Welcome to the ELCA Innovation Lab blog. Watch this space for further updates.

By Kathryn Mary Lohre

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the lawyer asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” We, too, are prone to ask this of Jesus – perhaps not in so many words, but with the same intentions. Like the lawyer, we try to arbitrate who is worthy of mercy and love, of neighbor justice. i  Too often we are willing to consider only those who live in closest proximity to us, or whose beliefs are most proximate to ours, as our neighbors. If only we could choose!
In his treatment of the parable, Martin Luther defined our neighbor as “any human being, especially one who needs our help. ii  There is no loophole. Without exception, everyone is our neighbor. The boundless mercy and love of our Creator cannot be contained by the boundaries we create to divide ourselves. What is more is that our neighbors need us, and we need them.

Extending God’s mercy and love to all those in need is central to our Christian vocation, though it is certainly not the exclusive domain of the body of Christ. Our neighbors of other religions and worldviews, too, are dedicated to the well-being of creation and the alleviation of human suffering. Though other religious and spiritual convictions or philosophies may undergird our neighbors’ actions, we share a commitment to the common good. As people, we are bound in our suffering and in our service.

This is critically important in a time when the Oikoumene, the whole inhabited earth, is infected and affected by COVID-19, racism, and injustice. In times of all-consuming death and devastation, our healing practice must be all-inclusive, and our treatment plans must be all-encompassing. To guide and encourage us in these complicated theological and practical matters, we can look to the recently issued joint document of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), “Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond.”

Solidarity as the body of Christ and with our neighbors of other religions and worldviews is the most effective means for healing all that ails this wounded world. It is also the antidote to our despair. If we read the parable of the Good Samaritan closely, we come to understand that it is precisely through our God-given neighbors that we most readily receive the generosity of God’s mercy and love. Being a neighbor and receiving the neighborliness of others made in God’s image, not only heals our bodies, but buoys our faith and gives us hope. This spiritual refreshment is precisely what sustains us as we work with our neighbors to bind the wounds of the whole inhabited earth, God’s beloved neighborhood.

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i. “Neighbor justice” is a term proposed in “Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action,” a social statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Neighbor justice is rooted in the biblical directive to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This term expresses the idea that faith is active in love and love necessarily calls for justice in relationships and in the structures of society. Neighbor justice is meeting neighbors’ needs across the globe and in our local communities.
ii. Martin Luther, “Letters to the Galatians, 1535,” Luther’s Works.

 

Be a part of the response:

Pray
Please pray for people who have been affected by the wildfires in California. May God’s healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need.

Give
Thanks to generous donations, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to respond quickly and effectively to disasters around the globe. Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response (U.S. Wildfires) will be used where they are most needed.

Connect
To learn more about the situation and the ELCA’s response:

• Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts.
• Check the Lutheran Disaster Response blog.
• Like Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook, follow @ELCALDR on Twitter,and follow @ELCA_LDR on Instagram.
• Download the situation report and share as a PDF.

 

by Tessa Comnick, Hunger Advocacy Fellow

Like many people, I have spent the last several months living out of my house. While that may not seem like a significant statement—I mean, houses are where we live—living out of my house has taken on new meaning. It’s now where I socialize (virtually), where I work, where I sleep, where I eat… and soon it will be where I vote in the 2020 election.

I have actually voted by mail for the past several years, coming from a state with no-excuse absentee ballots (that means you don’t need a reason why you cannot physically be present at a polling place to use a mail-in ballot). When I decided to work at my local polling place one year, this habit ended up being very fortuitous. I voted from the comfort of my own home so that I wouldn’t have to think about it during my long (but rewarding) fifteen-hour-day as a volunteer. As that day dragged on, I even thought: “Why doesn’t everyone vote by mail?”

But there are reasons everyone doesn’t vote by mail. It’s different for me than it is for others. I have no disabilities that keep me from being able to send in a paper ballot, requiring a voting machine to confidently and privately vote. I have a home address, one that didn’t change even when I was at school or completing fellowships. I don’t come from a socially marginalized and/or oppressed group that has learned not to trust certain systems because they have continually failed me. The question that flew through my head never took into account experiences that weren’t exclusively mine.

