Moral Mondays and the movement to break boundaries

Moral Mondays

North Carolina civil disobedience movement recalls, reaffirms Mandela’s legacy

Published by the Presbyterian News Service

by Emily Enders Odom, Communications Associate 

Members of Salem and New Hope presbyteries gathered on
Moral Monday. From left to right: Alice Geils Nord, Bernie
 Nord, Bob Brizendine and Paula Applegate. —Mindy Douglas

Every Monday for the past eight months, like clockwork, the Rev. Frank Dew has sounded his rallying cry across the social media landscape.

“Let's go to Raleigh!’ reads a representative post to the Salem Presbytery pastors’ Facebook group June 23. “Leaving at 3:00 pm…for Moral Monday! What is happening in Raleigh is not who we are! We are better than that!”

Dew, pastor of New Creation Community Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, N.C., and chaplain at Greensboro Urban Ministry, an ecumenical outreach agency, was one of Salem Presbytery’s key leaders in the “Moral Monday” protests, a statewide civil disobedience movement.

The North Carolina NAACP-led Moral Monday protests were organized in April to fight against cuts to social programs, education reforms and changes to voting laws in the state.  

Last week, North Carolina NAACP President the Rev. William Barber, II, and 11 others were found guilty of second-degree trespassing and violating building rules while protesting in April at the state legislature, according to a Dec. 4 article by the Associated Press. 

Dew himself was arrested as part of the third and largest group of protesters June 3.

“As a lifelong resident of North Carolina, I no longer recognize our state,” he said. “Although over my lifetime I have seen slow but steady progress toward social justice, during this last legislative session I have seen our state turn back the clock in terms of voting rights, education funding, environmental concerns, health care (not expanding Medicaid), worker’s rights (not extending unemployment benefits) and the elimination of the Racial Justice Act, which allowed Death Row inmates to appeal based on racially selected juries. I believe that the Moral Monday protests have helped shine a light on these changes that the people of this state will remember come 2014.” 

The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II, director of the PC(USA)’s Office of Public Witness (OPW) in Washington, D.C. — himself no stranger to being arrested for acts of civil disobedience — also took part in the Moral Monday protests, which have spread across the state to other North Carolina cities since the movement began.

“I attended the Asheville, N.C., Moral Monday in August after preaching at a youth conference in Montreat,” Nelson said. “Moral Monday is a powerful model for social and transformative change in a period when both individual and collective human rights are being suppressed. I have known Rev. Barber and worked with him for several years while serving as a pastor and community leader in North Carolina. He is a great critical and strategic thinker about issues regarding social change.” 

Nelson acknowledged that the organizing strategy behind Moral Mondays shares some key similarities with the model for the OPW. “Of course our specific objectives are different, but framing the movement for social justice is similar,” he said. “The OPW’s mission is about breaking boundaries established by the political order, organizing coalitions around a central theme rather than single issues, promoting basic issues that impact most people and building internal coalitions around those issues; that is, big tent versus silos.” 

The Rev. Arthur Canada, vice chair of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and pastor of McClintock Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., has also participated in Moral Mondays. 

“We had a great turnout at Marshall Park in Charlotte this summer,” said Canada. “People speaking from a variety of different perspectives all came together to get the legislature to do what’s beneficial for the people, especially the poor. Charlotte Presbytery was well represented by a number of teaching elders, council leadership and committee members, including our presbytery’s [2013] moderator, Floretta Watkins.”

The North Carolina NAACP’s Barber was quoted in the Associated Press story as saying that a protest had been planned for later this month and a large rally scheduled in February that he hopes will draw thousands to Raleigh. “We’re going to be back,” he said. 

Nelson found the timing of a December event — a Moral Monday Service of Redemption at the State Capitol in Raleigh scheduled for Dec. 23 — to be especially significant.

“As the world celebrated the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela this past week, it is important to remember that many of the contextual struggles of human rights across this nation and around the globe are being challenged every day,” he said. “Our spiritual, moral and ethical focus as Presbyterian Christians must be centered on recapturing the essence of our social justice advocacy while finding new ways to resist the marginalization of more people in this country and around the globe. Moral Monday is one significant model in this effort.”

Dew said that he hopes the Forward Together Movement started by the North Carolina NAACP will cause some people “to take a second look at Church and Christianity.” 

“As we stand up and speak out with — and on behalf of — the poor and left out of our state, I hope people will see that this is what Christianity looks like,” he said.

Post-Shutdown Legislative Update

Grassroots call: A Path for Post-Shutdown Advocacy

Presented by the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs

Oct. 25, 2013

Legislative Update Remarks, as prepared:

Hi Everyone.  My name is Leslie Woods and I serve in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of Public Witness. 

