Author: Edie Lott

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AiQ State

AiQ: SNAP Day of Action

April 22 Action Items

1. National Day of Action to Boost SNAP Benefits in Next COVID-19 Package

Contact your Senators and Representatives (call, email, tag on social media) and urge them to include SNAP in the next COVID-19 package. Include the White House in your Tweets and outreach.

On Wednesday, April 22, join the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), California Food Policy Advocates, and other national allies and advocates across the country in a National Day of Action urging Congress and the Administration to enact SNAP benefit boosts in the next COVID-19 relief package. Recent reports indicate that the next package would include assistance for businesses and healthcare efforts, but not SNAP — we must insist that individuals and families need immediate relief, too.

Sample script: Hello. My name is ___. I live in ___, CA. I am calling to ask Representative/Senator ___ to boost SNAP benefits in the next COVID-19 relief bill. The next COVID-19 relief bill must include the following SNAP priorities:

  1. boost SNAP maximum benefits by 15 percent
  2. increase the minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30
  3. suspend all SNAP administrative rules that would terminate or cut benefits.

These temporary provisions must continue until the economy improves. The provisions will not only help households put food on the table during this crisis, but will also help to stimulate the economy.Thank you for your time.Goodbye.

Background from California Food Policy Advocates:

Millions of California families are facing serious hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While Congress has passed a few bipartisan laws that provide some relief – including the Families First and CARES Act – much more needs to be done to prevent increased hardships and support those who were largely or entirely left out of earlier relief packages. Federal negotiations on the next COVID-19 bill are moving forward quickly.

We are hearing the next relief package will include assistance for businesses and hospitals, but not a boost to people who have been left out of relief measures so far (such as immigrants and many people with very low incomes).

We are also hearing that SNAP – one of the largest and most effective anti-poverty programs in the country, and one of the most rapid and effective forms of stimulus we can enact – is also not included in the package. Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer are already working on a proposal for another major relief bill, which we have learned could move in late May or June. Now is the time to reach out to Congress as they work to develop their policy priorities for that bill, in preparation for eventual bipartisan negotiations.  

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a conversation on the latest draft social message

Please sign up for a conversation with Rev. Roger Willer on the ELCA’s Draft Social Message on Government and Civic Engagement: Discipleship in a Democracy.

A link for the virtual meeting will be sent prior to the event for all who register.

Prior to the hearing, please read the draft social message.

Social messages are teaching documents of the ELCA focused on particular social topics. They are intended to focus attention and urge action on timely, pressing matters of social concern to church and society.

This writing project was requested by the 2019 Churchwide Assembly and authorized in November 2019 by the ELCA Church Council [CC19.11.47w]. From March 20 to May 27, ELCA members are invited to provide feedback on a draft of the message. It will be considered for adoption at a June meeting of the council.

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AiQ UN/National Updates

AiQ: Federal Advocacy to End Child Poverty

April 15 Action Items:

  • Federal advocacy opportunity to meet virtually with Congress members: email regina.banks@elca.org to get involved. Save the dates of March 24 & 27!
    • ELCA Advocacy especially needs California constituents in the following districts: Feinstein, McCarthy, Schiff, Lofgren, Lieu.
  • Sign up for Church and State, a discussion on the Government and Civic Engagement draft social message with the chief ethicist of the ELCA, The Rev. Roger A Willer on Tuesday, April 28 from 5 – 6:30pm.
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April 8 Action Items

  1. Call state legislators to support undocumented Californians.

Make the phonecall to your assemblymembers and senator’s offices found at findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

It’s likely that you will speak with a staff member. They will relay your message to their state member. 

Hello ______________,

My name is ___________ . I am calling today as your constituent and as a member of the Lutheran Office of Public Policy, CA.

I urge you to include undocumented people, families, seniors, and children in any COVID-19 related legislation this year.

I support retroactively expanding the CalEITC to ITIN filers. I also support the Health4All expansion to undocumented seniors, and paid family leave and job protection for immigrants.