We as a country cannot operate in a one-size-fits-all paradigm, especially with something as crucial as our right to vote. We need to prepare ourselves for a 2020 election that enfranchises everyone’s vote. Mail in voting should be expanded during the current global pandemic crisis, but it should not be the only option.

• SUPPORT MAIL-IN ACCESS – Currently there are 16 states that still require specific reasons or excuses to request an absentee ballot. A nation-wide no-excuse absentee ballot system could help keep lines down, keep the system from getting overwhelmed, and allow high-risk individuals to continue saying home, all while still providing the opportunity for in-person voting for those who need it.
• LIMIT MAILED BALLOT REJECTIONS – Read and share local voting by mail information so that mistakes, such as a missing signature, do not result in ballot rejections. This information should be available in multiple languages and in multiple forms, so as not to exclude anyone without access to internet.
• GET SPACES READY – Polling places should be available for those who will not vote otherwise. Some voters with disabilities, voters with language access needs and American Indian and Alaska Native voters among others need safe, in-person options for fair access. Buildings that are currently sitting closed, like churches, could be used as polling places. Guidelines to minimize the risk of transmitting COVID-19 at the polls can be followed, such as those jointly issued by The Brennan Center and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
• IS BEING A POLLING WORKER FOR YOU? – Over half of U.S. poll workers were 61 years of age or older in the 2018 general election. In 2020 we could face a shortage. Youth and young adults should consider working on election day (hello to making it a National Holiday!) to help keep those at higher risk safe. When I did it, the day was long, but I heard an endless supply of “thank yous” showing appreciation for an open, accessible system from which to vote. I did not know what faith traditions voters followed, if any, but love for our community connected us in a way that was intrinsically divine. For me, I feel God’s presence strongest when I am among my community, expressing my love for every single member. God’s love is for us all, indiscriminately.

For you and your neighbor, what’s your plan? Learn what qualifies for an absentee ballot in your state. Instructions on how to register and vote-by-mail need to be effectively planned and widely distributed months before an election, to ensure equal access to those who may choose to mail-in their vote. Learn about becoming a poll worker if that sounds right for you. And contact your county Board of Elections to find out how to designate a place you’re connected with as a polling site.

And if you want to encourage election considerations in the next COVID-19 stimulus legislation, write to your lawmakers using the Action Alert “Take Action on the Next Coronavirus Supplemental Bill” at ELCA.org/advocacy/actioncenter. And learn more about the ELCAvotes initiative at ELCA.org/votes.

Every vote counts, and so does every decision on how to vote.

 

Click image to view larger.

Here is a very good history of immigration which helps us to see the whole picture:

History of U.S. Immigration

 

 

from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: August 2020

COVID-19 STIMULUS PACKAGE  |  HUD HOUSING RULES  |  INTERNATIONAL INTERSECTIONS  |  ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION BILL SIGNED  |  DACA MEMORANDUM

 

COVID-19 STIMULUS PACKAGE     The next federal stimulus package to address COVID-19 impacts remains in negotiation. While Congress is presently in the traditional period of a recess, scheduled to end September 7, lawmakers are aiming to reconcile differences. A temporary 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits has been a continuing interfaith advocacy effort in this new round of COVID-19 legislation. Use the Action Alert to urge this and other considerations in the far-reaching package.

We are grateful for the engagement of ELCA bishops and network members who reached out to key leaders about advancing the temporary SNAP increase. House, Senate and Administration leaders are making steady progress over a compromise economic spending bill. However, resolving widespread differences between the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES) passed in the House and the proposed Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act (HEALS) introduced in the Senate before taking the break could stall the process deep into the traditional summer recess.

 

HUD HOUSING RULES    In a busy month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in early July that they would be advancing an initiative to weaken implementation of the 2016 Equal Access Rule, which would undermine transgender and non-binary protections for people seeking shelter. Also, HUD Sec. Ben Carson announced that the administration would take steps to roll back key racial housing protections in the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule.