I'm going to quickly speak about the budget deal Congress passed last week to open up the government and prevent default on the national debt.

Last week, after 16 days of a government shutdown and one day before potential U.S. default, Congress passed H.R. 2775, which reopened the government and raised the debt ceiling. The Senate passed the bill 81-18, and the House passed it 285-144. All of the House Democrats and 87 Republicans voted for the bill.  It was a bipartisan vote in both chambers.

So first, it's worth noting what was not in the deal. The deal did not defund the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The deal did not delay the Affordable Care Act. The deal did not have any spending cuts included as a condition for raising the debt ceiling. These were mostly clean extensions of government spending and a debt ceiling increase. That said, preventing a Congressionally created economic catastrophe is not exactly all that worthy of celebration; but it is important.

So, what was in the deal? The deal mostly sets up a new set of deadlines for Congress to reach the next deal. The legislation passed last week funds the government at current levels through January 15, 2014, and raises the debt ceiling through February 7, 2014, but Congress won't have to raise the debt ceiling again until March or even later because the Treasury can use extraordinary measures, as it did in this most recent situation, to buy more time. The bill also included language on income verification for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

And while not written into the legislation, the deal also created a budget conference committee to negotiate a budget for the remainder of the 2014 fiscal year and to address sequestration, which is Washington-speak for the across-the-board spending cuts we’ve been living with this year.  This Committee must report back to Congress with a budget framework by December 13.

The committee includes the following members in the House: Paul Ryan (R-WI-1), Tom Cole (R-OK-4), Tom Price (R-GA-6), Diane Black (R-TN-6), James Clyburn (D-SC-6), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-8), and Nita Lowey (D-NY-17).

The Senate appointees are the entire budget committee: Murray (D-WA), Wyden (D-OR), Nelson (D-FL), Stabenow (D-MI), Sanders (I-VT), Whitehouse (D-RI), Warner (D-VA), Merkley (D-OR), Coons (D-DE), Baldwin (D-WI), Kaine (D-VA), King (I-ME), Sessions (R-AL), Grassley (R-IA), Enzi (R-WY), Crapo (R-ID), Graham (R-SC), Portman (R-OH), Toomey (R-PA), Johnson (R-WI), Ayotte (R-NH), and Wicker (R-MS).

This round of budget talks could play out in one of three ways.

First, the committee could emerge with a big, multi-trillion dollar, decade-long budget deal and succeed where all previous bipartisan commissions, groups, and committees have failed. If you think this sounds optimistic, you’re instincts are good. This would be a very heavy lift and probably the least likely outcome.

In the second scenario, the committee could come up with a smaller deal that resolves the overall funding level for fiscal year 2014 and replaces some or all of the sequester for one, or even two, years. If this happens, there are two issues to keep an eye on: the overall funding level and the makeup of any package that replaces sequestration. The overall size of the budget they agree on will determine the amount of funding available for international poverty-focused development and humanitarian assistance programs, WIC, Head Start, and all the other anti-hunger and poverty discretionary programs. If the committee comes up with a plan to replace sequestration, we will be watching to see if it is a balanced fix that includes new revenues and protects important anti-poverty programs, such as SNAP and Medicaid.

Finally, the committee could emerge with no deal. At that point, Congress will have until Jan. 15 to prevent another shutdown and potentially address sequestration.

We must continue to urge members of Congress to pass a faithful budget that adequately funds programs that combat hunger and poverty, and replace sequestration with a balanced plan. Your work on this and faithfulness in creating a drumbeat demanding just and compassionate budget solutions is extremely important, especially in the next few weeks.

Thanks.  That's all I have, so I'll pass it back to Amelia.

Grassroots Call: Post-Shutdown Advocacy

The Path for Post-Shutdown Advocacy

We’ve been to the brink of debt default, emerged from a government shutdown—now what?

Join us for a special call on what the government shutdown deal means for our faith advocacy moving forward.

Friday, October 25

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST

Conference Number: (712) 432-0393

Participant Code: 175622#

The shutdown deal explained: what’s in it and what’s not.

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What does the shutdown deal mean for poor, hungry, and vulnerable Americans?

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Where does the faith community go from here?

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How can we use our faith advocacy to ensure the voices of struggling families are included in upcoming budget discussions?

For questions or more information, please contact Amelia Kegan: akegan@bread.org

J. Herbert Nelson Joins Faith Leaders to Call for a Common Good Budget Deal

This morning, PC(USA) Director for Public Witness, the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II, joined with interfaith and ecumenical colleagues in calling on Congress to put the common good ahead of political games.  In a Pilgrimage for Courage and the Common Good, Rev. Nelson and his colleagues gathered in the Rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building, began with prayer and hymns, and then began a processional through the halls of Congress, stopping to deliver this letter at the offices of key members whose influence and good faith is crucial to ending this political standoff.  The letter begins,

J. Herbert Nelson, Michael Livingston and other faith leaders gather

"As people of faith and conscience, we urge you to place shared democratic values above short term political expediency, exercise the courage to fund our nation’s government, raise the debt limit without preconditions and get back to work on a faithful budget that serves the common good.

