This week: Ask Congress to fund WIC
We face the looming risk of a federal government shutdown if Congress fails to meet its March 1 and 8 deadlines to pass 2024 appropriations. The US House is not returning from recess until Feb. 28. Unless they act, a critical program for vulnerable mothers and children will run out of funding. Families eligible for WIC – the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants and Children – will have to go on waitlists and the funding for fresh produce for children and pregnant women faces drastic cuts in monthly benefits. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks provides a link to write to your Senators and Representative.
Bear witness for housing: Faith Leaders lunch at Statehouse April 16
If you’re striving to increase housing security in your community, please help us bear witness to Ohio legislators by sharing your first-hand stories and, if you can, attending the Faith Leaders Lunch in Columbus on April 16. Amy Riegel of COHHIO will be the keynoter. Your housing stories will be shared with legislators and their staff. Register here. Use the “share your stories” link above to let me know if you want to attend.
Fourteen Episcopalians representing food ministries from our diocese attended last year’s Faith Leaders Lunch to advocate for funding through the state biennial budget. This year’s event is an opportunity to connect with each other across the diocese so we can share what we know and work more effectively to meet critical needs in housing. Please email me if you’re working on housing!
The annual Faith Leaders Lunch advocacy event is organized by the Hunger Network in Ohio, the Ohio Council of Churches, and the Dominican Sisters of Peace. The Diocese’s Faith in Life Committee is sponsoring this year’s event and we have seven free seats for anyone for whom the $35 cost is a challenge. It would be great if someone served by your ministry would like to come!
Episcopal Church Election Engagement Toolkit now available
Vote Faithfully, the 2024 election engagement toolkit of the Episcopal Church, is now available online. This includes a wealth of resources including the link to apply to be an Episcopal Election Activator doing nonpartisan work to help all eligible voters cast their votes. Members of at least one of our congregations have been approved as Election Activators. Please email me if you sign up so we can all work together as a team!
The toolkit includes sections on how you can help your community conduct fair and safe elections, register, mobilize, communicate, and advocate for voter access, with IRS guidelines to ensure you protect your church’s nonprofit status. The toolkit offers quotes, music, and prayers for Vote Faithfully Sunday on Nov. 3, the weekend before the general election. It links to the nonpartisan Civic Holidays resources for National Voter Registration Day, National Voter Education Week, Vote Early Day, and Election Hero Day. The short toolkit also links you to the Episcopal Church’s course on civil discourse and General Convention resolutions on protecting voter participation and fairness under the principle of one person, one vote.
“It is a Christian obligation to vote, and more than that, it is the church’s responsibility to help get souls to the polls,” writes Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. “Cast your vote, not on a partisan basis, not based on your biases, but vote your values. Vote the values of human dignity and equality. Vote the values of the rock on which this country was built. Vote.”
Ecumenical Advocacy Days May 17-19
The Episcopal Church is part of a huge array of Christian denominations and groups who sponsor this annual event, which will be held in-person this year in Washington, DC. The topic is incredibly timely given the catastrophic impact of the Middle East war and escalating intimidation and hate crimes in the United States. Learn more and register here.
Here is the mission statement: “Ecumenical Advocacy Days is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognized partners and allies, grounded in biblical witness and our shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Our goal, through worship, theological reflection and opportunities for learning and witness, is to strengthen our Christian voice and to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.”
The website continues with an overview of the history of Ecumenical Advocacy Days: “EAD began in 2003 as a coalition of sponsor organizations holding an annual national education and advocacy conference around different social justice issues for Christian advocacy. Since then it has become the premier Christian advocacy event in the United States, bringing together 1,000 faith advocates each year to mobilize for action and to make a public witness on Capitol Hill. EAD has addressed such issues as food justice, economy & livelihood, poverty & hunger, immigration & refugees, climate change, national & international security, and issues especially affecting women and children around the world. Visit our Past National Gatherings page to view resources and information from several past National Gatherings.
Advocacy briefings are compiled by Ariel Miller, a longtime community advocate and member of Ascension & Holy Trinity, Wyoming. Connect with her at arielmillerwriter@gmail.com.