Since 2016, homelessness among transgender people increased 88% and could face greater challenges and barriers to shelter access if the rule is further weakened. Reconciling Works and ELCA Advocacy shared a joint Action Alert in opposition of the new changes which facilitates action during HUD’s open public-comment period through September 22.

Discriminatory housing practices have been at the core of systemic racism in the U.S. for generations – right up to present day. The changes to the AFFH rule will water-down enforcement of the civil-rights era Fair Housing Act, stopping requirements for localities to take steps to report and address patterns of segregation in their communities. Hundreds of Lutherans issued opposition to the rule through the ELCA Action Center in the spring when the comment period was open. The ELCA Advocacy office will continue to push for policies that promote racial justice in housing as the proposal likely moves through litigation.

 

INTERNATIONAL INTERSECTIONS     ELCA Advocacy is working in partnership with Jubilee USA Network members urging the U.S. government to support expansion of debt relief for highly indebted poor countries. We are asking for the U.S. to support provision of low interest grants called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will provide funds to countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House passed the NO BAN Act July 22 which would repeal the travel ban on citizens of 13 countries. Our Action Alert remains live to facilitate contacting senators who next will consider the legislation. Additionally, for a long time the international community failed to effectively prevent and respond to gender-based violence at the onset of humanitarian emergencies. Initiatives such as Safe from the Start have moved this issue at the forefront of humanitarian work. Our Action Alert can be used to urge your senators to co-sponsor the Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Act.

 

ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION BILL SIGNED     On August 4, President Trump signed the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act of 2020 into law offering more federal resources for national parks, wildlife refuges, Indigenous public lands and our crumbling public land infrastructure. Lutheran advocates have collaborated with many in a slow-building movement for years to promote better stewardship principles for our nation’s public lands.

In addition to helping address the great backlog of infrastructure projects at the Department of Interior, the bill will permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, allowing more resources for the federal government to acquire “lands, waters, and interests therein necessary to achieve the natural, cultural, wildlife, and recreation management objectives of federal land management agencies.”

 

DACA MEMORANDUM     A July 28 memorandum on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from the acting secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Security may begin the process of dismantling this needed form of protection. Even as suffering and sacrifice in this time of pandemic require national focus, the administration is prioritizing taking away protections and setting the stage for further disbanding of DACA.

Our advocacy focus remains a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. DACA recipients are members of our communities and churches who have grown up in and contribute to the U.S. An Action Alert is available to urge lawmakers to codify protection before it is further eroded.

 

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Receive monthly Advocacy Connections directly by becoming part of the ELCA Advocacy network – http://elca.org/advocacy/signup , and learn more from elca.org/advocacy .

 

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices.

U.N. | California | Colorado | Minnesota | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Texas | Washington | Wisconsin

Lutheran Office for World Community, United Nations, New York, N.Y. ELCA.org/lowc

Dennis Frado, director

WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY: The UN Security Council held its annual debate on Women, Peace and Security on July 17, 2020. This high-level debate theme was on “conflict-related sexual violence: turning commitments into compliance.” Briefing the Council was Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Khin Ohmar, Founder and Chairperson of the Advisory Board of Progressive Voice; and Nadia Carine Therese Fornel-Poutou, Executive President of the Association des femmes Juristes de Centrafrique. The debate focused on ensuring accountability and access to justice, implementation of existing commitments and ensuring a survivor-centered approach. LOWC’s Program Director Christine Mangale attended the meeting virtually. Learn more about the landmark resolution 1325 and the women, peace and security agenda here and here. The webcast of the debate can be found here.

MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECUIRTIY—CLIMATE AND SECURITY: The United Nations Security Council held a virtual open debate on “climate and security” on July 24, 2020. Briefing the council were Miroslav Jenča — Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs; Colonel Mamadou Seydou Magagi – Director, Centre National d’Etudes Stratégiques et de Sécurité (CNESS); and Coral Pasisi – Director, Sustainable Pacific Consultancy. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas chaired the meeting.

