our criminal justice system in the US.

  • The Second Chance Act was signed into law by George W. Bush in 2009, this legislation provides federal resources to states for reentry programs, but could do more through the reauthorization process with a number of enhancements directed at incarcerated young people—including additional mentoring programs, transitional services, and new granting opportunities.
  • The Smarter Sentencing Act makes incremental reform that allows federal judges to appropriately sentence certain non-violent drug offenders below existing mandatory minimum sentences.  The bill provides federal judges some case-by-case review of each offender to prevent overly harsh sentencing.  Finally, the bill refocuses the resulting savings into crime and recidivism prevention programs and improves transparency through public access to statutory and regulatory criminal provisions.

When legislative action begins in earnest on these important reform opportunities, I hope Lutherans and all of our Christian brothers and sisters will find their voice and call on our Senators, Representatives and the President to pass these bills.

Thank you for the opportunity to reflect and to share the ministry of advocacy with so many of you. May you have a good and reflective Lent.

Will TPA, TPP and TTIP create “Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All?”

Rachel Williams, Legislative Intern

In the State of the Union speech last month, President Obama reaffirmed his priorities and his interest on passing trade agreements with Asia and the European Union. These agreements, he claimed, would “protect our workers, protect our environment and open new markets to new goods stamped ‘Made in the USA.'” Announcing his intentions, the President is now looking to Congress to help pass three main pieces of legislation, including:

  • Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – the authority of the President to negotiate trade agreements from Congressional approval. It is a technique which has been used to block opportunities for dissenting members of Congress to amend or filibuster an agreement.
  • The Trans-Pacific Partnership Act (TPP) – A trade agreement between 11 different countries in the Pacific Ocean Region. Congress and the public have not seen the trade agreement itself, making it difficult to know the final compromises and agreements.
  • The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – A trade agreement with European Union members.

Trade may at times seem insignificant, but it affects many aspects of our daily lives: from jobs, wages, and benefits, to international relations and global poverty. In light of the globalizing economy and reality of these new agreements, we must ask ourselves as people of faith, “will these policies help all of God’s people thrive?”

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America supports policies which help promote holistic economic growth, recognizing the value of raising families out of poverty and fostering a “sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all” (see the ELCA Statement on Economic Life). We believe that everyone should be able to support themselves and prosper within an economy.

Proponents of TPA support the trade agreements because it shows a united government during trade negotiations, creating stronger leverage in the trade talks. However, there is concerned about haste in passing these agreements. Some have indicated that there won’t be enough time to read the agreement, debate it, or know what agreements will actually be upheld in the final version. Opponents worry that, if written carelessly, agreements may continue to weaken standards that harm workers (both domestically and internationally), enable policies which harm the environment, and prey on marginalized communities for their resources. With that being said, strong trade policy can be a chance to create regulations that benefit both businesses and consumers.

The Church has acknowledged that what is in our interest must be placed in the context of what is good for the neighbor.When making decisions in the economic realm how our actions affect our neighbors must also be taken into consideration.Sudden shifts in globalized capital and financial markets can dramatically affect the economic well-being of millions of people, for good or for ill (ELCA statement on Economic Life).

Some Members of Congress have also explained how TPP and TTIP could be a chance to set high-standard trade rules for the international community. These trade agreements could create regulations that benefit both American businesses and consumers. Although TPP and TTIP can be a chance to create regulations that benefit both American businesses and consumers, terms of trade often work to the disadvantage of developing countries. Furthermore, benefits of trade agreements hinge on whether or not the countries signatory to them honor them as well whether there are ways to enforce the trade agreements.

Trade agreements are important reflections of our values as a country and can have a positive or detrimental effect on the daily lives of billions of people. With TPP agreements to finish in March, we will continue to support policies that are inclusive and protect marginalized populations. Trade agreements should give everyone a chance to thrive and create a livelihood can be an agreement we all can stand behind. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus brings good news to the poor and releases the captive. God executed justice for the oppressed. As followers of Christ, we must ensure that the actions of our government do not cause dire consequences to those with less power.

Lenten Reflection: Thinking about food in a time of fasting

Mary Minette, Director for Environmental Education and Advocacy

“You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.  The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together with joy.”

Psalm 65:11-13

For Lent, some people give up a favorite food as a way to reflect on scarcity and abundance, the gifts that God has given, and the sacrifice embodied in Christ’s life, death and resurrection.  I’ve done this myself because I thought it was a good way to focus on the meaning and purpose of the Lenten season (although my husband says that the year I gave up chocolate I became unbelievably cranky).  Rather than giving up a food this year, my plan for Lent is to try to be more mindful of and thankful for the food that blesses and feeds me and my family. I aim to do this by finding ways to eat more sustainably and avoid waste.

mary23If you’ve been reading the “Living Earth Reflections” I send each month, you probably know that I get a little obsessive about food waste.   I lay that at the feet of my depression-era mother, who never had a leftover too small to stick in a little plastic container against some future need.  For her to do otherwise would have gone against what she was taught during her childhood. Food was a gift and a blessing, especially in times of scarcity. To waste it was wrong.

She definitely had a point.  In our world of abundance, many still don’t have enough to eat.  In our country and in the developed world as a whole, we waste a lot of food.  This waste has economic, environmental and moral costs.