In a statement about the shutdown, the Rev. Nelson said,

"Too many lives are impacted by this selfish internal battle for power. The United States government has an important role in alleviating hunger and poverty, ensuring food safety and public health, investing in clinical trials and research, monitoring pollution and the safety of the environment, engaging in diplomacy and relief and development operations overseas, and employing the nation’s largest workforce.  It is time to put the federal government back to work to ensure health, wholeness, and fulfilling livelihoods, not only for federal workers, but for all of us.

Join the Rev. Nelson and his interfaith and ecumenical colleagues in calling on Congress to end this government shutdown and to raise the debt ceiling immediately.  Neither a dysfunctional government nor the default on the full faith and credit of the U.S. government will serve our democracy or the Common Good.  Rev. Nelson concluded his statement with,

"We need a government that functions based on a commitment to shared responsibility and the common good. Those who have contempt for government have no business serving as a Member of Congress.  It is contrary to the oath of office.  Join me in calling on Congress to end this shutdown and engage in more reasonable debate in which people’s wellbeing is at the center of our concern.

Presbyterians J. Herbert Nelson, Doug Grace, Michael Livingston, and Jennifer Butler

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 15, 2013

CONTACT: Michael McGovern – 202.499.4084, mmcgovern@faithinpubliclife.org

50 Prominent Faith Leaders and Locked-Out Workers

March on House GOP Offices, Pray for End to Shutdown

Pilgrimage with poor workers ratchets up moral pressure as shutdown harms low-income families, seniors, and veterans.

Washington, DC – Today, over 50 prominent religious leaders joined with locked-out federal workers in a pilgrimage, marched on key House GOP offices – including Leadership – and urged an immediate end to the government shutdown. At each office, the group prayed for the Member to do what is right and vote to immediately end the shutdown with a clean and unconditional continuing resolution and to raise the debt ceiling without preconditions.

During the Pilgrimage, faith leaders invited moderate Republicans to join them in challenging their colleagues who are putting political agendas ahead of the common good.

An extreme faction of Congress is recklessly playing politics with the lives of countless Americans: seniors seeing “Meals on Wheels” cut, pregnant women and infants losing vital nutrition support, workers locked out of their jobs as bills pile up, veterans facing benefit cuts, and communities put in peril by the suspension of crucial environmental protection efforts.

“It’s time for irresponsible factions in Congress to stop this reckless behavior and end this shutdown immediately,” said Sr. Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby. “There is no moral justification for holding struggling families, pregnant women and seniors hostage.”

The marchers also included low-wage workers locked out of their jobs by the shutdown.

“Before the shutdown, I was struggling to support my unemployed father and little sister,” said Alex Vesquez, a contract food worker at the Smithsonian. “Now I’ve gone from low wages to no wages. Tea Party Republicans need to stop these political games and let me get back to work.”

At each office the group prayed for the Member and left a letter endorsed by religious organizations, saying  "As people of faith and conscience, we urge you to place shared democratic values above short term political expediency, exercise the courage to fund our nation’s government,  raise the debt limit without preconditions and get back to work on a faithful budget that serves the common good.”

Faith leaders had a clear moral message for the Congressmen responsible.

“Locking low-income workers out of their jobs and holding them for ransom is simply un-Christian. This inflicts needless pain on families already struggling to make ends meet,” said Rev. Michael Livingston, Policy Director at Interfaith Worker Justice. “We’re urging the members of Congress responsible for this hardship to vote now to put these workers back in their jobs.”

Simultaneously, people of faith delivered over 32,000 petitions to Congressional offices around the country calling on House Members to end the government shutdown. The petition signers are members of Faithful America — a fast-growing online community dedicated to reclaiming Christianity from the religious right and putting faith into action for social justice.

This statement, which was also signed by more than 150 clergy and theologians, sharply rebuked irresponsible elected officials for pursuing an “extreme ideological agenda at the expense of the working poor and vulnerable families” by shutting down the federal government.

Participants in the march included leaders from NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; The Salvation Army, Interfaith Worker Justice, National Council of Churches, Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness, The Shalom Center, Faith in Public Life, Church World Service, American Friends Service Committee, Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, Disciples Center for Public Witness (Disciples of Christ), Disciples Justice Action Network (Disciples of Christ), Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Ecumenical Advocacy Days, Franciscan Action Network, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, The Coalition on Human Needs.

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