It was emphasized that climate change is a threat multiplier, disproportionately affecting already vulnerable communities. Most speakers specifically referenced the need for countries to follow-through with implementing their commitments under the Paris Agreement. There was a call for the UN to address climate change better systematically. Almost unanimously, this sentiment included a call for the Security Council to further integrate a climate lens into their work, recognizing the real threats posed by climate change to peace and security. LOWC’s Intern Kirsti Ruud attended the meeting virtually. Learn more on how the Security Council has addressed this issue here . A summary of the open debate can be found here.

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California

Regina Q. Banks, Lutheran Office of Public Policy- California (LOPP-CA) lutheranpublicpolicyca.org

LEGISLATIVE SESSION RESUMES: The Legislature returned to session on Monday, July 27 after an extended recess due to a COVID-19 outbreak among staff. Priority bills scheduled for upcoming committee hearings include AB 2043: Farmworker Protection, AB 3121: Reparations Task Force, AB 3070: Antidiscrimination in Jury Selection, and AB 3073: CalFresh Prison Preenrollment. The Legislature has a quick push to the hard stop of this two-year bill cycle; many bills are effectively dead because they are not on the agendas put forth for upcoming hearings. Legislators may also engage in negotiations for a ‘junior budget’ during this final session. Many aspects of California’s 2020-2021 budget hinge on stalled federal funding to assist states and local governments; austerity measures will kick in if funding is not approved by the US Senate ASAP.

SNAP ADVOCACY CONTINUES: In California, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications have doubled and even tripled in some counties. SNAP provides dignified food assistance which allows people to buy what they want to eat and to choose where they will shop. SNAP stimulates local economies and supports local farmers. Food banks and donation-based programs see themselves as a supplement to vital federal programs. Along with both state and national partners in the California Food and Farming Network, we continue to push Congress to approve a 15% increase in SNAP benefits.

CHURCH OUTREACH ON ANTI-RACISM: Many pastors throughout the state have come to LOPP-CA with questions following the consciousness-raising protests of George Floyd’s murder and of the 400-year pandemic of anti-Black violence in America. What can we do in California to build anti-racist policies and systems? What is the next faithful step? LOPP-CA has responded with a forum for pastors to dig into one particular policy – a ballot measure that would reinstate affirmative action in state agencies and universities. After a pilot run with the Racial Justice Ministry at St. John’s Lutheran in Sacramento, our first open forum is scheduled for late August.

BALLOT MEASURES: California has a robust initiative system, whereby voters have direct power to make laws and approve constitutional amendments. Ballot measures for November 2020 include reinstating affirmative action, expanding the right to vote, updating property tax and eliminating cash bail. The Policy Council has determined its positions on each measure in accordance with the social statements of the ELCA. LOPP-CA will soon release a voter guide to help congregation members throughout the state vote in light of the faith we profess. Additional public forums will be held, including one focused on engaging youth in the church.

ADVOCACY IN QUARANTINE: We continue to host our weekly Wednesdays at Noon briefing on state and federal legislation and call to action. This month, we supported affirmative action, SNAP increases, senior nutrition, and we called in to support LOPP-CA priority bills.

LOOKING FORWARD TO GOD’S WORK, OUR HANDS, OUR VOICES: Our 2020 Lobby Day has been reimagined to focus on the upcoming ballot measures in the November election. Look for updates later this month!

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Colorado

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

SECOND SESSION ADJOURNS: The Colorado Legislature returned to work from its pandemic-induced recess on May 27 and formally adjourned for the year on June 15. During the “second session,” legislators faced an uphill climb to balance the state budget in the face of major revenue shortfalls. We advocated with a broad coalition called Recover Colorado to ask the legislature to raise new revenue, rather than focus exclusively on making cuts. You can read our letter to lawmakers and Governor Jared Polis here.

We supported the successful passage of House Bill 20-1420, The Fair Tax Act. Section 4 of the bill eliminates a corporate tax loophole that will fund part of the estimated $84 million in supplemental funds for state education in the next fiscal year. Additionally, we signed on to support and advocate for Senate Bill 20-217, Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity, a bill to make significant changes to policing practices in our communities statewide. Most of the provisions in the bill will go into effect this year.