Each year an average U.S. family of four wastes an estimated $1484 in food. In our slowly growing and wage-stagnant economy, that’s not a small amount! In 2010, the USDA estimated that 153 billion pounds of food with a retail value of $161 billion was wasted by U.S. consumers and retailers, more than one-third of our food supply. Wasted food also wastes all of the resources that go into growing, shipping, packaging and refrigerating food before it even reaches your table—and this also includes a lot of energy, much of which comes from polluting fossil fuels.

Most wasted food ends up in a landfill. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food thrown away by consumers, restaurants, grocery stores and others at all points along our industrial food chain is the largest single component of landfills.  Food waste not only takes up space in landfills, it also produces methane as it decays. (Methane is one of the most potent of the greenhouse gases that is causing climate change, and landfills are the third largest source of U.S. methane emissions.)

Then there is the moral cost of food waste. Wasting food shows disregard for the farmer who grew the food, to all those who played a role in bringing it to the table and to our God whose creation offers us food in abundance.  In a world where many of our neighbors are hungry, wasted food seems to embody an indifference to their suffering.  When your mother told you to “think of the starving children” if you refused to clean your plate, she was making a moral point that deserves further reflection.  How should we as Christians view a food system that allows millions of tons of food to rot in landfills while billions go hungry?  And what role does our own wasted food play in that system?

Lent and its focus on spiritual discipline is a good time to ponder the role of food in our lives and to try some new, more sustainable practices (and see if they stick).  Here are just a few:

Thank you for this opportunity to reflect with you today.

Reflect and take action with us this Lenten season

Tia Upchurch-Freelove, ELCA Program Director of Communications and Grassroots Outreach
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”
– Isaiah 58:6-7
This season of Lent is a time of fasting, prayer and reflection in preparation for the feast of Easter. The words of the prophet Isaiah remind us that our fasting should connect deeply to meaningful changes in the way we live our daily lives and the way we see our world.
As we journey through these 40 days of Lent, we invite you to join our ELCA Advocacy staff each week for reflections on important issues and discussions on ways in which we can act together to affect positive and long-lasting changes in our communities.
Today, on Ash Wednesday, we pray that God grants us renewed and honest hearts so that we may fully repent our sins and receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. This day, we begin to think about the beauty and brokenness we see in our world, and we consider how our daily lives affect this beauty and brokenness.

Reflecting on hunger and poverty in our world

As you begin your fasting and reflection this week, consider those in the world for whom going hungry is not a spiritual practice. We encourage you to raise awareness around issues surrounding hunger and poverty by utilizing multiple important ELCA World Hunger resources:
Be the first to recieve our Advocacy Reflections this Lenten season by signing up for our ELCA Advocacy Alerts!

ELCA State Advocacy Update: February 2015

ELCA Advocacy

​Lutherans are taking action across the country! Below you will find our monthly State Advocacy Newsletter. Share with your friends!

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Washington, D.C.
Advocacy Director, Stacy Martin

LOGUMWe are a church energized by lively engagement in our faith and life. Informed by our Lutheran heritage and theology, the ELCA works for change in public policy based on the experience of Lutheran ministries and programs in communities around the world. We work to create and influence public policies that embody the biblical values of peacemaking, hospitality to our neighbors, care for creation, and concern for our sisters and brothers facing poverty and struggling with hunger or disease. As we engage with our elected officials in Congress and the administration in 2015, we work with a focus on the following advocacy priorities:

Addressing root causes of poverty and injustice internationally. This year, ELCA Advocacy will work to pass the Food for Peace Act, the International Violence Against Women Act, and will address funding needs for humanitarian relief and promote peace in the Middle East. In 2015, we will improve the treatment of migrants in-transit and seek opportunities to address the root causes of migration in Central America by ensuring policies uphold human rights and dignity. “Our calling to love of neighbor obligates us to act to prevent wars and seek alternatives to them” (ELCA Social Statement, “For Peace in God’s World”).

Caring for all of God’s creation. We look forward to gathering support for a strong Endangered Species Act, working to protect water and air standards, and continuing to encourage a strong and proactive U.S. position in the negotiations for the Paris climate change agreement. “Made in the image of God, we believe that we are called to care for the earth as God cares for the earth” (ELCA Social Statement, “Caring for Creation”).

Standing with our communities facing poverty and struggling with hunger and disease. Advocacy will work to help end hunger by enhancing domestic programs, including reauthorizing the Child Nutrition and WIC Act, supporting older Americans, establishing a sufficient living wage, securing funding for low-income housing, caring for veterans, ensuring a fair tax policy, and reforming education systems. “Out of deep concern for those affected adversely by poverty, we find it a moral imperative to seek a sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all” (ELCA Social Statement, “Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All”).

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New York, NY
Advocacy Director, Dennis Frado

At the United Nations: This past January, LOWC collaborated on various documentary screenings at the U.N. Church Center and in New York focusing on detention facilities throughout the United States. Students from the University of Maryland visited LOWC on Jan. 16 to learn about the U.N.’s structure and focal points for the work of our office.

