While we didn’t meet for AIQ today, there are still advocacy actions you can take this week!
Check out the news release of the ELCA Conference of Bishops calling for a permanent bilateral ceasefire in Gaza. Call/email/write to your representatives to call for a permanent ceasefire.
Continue to sign up for Lobby Day on May 15th! We currently have 19 legislative meetings scheduled, and more are to come!
Join us again next week at AIQ as we discuss more bills and prepare you for advocacy steps as bills start to go to their first policy committee hearings.
From November 30th-December 12th, Regina Banks and Savannah Jorgensen participated in the UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in person in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and virtually, respectively.
COP is an annual conference that brings together civil society and world governments to discuss and make agreements on and around the climate crisis. It is an important arena of engagement on the world stage. Learn more about our COP28 experiences and those of our colleagues at the Voices of Faith in Climate Action webinar on Wednesday, January 24th at 12 pm PT.
SB 253 (Wiener)- The Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act is being heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 18. If your senator is on this committee, reach out and tell them to support it! If they are not on this committee, tell them to support it on the Senate floor!
AB 660 (Irwin)- Updating expiration/use-by dates on food packaging, is being heard in the Assembly Health Committee on April 18. If your assemblymember is on this committee, reach out and tell them to support it! If they are not on this committee, tell them to support it on the Assembly floor!
ELCA Advocacy News: Farm Bill listening sessions are only a week away! Sign up for the Pacific Time Zone session here. These sessions will focus on the federal Farm Bill that’s up for reauthorization this year with a time zone area focus. The Pacific Time zone focused session will take place on Friday, April 21 at 12 noon PT.
Our fearless leader, Regina Banks, is attending the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from November 6th-November 18th. A week and a half has already passed and Regina has been in a whirlwind of networking, connecting with other delegates, meetings, and events. What exactly has it been like to be part of an advocacy delegation from the US at COP27? Hear about it from Regina in this interview with Texas Impact! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSbXstXDQ_o
1. Please send out this announcement to your congregation encouraging everyone to register for Lutheran Lobby Day on Wednesday, May 18th: Lutheran Lobby Day is Wednesday, May 18th: Advocate with us on Lutheran Lobby Day, Wednesday, May 18th as we respond to our baptismal calling as Lutherans to strive for justice and peace in all the earth. We are grounded in Lutheran theology, and all are welcome regardless of faith or lobbying experience. We will gather virtually on Zoom to pray, learn, and meet with California’s legislators. Go to https://lutheranpublicpolicyca.org/lobby-day-2022 to register.
3. Immigrant Day of Action April 26th: Are you ready to build an equitable California where everyone—our family, friends, colleagues and neighbors can thrive? Join us Tuesday, April 26, 2022, as we gather our collective power virtually for Immigrant Day of Action! to register go to: https://caimmigrant.org/event/immigrant-day-2022/
Regina is attending the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on the 31 October – 12 November 2021. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire climate action ahead of COP26.
She should have lots of stories to share when she returns!
Please consider attending Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD)! This is an annual national gathering of Christian advocates and activists. We worship, delve deeply into the pressing issues of the day, and lift our voices by speaking truth to power on Capitol Hill. The 2021 theme is ““Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored.” EAD 2021 is an opportunity to support this global movement centered on and led by the people and communities most vulnerable to climate impacts due to historic racial and colonial inequities. Together, we will passionately advocate and reimagine a world that lives out the values of justice, equity and the beloved community. EAD 2021 will be a virtual gathering, to be held April 18-21, 2021. Register now!
Great news: LOPP-CA is now a part of First 5 California. We have a seat on their round table
Nicole Newell is back with LOPP-CA! She will be coordinating Lutheran Lobby Day. Lobby Day will be virtual and held on Wednesday, May 19th. The keynote speaker will be announced soon.
This legislative session LOPP-CA along with Bread for the World will be watching the movement and focusing on these three bills:
• SB 107 CalFresh: Simple for Seniors, which makes it easier for seniors to access healthy public food assistance • SB 364 End Child Hunger, which establishes universal school meals for all kids in public schools and creates a stopgap nutrition program for school breaks and when campuses are closed • AB 221 Emergency Food for All, which grants food assistance access to immigrants, regardless of status.