BALLOT MEASURES: We are supporting two initiatives that are attempting to make the statewide ballot in the fall:

• Initiative #271, also known as Fair Tax Colorado, would give 95% of Coloradans a tax cut while raising significant funds for education through a more progressive state income tax
• Initiative #283, Paid Family Leave, supported by the Colorado Families First coalition, would create up to 12 weeks of paid leave for Colorado workers

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Minnesota

Tammy Walhof, Lutheran Advocacy- Minnesota (LA-MN) lutheranadvocacymn.org

SPECIAL SESSION #2: A carefully negotiated $1.8 billion bipartisan bonding/tax bill failed the supermajority needed by six votes in the state House of Representatives.

House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt has been holding bonding as leverage to force an end to the governor’s COVID-19 emergency powers. House & Senate leaders hoped that a bipartisan bill would have momentum. However, the bill went down on a House party-line vote despite Senate passage with broad bipartisan support.

Watch for mid-August’s Special Session when we get to do this all over again!

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Given the bonding bill defeat, housing infrastructure bonds and public housing  bonds were unable to move forward. Although amounts never made it to the levels we were advocating, $100 million was included for housing infrastructure and $16 million for public housing (significantly higher than where the Senate had been).

We appreciate our advocates’ efforts to increase housing bonds, push leaders to bipartisan agreement, and thank several leaders from both parties for their diligent work.

COVID EMERGENCY & HOUSING: Gov. Walz announced $100 million of CARES Act federal funding will be used for housing assistance. Nevertheless, if Congress does not reinstate extra unemployment funding, many Minnesotans will default on rent. (Please see ELCA Advocacy’s alerts on those federal negotiations!)

CLEAN ENERGY: Several small(ish) projects that could help the transition to clean renewable energy also won’t pass without bonding.

POLICE REFORM: A bill banning most chokeholds, requiring intervention to prevent excessive force by fellow officers, and outlawing “warrior training” passed despite huge differences in positions. Various legislators want to come back to deeper racism dismantling within policing structures, and we hope to engage these concerns.

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OHIO

Deacon Nick Bates, Hunger Network in Ohio hungernetohio.com

OHIO STATEHOUSE DYNAMICS ARE TURNED ON THEIR HEAD: Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) was indicted on charges of corruption and racketeering in July, and Rep. Bob Cupp (R-Lima) has been elected to the position to lead Ohio’s House for the remainder of the calendar year. The $60 million Generation Now related scandal involves a bailout of Ohio’s two nuclear power plants owned by First Energy (referenced in the indictment as Company A).

The reality of this scandal is that most of the unethical activity is well known, because big money creates Goliaths in Ohio politics. We are David, and when the faith community unites, we can still succeed in advancing the voices of hungry and marginalized Ohioans – even with the odds heavily stacked against us. You can read our reflection here on the David and Goliath battle. 

HNO MOURNS THE LOSS OF OUR BOARD PRESIDENT, JOHN WALLACE: Rev. John Wallace is a retired pastor from the United Methodist tradition. He passed away suddenly Sunday night at his home in Dayton, Ohio. John has served on HNO’s board for many years and was recently elected by the board to serve as president. We have lost a strong and passionate advocate for hungry Ohioans and others forced by oppressive policies to live on the margins. Further details and arrangements are yet to be announced. And the angels sing, Faithful servant, well done.

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Pennsylvania

Tracey DePasquale, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry–Pennsylvania (LAMPa) lutheranadvocacypa.org

LAMPA WELCOMES POLICY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Three new Policy Council members will begin their service in September. Representing the Lower Susquehanna Synod (LSS) the Rev. Carla Wilson; representing the Southwestern PA Synod (SWPA) the Rev. Jim Engel; and representing the United Lutheran Seminary (ULS) Dr. Crystal L. Hall.

LAMPA WORKING TO ENSURE SAFE ACCESS TO VOTING: LAMPa is working with policymakers to ensure safe access to voting in November. Just announced: PA will pay postage for all mail-in votes cast.