Hunger Leadership Gathering: ELCA Advocacy staff from our New York and Washington offices also participated and collaborated with Global Mission and ELCA World Hunger to lead workshops about proposed U.N. sustainability goals and action through advocacy at the ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering in San Francisco.

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California
Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy- CA ​

1ELCA Hunger Leadership Gathering: The Lutheran Office of Public Policy – CA, as a participant in the Sierra Pacific Synod Hunger Team, helped welcome participants to the San Francisco area, including several advocacy colleagues. LOPP-CA Director Mark Carlson, in cooperation with ELCA World Hunger staff and Oakland congregations, helped initiate site visits and neighborhood walks in Oakland. We walked to the Remember Them monument, and returned to San Francisco past BART’s Fruitvale Station, the location of the Oscar Grant shooting. Later, ELCA Director of Domestic Policy John Johnson joined Mark in Sacramento for the annual MLK365 march, which drew an estimated 29,000 walkers.

Sustainable Development Goals and the U.N. 70th anniversary:2 Mark joined ELCA pastors and community representatives in an initial planning meeting for a Swedish church choir visit to California. A focus of the event will be celebration of progress made on the Millennium Development Goals and call to action on the new Sustainable Development Goals.

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Colorado
Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Colorado 

Families living in poverty: Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado Director Peter Severson testified before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in support of a bill to allow child-support payments from non-custodial parents to “pass through” to the child in cases where the custodial family is also receiving benefits from the Colorado Works program (SB15-012). LAM-CO supports this change to allow children living in poverty to gain the benefit of child-support payments that are owed to them, overwhelmingly used for basic medical, educational and food expenses.

Affordable housing: LAM-CO is supporting a bill to use money from a surcharge increase on county documents for an affordable housing fund administered by the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (SB15-079).

Events: Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado will host its 2015 Faith Advocacy Day on Feb. 16 under the theme “Homelessness and Justice.” Register by clicking here. Director Peter Severson was present at the 2015 ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering in San Francisco to lift up the critical role of advocacy in the domestic work of ELCA World Hunger.

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Minnesota
Tammy Walhof, Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota 

State Legislature: The Legislature is in full swing with new legislators and with quite a shake-up of several House committees bringing a new rural-urban divide. Perceptions are that rural legislators were left out of all major decisions, so the educational focus needs to emphasize Greater Minnesota. In addition to coalition efforts to educate legislators, Lutheran Advocacy-MN Director Tammy Walhof is working to bring Lutheran advocates up to speed.

Housing/homelessness: At a hearing last week, it became clear there is an effort by some legislators to direct new funding to higher income renters/owners. Lutheran voices focused on “the least of these” will be especially important in this context. In collaboration with Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities, Tammy met Republican Rep. Anna Wills of St. Paul. She agreed to be lead author of the House Homeless Youth Bill.

Clean energy and jobs campaign: Efforts are underway to secure lead authors. Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota was a key player with other partners in planning Clean Energy Day at the Capitol on Feb. 2 at Christ Lutheran on Capitol Hill (location of Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota).

Payday lending: We are building from previous efforts.

Upcoming advocacy days: Thursday, Feb. 19 – Lutheran Bishop/Legislator Breakfast and Lutheran Pastor’s Day for Advocacy Day; Tuesday, March 10 – Day on the Hill with Interfaith Partners (Joint Religious Legislative Coalition).

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​Nevada
Rev. Mike Patterson, Lutheran Episcopal Advocacy Nevada https://leanforjustice.wordpress.com/

Legislative forum on MLK Day: Lutheran Episcopal Advocacy in Nevada held the first legislative forum event on the Martin Luther King holiday to learn about issues that will be coming up in the 2015 legislative session.  James Hardesty, chief justice of the State Supreme Court, was the featured speaker. He gave credit to the faith community for its advocacy in past years for rehabilitation and re-entry programs, saying it has changed the culture at the Nevada Department of Corrections. Other speakers spoke about the needs of the hungry in our state, education, and the continued need to work for the rights of all minorities in Nevada.

Backpacks for a cause: Also on the holiday legislators joined in the “Backpack Challenge.” Legislators were allowed to pack school supplies for Title 1 schools in their respective districts. The challenge was designed to demonstrate to legislators that our schools need proper funding. Supplies came for donations by member churches and a special price break from an office supply company.

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​New Mexico
Ruth Hoffman, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – New Mexico 

3Commitment to hunger: The legislative session is off to a rocky start as the Republicans took control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in over 60 years. The first week was taken up with reorganization of the House and the House standing committees. LAM-NM has been working to introduce our work to the many new House members.

4Prayers for leaders: On opening day, LAM-NM Director Ruth Hoffman joined other faith leaders in offering prayers for the people of our state and for elected leaders to have the political will and courage to stand with our many neighbors living in poverty and hunger. Ruth was also invited to join faith leaders in an informal conversation with the Rev. James Forbes about the nature of and need for public witness.

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Pennsylvania
Amy Reumann, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania 

5ELCA World Hunger Leaders: LAMPa staff met in San Francisco, including a dinner with Pennsylvania hunger leaders (pictured), where six synods shared the effort in their part of the state and learned how we can collaborate, connecting our work, particularly around the churchwide Day of Service and Advocacy.

