Social Action Reports

Serving, advocating 

by Shirley Durr, Social Action Coordinator

Your Conference Social Action Coordinator (SAC) met with District SACs Diana Eickelberg (River Valley), Diane Bublitz (Big Waters), and Nancy Kipp (Twin Cities) to share actions we each have taken since we last met at Leadership Development in November. It was a busy season!

 

Diana’s Report

Diana attended the Joint Religious Legislation Coalition’s meeting in February that

introduced Leah Patton, the new JRLC Director, and learned about the bills in the Minnesota legislature that JRLC is following. They include:

1. Supporting SF 2471 to allow tiny houses to be located on religious properties.
2. Opposing gambling expansion (SF 2425 and SF 1949) creating easy access to sports betting, daily fantasy sports and other online gambling.
3. Supporting SF 2493 that would increase the reimbursement rates for providers and fund the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) that helps low- and moderate-income families with childcare costs.
4. Supporting a bill modifying requirements for a driver's license or Minnesota identification card so that undocumented and unhoused people in Minnesota can obtain them.

Diana also spoke about an upcoming April meeting in Northfield about racial justice with guest speakers to include the MN Annual Conference’s new Racial Justice Director Sabrina Tapia. 

 

Diane’s Report

Diane will be zooming with JRLC on March 29 and doing legislative visits after that. She has connected with a Catholic church in town to work on this.

 

Her church’s social justice group is in the process of reorganizing. They are focusing on their connection with other social justice groups through We Choose Us: A Movement for Multiracial Democracy in Minnesota. Partners in We Choose Us include Isaiah and the League of Women Voters.

 

Diane also met with her Senator in the Minnesota Legislature for Day on the Hill to address the issue of paid family/medical leave.

 

She highly recommends the UWFaith Reading program book The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling The Doctrine of Discovery by Sarah Augustine. You can read about this book here.

 

Nancy’s Report

Some of you may have heard Nancy speak at her District meetings about indigenous rights, climate justice, and mass incarceration. She has shared profound messages that resonate with attendees in meaningful ways.

 

She has also participated with Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light advocating for their legislative agenda including putting solar on schools, establishing an advisory board with Native representation from all 11 Minnesota tribes, having a Green Bank to access money for clean energy, and using resources from the hemp industry to replace lithium batters with hemp batteries. Hemp absorbs twice more energy than other plants and hemp batteries last twice as long as lithium without the toxic effects they cause.

 

Nancy also shared early information about a Sacred Sites Tour being planned by TC UWFaith on April 22, 3-7 pm. The tour will start at Church of St. Peter Catholic Church in Mendota Heights and carpool from there to visit some sacred sites with Jim Bear Jacobs. Look for more details from TC District.

 

Shirley’s Report

In my capacity as MN Conference Social Action Coordinator (SAC), I attended National UWFaith’s Quarterly SAC meeting on February 16 via Zoo. We were invited to provide feedback to the job description which may be revised and took a poll regarding continuation of the focus issues of Racial Justice (Interrupting the School to Prison Pipeline) and Climate Justice (Just Energy 4 All).

 

We were also asked to have a conference-wide Legislative Event or Day on the Hill within our conferences on a local aspect of the focus issues. I mentioned how we had done such an event on Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in partnership with JRLC that originated in one of our Districts. Please help us identify social justice issues in Minnesota that we should pursue with a Legislative Event or Day on the Hill in the next year or so,

 

Another aspect of my job description asks that I participate in other justice related organizations that align with our goals. Currently, I serve as a member of the MN Conference Church and Society Team. Look for a resolution we are presenting at Annual Conference May 31– June 1.

 

We are seeking more people to join the team, If you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible,

 

On February 14, along with fellow Church and Society members Liz Weninger and Gail Chalbi (chair), I attended a Healing Circle for Native Americans and Allies sponsored by the MN Annual Conference Racial Justice and Equity Initiative. The purpose of the session was to address the questions of what it means to elevate the voices of indigenous people and be a good ally. Read more about the Healing Circle here.

 

MN UWFaith’s President Cindy Saufferer also joined the Healing Circle after attending the MMIWR march before that. Read more about the march by clicking here.