How can we live with ourselves if we leave people out in this time of crisis? Documentation status does not trump essential human rights to health, safety, livelihood, and home.

[Use this opportunity to share any stories you may have that support the need for this relief in your district.]

Please do not forget our immigrant neighbors in this time of need.

Thank you so much for your time.

Goodbye.

2. Sign a letter to include immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in all federal COVID-19 recovery plans

A message from our partners at AMMPARO:

Dear friends,

I hope you are all doing well and that your loved ones are healthy.

Though our partnership with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC), our Advocacy office has contributed in drafting the attached letter.

I am asking you to join this sign on letter to  include immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in all COVID-19 recovery plans – and keep families and communities together. It is imperative that Members of Congress and the administration hear that their constituents want to see meaningful solutions that support all of our neighbors.  

Faith Leaders: Sign on to this important letter by Tuesday, April 14th. Please fill out this form to sign on: bit.ly/COVID19FaithLeaderSignOn.

Crises test who we are as a nation – and we are stronger when we are united, extend compassion to our neighbors, listen to public health experts, and resist medical prejudice and discrimination.

Thank you for taking action – and please share this action alert with your networks!

Un abrazo,

Trini

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Census 2020: Who are we?

Reposted from ELCA Advocacy on April 1, 2020

On this National Census Day, commit to complete your form – but also encourage the community as well! Undercounting is a significant issue among groups which benefoit most form anti-poverty programs and from greater representation in decision-making. “Hard to count” individuals in census experience include persons residing in rural areas, young children, LGBTQIA persons, people experiencing homelessness, people who do not speak English, indigenous peoples and racial and ethnic minorities.

“An accurate count ensures that resources more justly go where they are needed most. It is also critical for representation I the political process as census information determines electoral maps,” says the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy. Before in-person census takers are scheduled to facilitate this once-every-10-years count, let’s encourage everyone we can to complete the census online, by mail or by phone – accessed at 2020census.gov.

The ELCA is an official partner of the 2020 Census. Use these voices of Lutheran leaders, also available on social media @ELCAadvocacy, to help encourage the most accurate count possible.

 

“The Central States Synod encompasses two states (Kansas and Missouri), large metropolitan centers, small towns and rural communities, places where the population is growing with thriving businesses, and wide open spaces where homes are few and far. Our landscape from the Lake of the Ozarks to the plains of western Kansas is quite diverse as are our political views and agendas. But through the church we recognize and dare to proclaim, as Jesus did in the gospels, that we all have value and worth, that everyone counts and is important, that it is our diversity which reflects the image of God in our midst. And because everyone counts, everyone needs to be counted in the upcoming census to get a truer and more accurate picture of who we are.”
– The Rev. Susan Candea, Bishop, ELCA Central States Synod  [PHOTO CREDIT: FB@LRC-Central States Synod]

 

“People of color and indigenous people – we can’t afford the illusion of having the luxury of not engaging in this census, because the system doesn’t work for us. We have to do both: making sure our communities are counted and equitably represented in this census, and working to change systems and structures, elected leaders and representatives until they do work for all of us.”
– The Rev. Albert Starr, Jr., ELCA Director, Ethnic Specific and Multicultural Ministries

 

“Those of us struggling with homelessness and at risk of frequent eviction are often missed in our critical census count. Taking part in the census helps direct critical housing and homeless resources to our communities in the greatest need. From the Emergency Shelter Grants Program to the Special Milk Program for children, these programs depend on a complete and accurate count. In coordination with local census offices, houses of worship, shelters, service providers and others might be the only opportunity many have to take part in the census. Help your ministry, soup kitchen, or service program expand the count which can be completed online, by phone or by mail.”
– Andrew Fuller, ELCA Advocacy Coordinator

 

“Forty-five million versus 13 million. That’s the enormous disparity between the average number of words children with white collar parents who read to them hear by the age of four in contrast to children growing up with less access to books. However, reading and being read to has a significant life-long impact on our children and our society. Access to libraries becomes essential for healthy communities, and yet there are “book deserts” all across our nation. Without voice or vote themselves, kids cannot tell you how much reading matters to them – and they are often overlooked when it comes to census taking. Encourage counting the kids in the 2020 Census.”
– The Rev. Janelle Hooper, ELCA Program Director for Ministry with Children