Education: LAMPa advocates called lawmakers for a statewide day of action on education funding. LAMPa voted as part of the Campaign for Fair Education Funding on a proposed formula as recommendation. LAMPa Associate Director Tracey DePasquale met with the incoming governor’s policy director to advocate for trauma-informed education and later traveled to Glade Run Lutheran Services to see work they are doing in education with victims of childhood trauma.

Immigration: Amy addressed an Immigration Forum at Trinity, New Holland, and Tracey met with a York County commissioner about funding for an immigration detainee visitation program.

Hunger: LAMPa staff met with leaders of Hunger-Free Lancaster County about the church’s leadership in hunger work. We met with the new chair of the House Housing and Urban Affairs Committee about expanding the state Housing Trust Fund. LAMPa is partnering with social ministry organizations in an access to benefits training in Philadelphia.

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Virginia
Marco Grimaldo, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy 

Little agreement in legislation: Virginia is in the middle of a 45 day legislative session and so far very little legislation has been agreed to. While there is an agreement in principle for the governor’s budget amendments to the biennial budget, the bills we support, including raising the minimum wage, making Virginia’s Earned Income Credit refundable, and a range of bills to offer protection from predatory lending and gun violence, have had a much more difficult time.

Day for All People: On Jan. 20, 2015, we hosted 250 advocates, including 90 leaders supporting just immigration policies, who visited with legislators as part of our Day for All People advocacy day. Many had previously met with their legislators prior to the session and now returned to stress their support for specific bills.

Synod-wide Childhood Hunger Task Force: Bishop Jim Mauney of the Virginia Synod has convened a Childhood Hunger Task Force, and we are supporting him in his work to call other faith leaders to address policies that will help hungry children. Bishop Mauney now serves on the Governor’s Commission to Close the Nutritional Divide. We were also pleased to recently work with Bishop Mauney on an article for the Richmond Times Dispatch’s editorial page.

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​Washington
Paul Benz, Faith Action Network 

FAN-WA is busy in the third week of a 15-week legislative session. Here are some of the key issues we are working on this month:

Reducing wealth inequality: A Wage Theft package of four bills: wage recovery for employees, anti-retaliation protections, employee misclassification by the employer, triple damages/penalties for unscrupulous employers. A minimum wage bill would increase the minimum wage to $12 in four years.

Education for inmates: Lifting the state prohibition on the Department of Corrections to use public funds for post-secondary educational programming. Currently our state cannot educate inmates beyond a GED.

Immigration: Establish a “bright line” between federal immigration enforcement and local law agencies (county sheriffs and municipal police chiefs). The goal is to reduce federal detentions and deportations – called the Family Unity Act.

Building our networks: FAN is busy with legislative and advocacy forums in eastern and central Washington and the Capital. Our staff will be hosting guest sermons and educational forums at churches in Seattle, Pullman and Spokane, as well as at the ELCA Bishop’s Southwestern Washington Synod Convocation.

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Wisconsin
Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin 

Bishops and LOPPW: At the beginning of this biennial budget season, all Wisconsin bishops and LOPPW sent a letter to the governor and to each state Senate and Assembly member.

Letter writing on prison reform: At the annual Epiphany Celebration at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Stevens Point, LOPPW gave a presentation and organized a letter-writing table (focus on prison reform for 17-year-old youth). Check out a great letter written by one of Redeemer’s high school students.

6Human trafficking: LOPPW/Cherish All Children’s kickoff event for our Safe Harbor Campaign on Feb. 7 in Menomonie received Eau Claire television coverage. Our task force members, Robbie Joern and the Rev. Diane House (also LOPPW council member) were interviewed. Also, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, Wisconsin Council of Churches and Fierce Freedom are now sponsoring our March rally.

FoodShare and minimum wage: The director is in dialogue with members of the ELCA who work directly with FoodShare recipients who have lost benefits and is planning meetings with representatives to make the problems known and to share our concerns about further barriers placed in front of FoodShare recipients. We will also discuss a drafted bill on minimum wage.

A Lutheran’s Guide to Methane Regulations

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. – Genesis 2:15

In January, the Obama administration announced their plan with the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce methane gas emissions from the oil and gas sector over the next ten years. The plan will result in a 40-45 percent reduction in methane emissions, and a lot of people are excited about the plan.

That may leave you wondering: What’s so exciting about methane regulations? Below, some questions about methane and the plan put forth by the White House and the EPA are answered.

1. What is methane?

Methane is the primary component of natural gas, and is also considered to be a greenhouse gas. This means that methane warms the atmosphere when it is leaked into the air before use.

2. What’s so bad about it?

While methane only accounts for about 9 percent of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions, it is far more dangerous than carbon dioxide. In fact, over a hundred-year period, when compared pound-for-pound, methane’s impact on climate change is twenty times worse than carbon dioxide.

3. Don’t methane emissions come from a lot of sources?

Yes, methane emissions come from a variety of sources, including landfills, coal mining, and even cow manure. However, the oil and gas industry is the largest contributor to methane emissions, with 29 percent coming from the industry according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The good news, though, is that there’s a lot that can be done to curb the emissions.