GOV. ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF EVICTION MORATORIUM AND THE AWARD OF NEARLY $19 MILLION FOR HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION: LAMPa constituents expressed their thanks to Gov. Wolf for extending the rental eviction and foreclosure moratorium. Due to expire on July 10, the extension protects renters and homeowners from eviction proceedings until August 31. The governor also announced nearly $19 million in funding awards to assist in mitigating the impacts of the coronavirus on homeless families and individuals, and to prevent future homelessness across the commonwealth.

TWO POLICING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILLS SIGNED WITH ONE MORE ON DECK: Gov. Wolf signed two police reform bills, one requiring police officers to disclose their employment history and the other requiring officers to undergo regular mental health evaluations and training. Legislators continued to meet in July. Two additional police reform bills are headed to the state House for action. Senate Bill 459 would require all police departments to report any use-of-force incidents to the state police. Senate Bill 1205 would require police departments to publish their use of force policies and limits the use of chokeholds to instances where deadly force is needed.

ADVOCATE ENGAGEMENT: Five action and information alerts were shared with LAMPa constituents in July. Federal Issues included: Public Comment on HUD Discrimination; Protection for Women and Children; and Protecting the Asylum System. At the state level advocates were asked to encourage lawmakers to prioritize health over profits by rejecting HB 732 and share their thanks with Gov. Wolf for the extension of the eviction moratorium.

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Texas

Bee Moorhead, Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy texasimpact.org

In July, Texas Impact re-launched our Faith in Democracy series of local advocacy trainings online with an event in Huntsville. The next event will be in Dallas August 23. The Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod is co-sponsoring the event, where Bishop Gronberg will be a featured speaker. Each event will include a faith and community leader panel and tools to equip congregations to be effective advocates and promote safe, accountable voting.

Texas Impact continued the Weekly Witness podcast series featuring speakers from the Washington Interfaith Staff Community and has added a racial justice series featuring clergy of different races discussing racial justice and advocacy.

Climate advocacy was a priority in July with advocates preparing to meet with members of Congress during the August recess. Texas Impact is also partnering with Texas Interfaith Power and Light to map Houston-area congregations engaged in environmental justice work.

The news can be discouraging, but we find hope in the leadership of Texas faith leaders and the level of engagement of Texans of faith.

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Washington

The Rev. Paul Benz and Elise DeGooyer, Faith Action Network fanwa.org

POLICE REFORM: FAN is very involved in police reform efforts in our state, primarily through the newly established Washington Coalition for Police Accountability (WCPA). This group, many of whom were leaders in the Initiative 940 De-escalate WA effort, is made up of impacted family members who have lost loved ones at the hands of police. It has four policy subgroups: independent investigations, use of deadly force, police oversight, and collective bargaining, along with a ten-member lobbyist group that is engaging with a group of eight legislators, led by the African American and Members of Color Caucuses. The WCPA is coordinating with the 21-member governor’s Task Force on Policing Reforms to come up with bills for the next legislative session that will begin on January 11.

RECOVERING TOGETHER: FAN has also been advocating for statewide cash assistance to help our most-impacted and lowest-income neighbors recover during COVID-19. This effort seeks to fill the gaps that federal assistance left in relief packages, such as unemployment benefits for undocumented workers. We signed onto a WA Budget & Policy Center letter with 70 other organizations across the state to advocate for progressive revenue solutions.

CONGRESSIONAL RELIEF PACKAGES: As Congress considers what to include in the next COVID-19 relief package, FAN is encouraging our advocates to urge their elected officials to include SNAP, housing and unemployment protections. Episcopal Bishops Rickel and Rehberg created videos to promote SNAP in the final package. Our asks are:

• Expand and increase SNAP by 15%, increase the minimum SNAP monthly benefit from $16 to $30, and suspend all administrative SNAP rule changes indefinitely during this time of economic distress.
• Ensure that the housing priorities in the House HEROES bill stay in the final bill, such as $100 billion for emergency rental assistance and $11.5 billion for homeless emergency grants, and establish a nationwide uniform moratorium on evictions and foreclosures.
• Extend the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) beyond July 31st and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) beyond Dec. 31st.

CENSUS 2020: FAN worked with Pyramid Communications and the WA Complete Count Committee to create a Census 2020 “We Have the Power” video featuring interfaith leaders from around the state!