 

“As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and as a person of faith, I know the importance of being seen, named and cared for by the communities I am part of. One way care for LGBTQIA+ people can increase is for us to be seen and counted across the country. For those from the LGBTQIA+ who are not in danger of losing their employment or housing by sharing their identity in the 2020 Census, I invite you to do so – knowing it will make a way for others to receive care.”
– Aubrey Thonvold, Executive Director, ReconcilingWorks  [PHOTO CREDIT: FB@ReconcilingWorks]

 

“The benefit of the census is deeply personal to our communities. Undercounting is a significant issue among groups which benefit most from anti-poverty programs and from greater representation in decision-making. Like our federally recognized tribes, our unrecognized untreatied undocumented people benefit from the very personal infrastructures that affects our lives, like healthcare, food programs, our education from Head Start and libraries to tribal colleges and Pell Grants being available. Counting matters.”
– Prairie Rose Seminole, ELCA Program Director, American Indian and Alaska Native Ministries  [PHOTO CREDIT: USFWS Mountain-Prairie]

 

For your neighbor and yourself – encourage your community to be counted!

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AiQ State

AiQ: April 4 Video

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UN/National Updates Updates

Why do Lutherans get involved in politics?

How do we do God’s work in public life? What is good government anyway?

To address these questions, our church has drafted a Social Message on Government and Civic Engagement: Discipleship in a Democracy. From March 20 to May 20, ELCA members are invited to provide feedback on a draft of the message.

We want to hear from YOU, your CHURCH, and your SYNOD about this draft social message. What’s missing, what do you find insightful, where could there be greater depth?

Read the message here and leave comments here. Virtual discussions by synod are on the horizon–we’ll keep you posted.

This writing project was requested by the 2019 Churchwide Assembly and authorized in November 2019 by the ELCA Church Council [CC19.11.47w]. It will be considered for adoption at a June meeting of the council.

Social messages are teaching documents of the ELCA focused on particular social topics. They are intended to focus attention and urge action on timely, pressing matters of social concern to church and society. 

To learn more about the social message and the process of its creation, please see the “Frequently Asked Questions” document. 

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AiQ State

AiQ: March 25

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Children's Issues

End Child Poverty Advocacy Day

KCRA Coverage of the End Child Poverty rally with legislators present. For Spanish coverage, click here.

LOPP-CA joins other coalitions and advocacy groups for just under 20 lobby days a year to support justice in the public sphere. On Wednesday, January 22, 2020, we joined the End Child Poverty Campaign and many others to advocate for CalEITC expansion, the child tax credit, increased childcare slots for eligible children, and fair compensation for early childhood educators and workers.

 

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UN/National Updates Updates

2020 ELCA ADVOCACY FEDERAL POLICY PRIORITIES

In the ELCA we believe that, through baptism, God is calling us into the world to serve together. We are a church that views governments as helpful ways God is active in our world and that is energized by lively engagement in our faith and public life. When we, as ELCA members, lift our voices together to influence policies that advance the common good, we further God’s work in our world.

Shaped by the ELCA’s social teaching documents and the experiences of its congregations, ministries and partners, we advocate to end world hunger and stands up for policies that create opportunities to overcome poverty, promote peace and dignity, preserve God’s creation and promote racial justice.

You will find ELCA faith-based advocates meeting with policy makers, taking joint action with values-sharing issue partners, writing letters, making public comments, talking with neighbors, asking questions in town hall meetings — listening, learning, educating and visibly and skillfully asserting policy considerations guided by faith foundations.

In addition to faith-based advocacy organized by local congregations and synods, by Lutheran state public policy offices and by Lutheran Office for World Community representation to the United Nations, ELCA Advocacy is active in Washington, D.C. Following are policy priorities on the national horizon for 2020.