4. What does the plan call for?

There are a lot of components to the plan put forth by the White House and the EPA. The most important piece of the plan is its call to set new standards for methane emissions from new sources. While this piece of the plan has been criticized for only affecting new sources and not existing ones, it is still a sign of hope for change to come.

5. Why should I care?

As people of faith, we are called to care for creation. As we see in Genesis 2:15, God placed Adam in the garden to care for it. Although generations have passed since Adam’s creation, we are still called to do this work. Greenhouse gases have contributed to climate change, resulting in numerous problems like rising sea levels, extreme weather, and more frequent wildfires. The effects of climate change are most felt by vulnerable groups like children and low-income families, groups of people that we are called through faith to care for and defend. By reducing methane emissions, we answer the call to care for the earth and our communities.

This is just the beginning of the journey to reduce methane emissions. In the coming months, stay tuned for ways that you can help contribute to the conversation.

Living Earth Reflections: Resolved

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”

(Revelation 21:5)

Nearly every Sunday, my suburban Virginia congregation prays for our government and its leaders. Maybe your congregation does something similar? This commonplace prayer for leadership has taken on new meaning for me recently because this year the United Nations will adopt a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. These goals will encourage member countries to make economic decisions that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In addition, this December parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet to adopt a new global agreement to reduce climate change emissions, again in the belief that present generations can meet our needs without compromising the well-being of future generations.

Both the Sustainable Development Goals and the new climate change agreement are about long-term planning; something that government leaders rarely have the space or time to do. These global discussions have the potential to change economic development paradigms by turning the world toward new sources of energy and to the task of building communities and nations that are more resilient to the growing impacts of our changing climate. But changes will only be possible if leaders act with wisdom and care for God’s creation and for our most vulnerable neighbors.

So these prayers for leadership I join each week have taken on a new urgency for me as 2015 begins. But even as I, and others, pray for global leaders to begin the hard and visionary work to shape our shared future along more sustainable lines, I also wonder if we are putting too much of the burden of planning for the future on our leaders and institutions. Are we forgetting that each of us has our own responsibility to consider the needs of our children and future generations?

As Christians we believe we are called to build Christ’s kingdom here on earth by living our lives as Christ taught us and caring for each other and for the earth. Strong leaders and institutions are necessary to build that new world but so is individual and community action. Each of us has a part to play – in our daily lives, in our congregations and in our communities –  to make sure that the world we leave behind allows people and creation to live and thrive well into the future.

So this year, instead of my usual New Year’s resolution to save more or exercise more often or eat more vegetables, I’m thinking about resolutions that will help in our transformation to a more sustainable world. I’m looking at the things I already do, like using cloth grocery bags and drying my clothes on a clothesline in the warmer months, and vowing to do more. Will you join me?

Pledge to take action here (and you can also sign a petition asking our leaders to support global action on climate change).

ELCA State Advocacy Update: January 2015

Lutherans are taking action across the country! Below you will find our monthly State Advocacy Newsletter. Share with your friends!

Washington, D.C.
Advocacy Director, Stacy Martin
www.elca.org/advocacy 

LOGUMThe 114th Congress: From the Keystone XL Pipeline to healthcare and banking regulations, the first few weeks of the 114th Congress will be packed with important votes. The ELCA Advocacy team in Washington, D.C., is working to build connections with new members of Congress and preparing for the upcoming legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. Be sure to follow our action alerts this year to stay up-to-date on these important issues!

Conclusion of UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru

3Mary Minette, ELCA Advocacy’s director of environmental policy, returned from the U.N. Conference on Climate Change in Lima, Peru, last month. Going in to the conference, the U.N. hoped to create a global treaty to help limit global warming to 3.6 degrees F above pre-industrial times – a necessary limit which would prevent further disasters and high humanitarian costs. An official treaty will be decided in 2015 in Paris, but due to the involvement of various lobbies, the plans in Lima were far from reaching the 3.6-degree goal. Minette reports that the most challenging concern facing world leaders is how much developing countries will be expected to invest in cutting their emissions. Additional international funding will likely be needed for these countries.

Lutheran response to police violence issues

2Last month, Lutherans helped take action on police violence by encouraging the Senate to pass the Death in Custody Reporting Act. The successfully passed act will require law enforcement agencies to report all deaths of people held in police custody to the Department of Justice, serving to improve transparency and local accountability.

ELCA Advocacy also supported Lutherans in the Justice for All March in D.C. on Dec. 13. The march, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, protested police violence against men of color. Our office organized dozens of Lutherans, including passionate lay people, young seminarians, and ELCA pastors from D.C. and New York. Lutheran attendees held a small vigil at Luther Place Church before joining the march on the Capitol.

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California
Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy- CA ​
www.loppca.org

Hunger Leadership Gathering:

4The Lutheran Office of Public Policy –California is looking forward to the ELCA Hunger Leadership Gathering Jan. 15-18 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Director Mark Carlson has been serving on the planning team and consulting on the Oakland congregation site visits (including, appropriately for the MLK Jr. weekend – a stop at Remember-Them, Champions of Humanity, pictured right). It is the largest bronze sculpture in the West, featuring several African American civil rights leaders and other champions from around the world, such as Mother Theresa and Oscar Schindler). Mark also confirmed for the Gathering advocacy training a former legislator, Ted Lempert, who is president of Children Now.