Others may be added later.
You can research the progress of any state bill by going to https://legiscan.com/CA/legislation and searching for the bill by bill number or key words.
Faith leaders host nationwide candlelight vigil in solidarity with detained undocumented immigrants leading hunger strike and other actions to protest inhumane and unsafe conditions in ICE detention facilities
The Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California along with faith-based policy organizations across the country condemn deplorable conditions in ICE detention facilities and stand in solidarity with undocumented immigrants on hunger strike at the Yuba County Jail while a majority of those detained at Mesa Verde Detention Facility are currently infected with COVID-19.
CALIFORNIA — The nationwide vigil, scheduled for Friday, August 21, will be held in solidarity with detained undocumented immigrants at the Yuba County Jail, who began a hunger strike on Wednesday morning in response to reprehensible conditions at the facility, including arbitrary restrictions and practices that ignore COVID-19 distancing restrictions and common sense practice–and now the Nevada City fire, one of hundreds of fires ravishing California, is just 30 minutes away from the jail.
The vigil will also support the demands of individuals held at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield. These demands include an end to practices ignoring isolation measures as more than half of the detainees held at the facility tested positive for COVID-19.
The Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is spearheading the virtual vigil. Registration is open to all regardless of faith affiliation, and clergy from multiple traditions will be present. The candlelight vigil will begin at 7pm PDT / 10pm EDT on Friday, August 21. The Lord’s Prayer, in different languages, will be at the center of the vigil. Register via bit.ly/2QhXKVf.
Regina Banks, Director of the Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California, stated: “This could force a local government to take a stand for immigrants and refuse to participate in what has been inhumane treatment.” Faith advocates organizing the vigil seek to be a moral voice in the midst of state-sanctioned suffering and terror.
The vigil will take place simultaneously with two rallies in support of the strikers at each detention facility.
The Administration proposed a rule in the middle of June that would effectively end asylum, a form of protection meant to give refuge to people fleeing for their lives. The proposed rule makes many drastic changes to the way people are able to access this form of protection including:
Taking away due process rights for asylum seekers,
Increasing the bar people have to meet to move past an initial interview to impossibly high standards,
Eliminating access to asylum for people fleeing violence from non-state actors, including people fleeing due to gang or gender-based violence.
If this rule is implemented, it would mean that thousands of our siblings in Christ, many of whom are already suffering due to changes made to our asylum system, would be unable to seek protection in the United States. As Lutherans and as citizens, we are called to speak up to ensure that people fleeing for their lives can find refuge in this country.
Please join us in standing up for asylum by submitting a comment against this proposed regulation by July 15th. Take action by:
1. Submitting a comment. It is necessary when submitting comments for a proposed rule to customize your message, whether your message is brief or lengthy, to ensure it is counted as a unique comment. Use the following points to guide you in writing:
As a Lutheran, God calls me to walk alongside asylum seekers in need of protection in the United States. This proposed rule stands against my faith values and our nation’s ideals.
The United States has welcomed people fleeing persecution, including Lutherans, for centuries. It is immoral and unnecessary to close our doors at a time when so many people are fleeing for their safety.
Tell a story of how asylum seekers have made your community better.
If you and/or your congregation has an asylum experience, share how it impacts your opinion.
2. Let others know you submitted a comment and asked them to submit theirs. Use social media to ask others to submit a comment. The more comments that are submitted, the more likely implementation of this proposed rule will be delayed!
You can check out resources and a toolkit from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, in which the ELCA participates, to find out more about asylum, what this rule means, and other ways to engage. Make your public comment now before the July 15 deadline. Thank you!
Child Care & End Child Poverty in CA Virtual Advocacy Day Follow-up:2020 Legislative Wrap-Up On June 4,
2020, we came together as a group of over 250 advocates–child care, food programs, safety net, and anti-poverty champions–for our first all digital “Child Care and End Child Poverty CA Advocacy Day.” We learned, we advocated, and we briefed over 50 legislative offices on our policy and budget overviews that will keep families fed, housed, and cared for. On July 23rd, we’ll come back for a follow-up to highlight anti-hunger, anti-poverty and child care legislation in California, with input from legislators, advocates, and policy groups. Don’t miss this impactful day- invitation coming this week!