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Wisconsin

The Rev. Cindy  Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW) loppw.org

THE PANDEMIC AND OUR HEALTH: After Governor Evers issued the Executive Order: Public Health Emergency and Requiring Face Coverings Statewide, LOPPW learned that legislators were being flooded with negative feedback. In response, we sent out an Action Alert.

CARE FOR GOD’S CREATION: Between all of our LOPPW Climate Team members, we attended all six of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change’s listening sessions, each of which had different speakers discussing what’s working in Wisconsin. With input from the LOPPW Climate Team and final suggestions from our bishops, we for the first time created a list of asks related to climate change that were not exclusively in response to proposed legislation. We sent the asks to the Task Force. We also used them as examples for feedback that our members could use for their submissions and as a Press Release.

LOPPW also participated in a briefing on a cutting-edge Climate Action Plan convened by the Dane County Executive.

VOTING: LOPPW participated in our All Voting is Local coalition meeting, and received a small grant to encourage voting.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING: LOPPW participated in our quarterly Wisconsin Anti-human Trafficking Consortium meeting. Sex trafficking has not decreased during the pandemic and ways of exploitation have become more severe.

ADDITIONAL EFFORTS: LOPPW worked with the ELCA on preparing for the Hunger Advocacy Fellow position that Wisconsin is fortunate enough to be a site for in the fall!

We also participated in the NWSW justice team meeting, and organized Wednesday Noon Live: Video

 

 

Storm and Stillness, Breath and Dove,
Thunder, Tempest, Whirlwind, Fire,
Comfort, Couns’lor, Presence, Love,
Energies that never tire:

May the church at prayer recall that no single holy name
but the truth behind them all is the God whom we proclaim[1]

 

Our scriptures —and the liturgies, prayers, and songs informed by the scriptures—offer us abundant images for God. This abundance matters, especially as the church seeks to broaden its use of expansive and inclusive language. How do the ways we speak and sing about God reflect the abundant life God intends for God’s children and for all creation?

One year ago, this month, the fifteenth ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted the social statement, Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action. In calling for new commitments and actions as a church, the statement notes in article 27:

This church is committed to the deepest Christian understanding of the Trinity revealed through Jesus Christ and to the importance of imagining and speaking about God in faithful ways that expand rather than limit the expression of God’s self-revelation and mystery…Employing inclusive and expansive language for and images of God helps human beings approach and encounter the God of beauty and love who reveals God’s self to humanity in rich and mysterious ways.

To assist the church in accessing an expansive treasury of imagery, All Creation Sings, the forthcoming liturgy and song supplement to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, will include the informational appendix, “Scriptural Images for God.” The book’s introduction to this list of images describes its contents:

This selection of one hundred images from the New Revised Standard Version Bible testifies to the plethora of biblical images available for addressing the triune God. Thanks to this wealth of biblical imagery, we can complement those beloved images that we know well with the wide range of other images found in sacred scripture, thus enriching the language of our prayer and praise.

This list of images begins with the heading, “In the scriptures, God is imaged…” The list of one hundred images follows, each one paired with a biblical source. The word “image” refers not to a picture, but to the word “pictures” that are possible through metaphor, symbolic language that points beyond itself to a greater truth or reality. For example, “vine: I am the true vine (John 15:1).” Complementing the “Scripture and Worship” entry in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pp. 1154–1159), this appendix in will be a helpful resource for preachers, prayer writers, and all who are looking for the biblical sources for worship language.

The hymn stanza quoted above is one of many hymns and songs in All Creation Sings that draws upon metaphors listed in “Scriptural Images for God.” Even with such a treasury of language, words will never be enough; they will fail to express the mystery of the divine power we call Trinity. Our shouts for joy or our sighs too deep for words must suffice at times. Yet our words form our faith and shape who we believe God to be in relationship with the world God so loves. The songs and prayers we teach our children will remain with them for a lifetime. As Principles for Worship reminds us,

Language used in worship has power to form and shape believers, sending us from the assembly to live as merciful and just people who serve the mission of God in this world. (Principles for Worship, Application L-4C)

In providing this new appendix as well as a diversity of images in song and prayer, it is our hope that treasured language —both old and new—will enrich and shape our worshipping communities in praise of God and in love of neighbor.