New legislative session: LOPP-CA arranged for the new president of the Pacific School of Religion, David Vásquez-Levy, to read a Scripture passage at the Jan. 13 interfaith service at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento. Vásquez-Levy is an ELCA pastor and immigrant-rights advocate relocating from Luther College and will commemorate the beginning of a new legislative session. Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles will give the message. Mark is working to arrange meetings for David with legislators and advocates, and lunch with local clergy.

LOPP-CA is co-sponsoring the Women’s Policy Summit in Sacramento on Jan. 14, the Green California Summit and legislative reception on Jan. 22, and the California Women Lead reception for women legislators and statewide elected officials on Jan. 28, with co-hosts Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and Minority Leader Kristen Olsen. LOPP-CA has confirmed state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson for the ecumenical conference on climate change Feb. 22-24 in Santa Barbara.

Colorado
Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Colorado 
www.lam-co.org

Faith Advocacy Day 2015: The theme has been set for Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado’s Faith Advocacy Day 2015. Our focus will be “Homelessness and Justice.” Many dynamic speakers and presenters will be on hand to discuss what homelessness looks like in Colorado, how state government is involved in the issue, the role of affordable and permanent supportive housing, and how churches and people of faith can get involved in effective structural responses to the problem. The event will take place on Monday, Feb.  16, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave. The cost is $30 regular, $20student/low-income. You can pre-register by contacting Peter Severson (pseverson@rmselca.org) with your name, e-mail and congregation/ministry name. Registration will go live next week on LAM-CO’s website. Join us and discover why faith and advocacy go hand-in-hand!

A new legislative session: The Colorado Legislature convened on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Lutheran Advocacy and many other groups were on hand for the opening-day ceremonies and the introduction of many of this session’s bills.

Illinois
Jennifer DeLeon, Lutehran Adovcacy – Illinois
www.lutheranadvocacy.org​​
5Prisoner and Family Ministry: We ended the year with a road trip to Marion, Ill., to visit the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Prisoner & Family Ministry program. The purpose of the trip was to strengthen the advocacy of our state office in partnership with LSSI and the ELCA’s racial justice ministry. We are connecting the dots on how to make the recent criminal justice social statement a living document. We saw a firsthand account of the great work LSSI is doing with job training and life skills coaching of returning citizens. 6Our office shared with staff and program participants the state level advocacy we have been doing, and we created a process to involve them in becoming advocates on this issue. Judith Roberts shared with them the work of her office and the social statement. There are plans in the works to hold a series of workshops in 2015 for people to learn about the social statement, best practices in the field, and how to become advocates for criminal justice. You can learn more about the LSSI Prisoner & Family Ministry program here.

 

Minnesota
Tammy Walhof, Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota 
tammy@lcppm.org

In December, LA-MN focused on the final touches to the legislative agenda, final decisions with LSS regarding a Bishop Breakfast and Advocacy Day for Pastors, as well as finalizing the FY2015 budget with the Policy Council. (The 2015 legislative session started on Jan. 6). LA-MN Director Tammy Walhof also spent time in November and December working on grants to bolster the budget. LA-MN will be the recipient of a $5,000 grant and probably another for $3,000-$9,000.

Legislative issues:

  • Affordable housing ($39 million): Secure additional funding to expand a broad continuum of housing and homelessness services to help thousands have access to housing or maintain current housing.
  • Homeless Youth Act ($4 million increase): Secure additional funding to assist youth experiencing homelessness transition to successful adulthood.
  • Clean energy and jobs:
    • 40 percent renewable energy by 2030 (to replace current renewable energy standard of 25 percent by 2025)
    • 2 percent energy efficiency savings (compared to 1.5 percent currently)
    • solar rural tax credits
  • Reform of payday lending

Upcoming advocacy days: LA-MN has a full schedule heading into 2015. Feb. 2 will be Clean Energy and Good Jobs Day at the Capitol, and on Feb. 19 LA-MN and LSS will co-host a bishop/legislator breakfast as well as an Advocacy Day for Pastors. March 10 will be a Day on the Hill with Interfaith Partners (Joint Religious Legislative Coalition).

​New Jersey
Sara Lilja, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry, New Jersey
http://www.njsynod.org/

Earned sick days: We are currently in the midst of working toward passage of the state-wide earned sick days bill in the Assembly. The bill has passed the Assembly Labor and Budget committees and is awaiting a full floor vote. A2354 is a model earned-sick-days law that covers nearly all 1.2 million workers in the state who lack earned sick days. The majority of those who will benefit are low-wage workers earning less than $10 an hour.

The bill allows workers to use earned sick days to care for themselves as well as all immediate family members when sick and to use earned sick days to deal with, relocate or find safe accommodations due to circumstances resulting from being a victim of domestic or sexual violence. It includes the best components of earned-sick-days laws adopted around the nation, including the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California, as well as the cities of San Francisco; San Diego; Portland, Ore.; Eugene, Ore.; Seattle;  Washington, D.C.; New York City; and eight cities in New Jersey.

Food insecurity in New Jersey: LOGM participated in a press conference with leading legislators and faith leaders from around the state. Check out an article on the conference here.