Civic engagement

Anticipating the 2020 U.S. presidential election and supporting the church’s #ELCAvotes initiative, ELCA Advocacy will continue to prioritize policy and practice that increases both government inclusion of and civic participation in our communities.

  Domestic Policy

Child nutrition programs — Restore, protect and adequately fund school and community-based feeding programs as part of the federal safety net, and oppose efforts to convert nutrition assistance programs to block grants to states which would over time diminish free and reduced-fee meal benefits.

Criminal justice reform — End mass incarceration, promote fairer sentencing and support restorative reentry programs in our communities through federal and state funding and reforms.

Civil and human rights — Safeguard and promote protections for vulnerable populations, including communities who face barriers, unjust treatment or inequalities on the basis of racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, sexual orientation or class identity.

  • GO TOs — Find more in ELCA social teaching resources, including the social policy resolution “Advocating for Child Nutrition,” the social message “Human Rights” and the social statement The Church and Criminal Justice.
Domestic Policy: Housing

Budget concerns — Foster bipartisan cooperation and public support for budgeting of federal programs that fund affordable housing and assist people who are homeless.

Shelter and housing reforms — Ensure that the experience of churches and faith-based ministries informs federal reforms and public rule revisions that affect low-income housing programs.

Natural disaster impact — Support federal disaster aid resources and equitable access to recovery programs that assist communities before and after natural disasters.

  • GO TOs — Find more in ELCA social teaching resources, including the social message “Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment” and the social statement Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All.
Environment Policy

Mitigation, Adaptation and Resiliency — Support legislation and policies that address the global impact of greenhouse gas emissions, incorporating the principles of participation, solidarity, sufficiency and sustainability. Impacts and related policy considerations are multifaceted, including food security threats, agricultural challenges, increased health issues, national security and the forced migration of thousands.

Sustainability — Encourage and advocate for important legislation to protect frontline communities and vulnerable populations that disproportionately experience the negative impacts of environmental degradation, including climate-related changes that exacerbate existing racial, economic, ecological and social injustices.

Creation care strengths of ELCA — Amplify ELCA experiential, educational and creation-care value resources, expressing faithful hope for the future, at this time of pressing and wide-ranging environmental concerns.

  • GO TOs — Find more in ELCA social teaching resources, including the social statements Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice; Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All; and Genetics, Faith and Responsibility.
International Policy

Federal budget considerations — Advocate for robust support for international antipoverty, humanitarian and global health funding (i.e. HIV/AIDS, malaria), as well as funding for conflict prevention and peace-building programs.

Gender Justice — Strengthen U.S. government capacity to prevent gender-based violence, promote girls’ education, protect women and girls during humanitarian crises, and support the economic and health care needs of women and girls globally.

Peace and Diplomacy — Promote human rights and strengthen conflict prevention and peace-building activities around the world, including bilateral and multilateral initiatives.

Migration Policy

Plight of children, women and men fleeing the Northern Triangle of Central America — Raise awareness of the challenges and humanitarian stories on the United States’ southern border.

Human rights of migrants — Restore, protect and promote the human rights of those fleeing violence, poverty, environmental degradation or food insecurity, to name a few causes, and urge the relevant governments and ad hoc institutions to protect migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as established under international law, by denouncing policies and practices that exacerbate the risks and discrimination these populations face.

Militarization of foreign aid — Organize against the allocation of funds to militarize the U.S. southern border and the development of practices that compromise the human rights of migrants.

Path to citizenship — Support policy that reinforces Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

  • GO-TOs — Find more in ELCA social teaching resources, including the social messages “Immigration,” “Human Rights” and “Gender-based Violence.”
How can you get involved?

Become part of the ELCA Advocacy network at ELCA.org/advocacy/signup! You will receive monthly updates on policy activity and be invited to take action at moments when your voice and experience will have an impact.

Find resources for your advocacy efforts at ELCA.org/resources/advocacy and a community with which to engage on social media at @ELCAadvocacy. Together we endeavor to live into our baptismal covenant to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.