 

[1] “Source and Sovereign, Rock and Cloud.” (Stanza 3) Text: Thomas Troeger © 1986 Oxford University Press.

 

Sylvia Haddad, the executive director of the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR), shares this personal account of her experience with the Beirut explosion on August 4, 2020. 

 

On August 4, 2020, at 7 pm local time, all buildings in Beirut felt the earth shake beneath them. As I live on the 10th floor of a 12-story building, my immediate reaction was to run down the steps as an earthquake was about to demolish my building, But seconds later a brief and sharp deafening strong blast stopped me in my tracks and sent me to the window to look up searching for Israeli planes bombing us, an experience we have had before. But a clear sky told me I was mistaken and so I ran to the balcony looking for smoke. Looking down I saw huge window frames flying down from the four flats beneath me landing on the parked cars. My immediate reaction was to look, with my heart pounding, for the children of our doorman who play most of the day with their toys in a small area right to the side of the parked cars where the window panes had fallen. Relief engulfed me when I saw they were not there.

But my mind raced-what happened- whom shall I ask?!! No radio or TV as it was not our turn to have electricity [The community has access to electricity on a rotating basis]. I then remembered my battery run radio and I started to hear the horror of what was happening as our excellent reporters had arrived at the scene and were trying to relay what was happening. As the electricity came on, I sat dumbfounded watching what was happening on the television and horrified by what I was seeing. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and my two grandchildren, who had gone to the mountains the day before, stood there. “Our house has been hit,” they said “and our parents have gone to check.” Expecting a quick return of the parents, I was shocked to hear from them an hour later that the debris on the streets was preventing them from reaching their house in the Rmeil area of Ashrafiyeh.

They also reported seeing the big Orthodox hospital of Beirut next to their house badly hit. Upon their return, the expression on my daughter’s face told the story. Their apartment, one mile and a half away from the scene of the explosion, was badly hit and most of the contents damaged. We all looked at each other connected with one thought: thank God they were not in their house when the explosion happened.

The next morning, the horror of what had happened began to unfold. A colossal explosion had taken place at the Beirut Sea-Port which destroyed it completely. A big number of the one thousand persons who worked there had disappeared under the rubble or in the sea. The main grain silo, which holds around 85 per cent of the country’s wheat, was destroyed and so were many containers storing vital necessities of life such as medicines and life-sustaining equipment were also gone. All the buildings across from the port were very badly damaged including the huge building of the administrative offices of the electricity company of Lebanon. The Lebanese Civil Defense and the Red Cross came to the rescue, evacuating the injured. The last to be rescued was the badly injured CEO of the company who is still struggling for his life.

Parallel to the port street on a higher level is the historic Jemaizeh street with its beautiful old Lebanese style buildings. It is one of the very few remaining old streets depicting the history and traditions of old Beirut. In a split second these historic buildings started to fall. People screamed as many disappeared under the rubble while others tried to escape. The same scene extended to many streets arriving at the extensive Orthodox hospital where many of the patients and staff had no chance of survival as parts of the structures fell upon them.

Searching for missing people continues as many carry the pictures of their loved ones and go around hospitals and morgues looking for them.

Credible reports state that some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate unloaded from a disabled vessel in 2014 had been stored in a port warehouse. An accident – undetermined cause yet – caused the ammonium nitrate to explode.

As time goes on, the consequences of this explosion will be even more serious than the immediate casualties and property damage. The port will no longer be able to receive goods, especially that, Lebanon imports 80 per cent of what it consumes and the government has lost one of its major income revenues.

Also, the timing couldn’t be worse as an economic crisis has devastated Lebanon for several months. The country’s currency has collapsed, as a result of years of mismanagement and corruption. Hundreds of thousands of people can no longer buy food, medicine or fuel. The Lebanese watch helplessly as they see their savings wiped out and their purchasing power disappear.

 

Originally posted at https://dsprme.org/news/disaster-strikes-beirut. Shared with permission.