​New Mexico
Ruth Hoffman, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – New Mexico 
www.lutheranadvocacynm.org

Bishop Jim Gonia and LAM-NM Director Ruth Hoffman attended the New Mexico Conference of Churches annual judicatory leaders retreat in Albuquerque the first week of December. This is a gathering of the leaders of the New Mexico Conference of Churches member denominations, including Bishop Michael Vono of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande and Archbishop Michael Sheehan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The leaders agreed to send a letter to President Obama and the New Mexico congressional delegation urging that the women and children at the soon-to-be-closed Artesia detention facility be released and not transferred to another detention facility.

Pennsylvania
Amy Reumann, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania 
www.lutheranadvocacypa.org

The Pennsylvania General Assembly began a new session with swearing-in for lawmakers and new leadership in both Republican-controlled chambers on Jan. 6. Democratic Governor-elect Tom Wolf will be sworn in on Jan. 20. LAMPa has also worked with the statewide partners to prepare a policy paper, “Meeting Pennsylvania’s Hunger Challenge” for the Wolf transition team and is also preparing a policy paper on trauma-informed education.

44Lower Susquehanna Synod’s Winterfest retreat: LAMPa staff led an interactive presentation to 430 high school youth and leaders the on the theme “Hungry.” The presentation invited attendees to look at the connections between poverty, education, housing and hunger. Youth were engaged in a social media, postcard and electronic letter advocacy campaign for the state housing trust fund. With the help of the synod hunger team, they built raised garden beds and Garden Soxx to be donated to community and school gardens in neighborhoods experiencing food insecurity. A non-Lutheran representative from the county’s health care community who attended the event declared, “THIS is what the church is supposed to look like!”

Poverty and trauma-informed education: In December, LAMPa also recruited and accompanied three Lutheran school leaders as they made brief remarks in support of trauma-informed education to a Basic Education Funding Commission hearing. LAMPa will collaborate with Glade Run Lutheran Services about intersection of their work and the new LAMPa issue agenda, and state-wide training in the Open Table accompaniment program.

Congregations: On Jan. 11, LAMPa will lead an adult forum on immigration at Trinity in New Holland and an advocacy presentation at Holy Trinity in Irwin, PA.

Virginia
Marco Grimaldo, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy 
www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org 

State budget: Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy offered testimony before the House and Senate Appropriations and Finance committees during hearings held in five Virginia communities. Through our members and with our partners we emphasized the priority on strengthening families, creating opportunity and overcoming inequality. We specifically called on these budget decision-makers to expand Medicaid to reach more low-income Virginians and to make Virginia’s Earned Income Credit at least partially refundable.

Hunger: We have been meeting with a task force that Bishop Mauney has convened to address childhood hunger throughout the Virginia Synod, and in that context we have joined with Lutheran Family Services to meet with members of the governor’s staff about their interest in addressing hunger in Virginia. We facilitated a meeting with Bishop Mauney and First Lady Dorothy McAulife, who chairs the Governor’s Commission on Bridging the Nutritional Divide. Bishop Mauney now serves on that commission.

Immigration: We are ramping up our work with immigrant communities to help coordinate enrollment in the president’s new deferred-action program for immigrants. We hope to work with both synods in Virginia and have begun a conversation with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service to help as well.

Finally, our Day for All People advocacy day at the Capitol will be Jan. 20 in Richmond; we are looking forward to a stronger than ever turn out that day!

​Washington
Paul Benz, Faith Action Network 
www.fanwa.org

8Scroll Project: Faith Action Network (FAN) is working on its “Scroll Project” as a public statement for the need for revenue in our state budget to protect the most vulnerable and our environment, funding for education, as well as funding for a 21st century transportation system. The genesis for this came from the December meeting of FAN’s Interfaith Leaders Council. A small group of religious leaders will unveil the scroll on the first day of session on the steps of the Capitol (Jan. 12). After the press conference, replicas of the scroll will be distributed to each office of our state Legislature (147 legislators).

ELCA engagement: In January, FAN will join the January Bishop’s Convocation. Additionally, an ELCA parish will be hosting the Spokane Legislative Conference. An article on the state’s budget, hunger and  nutrition issues for this session will be in all three synod newsletters.

FAN’s four hunger and nutrition legislative Issues:

    • Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,  Children and Seniors
    • Emergency Food Assistance Program  (funding for state food banks)
    • State Food Assistance (funding for legal immigrant households living in poverty)
    • Breakfast After the Bell (funding  to help implement breakfast for all school districts)

 

For more background information on these issues, see our Faith Action Network’s Legislative Agenda Fact Sheets, Anti-hunger and Nutrition Coalition, and Washington Food Coalition.

 

Wisconsin

Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin 
www.loppw.org

The new Wisconsin legislative session began on Jan. 5.  LOPPW will be working on a number of issues this year, including:

Safety net for people in poverty: LOPPW will address likely to be proposed barriers to be placed before FoodShare recipients and will support efforts to have Wisconsin receive federal dollars for BadgerCare.

Prison reform for youth: LOPPW’s director will be a main speaker and organizer of writing letters to legislators at an Epiphany celebration hosted by Redeemer Lutheran Church in Stevens Point. Advisory Council member the Rev. Annie Edison-Albright is organizing the event. We’ll address priorities of LOPPW with a focus on supporting a bill to have 17-year-old offenders of non-violent crimes be tried as juveniles.

