ADVOCACY UPDATE

MAINE EPISCOPAL NETWORK FOR JUSTICE
April 17, 2020
MAINE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
MAINERS TOGETHER
A Community Based Response to the coronavirus .
CONTACT THE GOVERNOR
Share your opinion .
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

For more information on unemployment issues, please visit here .

VIRTUAL FAITH CLIMATE ACTION WEEK RESOURCES
Out of our love and care for our neighbors, and to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, faith communities are conducting their events virtually to stay connected. Join Faith Climate Action Week - the nationwide movement of people of faith and conscience acting on climate April 17-26 - by creatively using your digital networks and the Faith Climate Action Week resources to make your love visible.
This year's theme is "Love Made Visible: Engaging in Sacred Activism" to protect the people we love who are most impacted by climate change. The kit includes a Sacred Activism guide on the importance of people of faith taking part in civic engagement, suggestions for activism challenges, and a Sacred Activism Art Guide to create eye-catching banners and placards with faith-based messaging.
Go virtual with your Sacred Activism event by encouraging members of your congregation to post pictures of themselves with their placards with the moral call to act on climate to social media during Faith Climate Action Week. Find suggestions for messages and images from IPL leaders from across the nation in the kit.

More information here .
Earth Day 2020:
The Fierce Urgency of Now

For those who care about God’s creation, the present time is one of crisis, and yet it is also a time of possibility. It is a time in which the persistent call of God is reaching out to us amid climate threats, burning forests, and poisoned waters. Fortunately, we are gifted with a rich theological tradition from those who have faced immense dangers and powerful forces in the past. The prophets of our faith have continually pointed to the need to act with all speed to meet the imperatives of justice. As 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we are confronted as much as ever with the fierce urgency of now.

Each year, Creation Justice Ministries offers Christian education materials to equip faith communities to protect, restore, and more rightly share God's creation. 

The 2020 theme is "The Fierce Urgency of Now." To connect with others who are planning Earth Day Sunday activities, join the Earth Day Sunday 2020 Facebook Event .


ELECTION UPDATE FROM MAINE
CONSERVATION VOTERS

Governor Mills issues voting executive order

We applaud Gov. Mills for issuing a critical election executive order last week to move Maine's primary election from June 9 to July 14. In an important move to ensure the health and safety of voters, allowing all eligible voters to request absentee ballots with no excuse up to and including Election Day. The governor's order also extends the deadline for qualifying contributions under the state's clean election law to May 19.
 
Request an absentee ballot

Our daily routines have been upended. Yet, as we're busy adjusting to a new normal, the new July primary will be here before we know it. The upcoming races will have serious consequences for all of us. With both your safety and the importance of making your voice heard in mind, we’re encouraging you to vote by absentee ballot. 

If you are already registered to vote, you can request an absentee ballot here from now until Election Day, but we suggest you make a plan to vote now to ensure your ballot is received on time. The Bureau of Elections website has a great FAQ page with more information on how absentee voting works. 

More info here .

TELL CONGRESS TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORS
Faith communities are leaders in the pandemic response, organizing their congregations to contact elected officials, volunteer to help feed the community, make financial and in-kind donations. Our collective advocacy has secured important safety net measures to support those who are struggling.

These changes make an important difference for people in need, but the federal government must continue to provide resources to mitigate the financial impacts of this pandemic.

Congress is currently working on the fourth COVID-19 response package. We need to contact members of Maine’s congressional delegation and tell them that any COVID-19 economic recovery package must focus on the most vulnerable people and provide additional food assistance, funding for homelessness services, and rental assistance.

Our faith traditions compel us to feed those experiencing hunger and speak out for justice. Tell Congress to fight hunger and food insecurity by:

  • boosting SNAP maximum benefits by 15%
  • increasing the minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30
  • suspending all SNAP administrative rules that would terminate or weaken benefits

EPISCOPAL ADVOCACY AND MINISTRY RESOURCES
In 2018, Episcopal Migration Ministries and its network of local affiliates welcomed over 1,100 refugees and 400 SIV’s (Special Immigrant Visa) from 31 countries in 14 communities in 12 dioceses.
‌
Reconciliation is the spiritual practice of seeking loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God and one another, and striving to heal and transform injustice and brokenness in ourselves, our communities, institutions, and society.