9Sex trafficking: LOPPW has launched a Safe Harbor Campaign to support trafficked youth. Advisory Council member the Rev. Diane House and Director Amy Hartman of Cherish All Children are taking major leadership with support of our task force organizing a three-hour conference in Menomonie in February. LOPPW’s director is taking the main leadership organizing a Safe Harbor Campaign rally in Madison in March. Assemblywoman Jill Billings has drafted a Safe Harbor bill and has included LOPPW’s director for requesting input before she presents it.

Other advocacy: LOPPW’s director continues to work with other faith groups to organize an Advocacy Day in April. The director will lead a workshop on Poverty, Homelessness, and Trafficking (with a focus on youth) at Grace Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Rapids in January. Please click here for more about upcoming events.

Living Earth Reflections: December 2014

Mary Minette, ELCA Director for Environmental Education and Advocacy

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

                                                                        –Romans 8:18-21

Late on December 14, the annual meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) finally concluded; two full days after it was scheduled to end. The parties adopted a final document that will guide the negotiation of a new global climate change agreement over the next year, with final results next December in Paris. As the negotiators, delegates from environmental organizations, churches, businesses and other interested groups headed home, the assessments of the outcome began in the media, blogs, social networks, and in conversations amongst colleagues.

Many of the delegates returned to communities preparing for Christmas. I returned from Lima to a family and church community celebrating Advent with a children’s pageant (my son was a sheep) that told the story of the coming of the son of God to a world where misery reigned and hope was in short supply.

The world we live in today often lacks hope, and this season gives us a chance to reflect on the God’s gift of light and hope to humanity, and creation through Jesus Christ. The four weeks of Advent allow us to find hope in the midst of difficulty and despair, to look for the coming of the light in our dark world.

As a church engaged in the global discussion about climate change, our task during Advent and beyond is to tell the stories of those who are suffering and to point to solutions that will provide our world with hope and a chance for a more sustainable future. Following the People’s Climate March in New York this past September, many hoped that our leaders would note the interest and commitment of millions of people around the globe and find the courage and the will to act decisively to address climate change.

The results of Lima are not the decisive actions marchers demanded in New York, but they do not preclude a good outcome in Paris if countries can come to agreement on some significant issues over the next year. How and when will developing countries reduce their emissions? Will they be given financial and technical assistance to do so? What will be done about climate change impacts that are already happening, and can’t be adapted to? How much will developed countries pledge to do over the next decade to help developing countries adopt clean energy technologies and move away from polluting fossil fuels?

All of these questions can be answered. We can have an agreement that moves us towards a sustainable future if we continue to let our leaders know that action is critical, and that we will support them as they negotiate a strong climate deal for Paris.

As we look to the New Year, let us pray for an effective agreement and encourage our global leaders to address the critical questions left unanswered in Lima in a way that truly fulfills our collective call to care for our neighbors and for all of God’s creation.

Breaking down the firewall

Mary Minette, ELCA Director for Environmental Education and Advocacy

 photo 3 (2)

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

-Nelson Mandela

It’s midway through the final week at the 20th conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Lima, Peru. With a limited amount of time left, it seems impossible that parties will agree on a framework for a new global climate change agreement which will need to be finalized next year in Paris. Countries are very far apart on some key points: will the agreement be a legally binding treaty or something less stringent? What issues will the new agreement cover?  Will adaptation to climate change and the related issue of “loss and damage” (impacts that can’t be adapted to) be accorded as much attention as the all-important issue of emissions reductions?  Will there be sufficient funding to help the least developed nations adapt and adopt low carbon technologies needed to sustainably develop their economies and reduce poverty?

One of the most contentious issues is whether the “firewall” between developed and developing countries will continue to allow countries like China, Brazil and India to shoulder fewer emission responsibilities. The firewall has stood since the beginning of the UNFCCC convention in 1992, and places much of the emission reduction responsibility on historically large emitters such as the U.S. and European Union.  In the original UNFCCC document, large historic emitters of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were listed as “Annex I” nations in the convention, and were designated to take on greater responsibilities for reducing emissions.  Under the Kyoto protocol, for example, Annex I countries agreed to mandatory emissions reductions as part of their ratification of the treaty, while non-Annex I countries were only asked to make pledges for voluntary reductions.

In the years since the UNFCCC first took effect, China, a non-Annex I country, has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases (although the U.S. still emits the most per capita). India is now the third largest emitter.  Although both of these countries still have significant levels of poverty, it is hard to see how they can take on less responsibility for reducing emissions if we hope to stabilize global temperatures and stay within the 2 degrees Celsius limit required to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Currently, in the draft document that the UNFCCC Co-Chairs have proposed to govern negotiations over the next year, there are two versions of the introduction.  One version calls for emissions reductions to be guided by the “provisions and principles” of the UNFCCC (including Annex I), and the other refers to “evolving responsibilities and capabilities.”  This issue may not be resolved by the end of this week, but if we hope to see a global agreement to tackle climate change by the end of next year in Paris, the impossible will need to become possible.