Advent is with us again, calling us to reflect and review, and the Sojourners policy team wants to thank you for walking with us in 2009. As we compiled this year-end policy and outreach review, we were inspired and thankful for all we have achieved together.
Together we prayed, wrote letters, participated in teleconferences, advocated to Congress, debated the issues, and sought wisdom in tough circumstances.
We worked to engage people of faith all across the country to address issues including poverty, hunger, climate change, health care, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, nuclear weapons, workers’ rights, abortion reduction, the economy, immigration reform, and recovering from the economic recession.
Brand-New Year: Prayer and Pledge for Real Change
We kick-started the year with a campaign to President Obama offering our prayers and pledging to hold him accountable to a new kind of politics and achieving four goals: poverty reduction, ending U.S. wars, protecting our environment, and pursuing a consistent ethic of life in all policies.
These goals and pledge formed a blueprint for the weeks and months to follow.
Mobilizing to End Poverty
Despite tough economic times, thousands of activists convened in D.C. in April to network, worship, and mobilize against domestic and international poverty. The three-day event culminated in a powerful lobby day on Capitol Hill where people of faith urged Congress to commit to reduce poverty by half in the next 10 years, fully fund the foreign assistance budget, and support health-care reform.
Our focus aiding those caught in poverty intensified throughout the year as the recession deepened and recovery packages were focused on huge corporations and the middle class, while “poverty” was still a politically incorrect term.
On the leadership level, we convened a bipartisan taskforce of policy experts for a Poverty Forum, who used their common Christian faith as a foundation for working together on developing a set of policy proposals for poverty reduction. The message to Congress: “If we can do it, so can you.”
Health Care is a Moral Issue
One of the largest policy debates in recent history – health-care reform – claimed much attention in 2009 due to the key role accessing care plays for the most vulnerable in society. We knew the debate would be heated, so from the beginning we used our voices to call for reform to embody our best moral values.
For almost six months we have worked for affordable and accessible coverage for all people. We equipped faith leaders with easy-to-understand resource guides and partnered with other faith groups to host teleconferences on the proposals. We launched a “Tell the Truth” campaign targeting the worst offenders in the media, who were filling our airwaves with half-truths, slanders, and fear-laced language.
And, for the past two months, we have worked tirelessly to convene our friends on both sides of the table to find compromise on the debate about abortion-related amendments to reform legislation. In all of the details, it was easy to get discouraged – but access to health care is a goal worth fighting for. Stay tuned … this fight for access to life-giving treatment is not over yet!
Build and Don’t Destroy: Afghanistan
Perhaps more than any other issue in 2009, we were called to a prophetic witness against the war in Afghanistan. We helped people send more than 20,000 letters to our nation’s leaders, pleading, urging, and praying – for us to invest in development, not warfare. Unfortunately, the need for this campaign will continue in 2010. As Jim Wallis stated in response to the recent decision to send more troops, “Ultimately, only a whole new approach to Afghanistan will have any chance of success. And we will continue to call for that. In the meantime, we will pray for our servicemen and women and for more innocent civilians in Afghanistan who will die from more military escalation.”
Climate Change: Love Your Neighbor, Love the Earth
For the first time in our nation’s history, we saw real movement on the issue of climate change, leading up to the recent summit in Copenhagen. Sojourners helped resource a strong faith-based movement with two feature issues of our magazine in May and December. In addition, we used our relationships on Capitol Hill to advocate for climate-change legislation that respected and prioritized the needs of the poor.
Justice Revival: God of the City
On the local level, we convened a three-day Justice Revival in Dallas, Texas – uniting more than 1,000 churches across the city to leave their divisions behind and come together to serve and bring justice to the chronically homeless and to kids in the public schools.
Abortion Reduction: A Consistent Ethic of Life
Despite pressure in the health-care debate, we remain committed to efforts to reduce the number of abortions through a common-ground approach, which emphasizes preventing unwanted pregnancies and supporting women who desire to carry their baby to term. In July, Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the “Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act,” with broad support from pro-life and pro-choice groups.
What are we planning for 2010? The work of justice is never predictable, but here are a few glimpses of the policy areas we plan to address. Will you pray for us as we seek how best to apply our ministry to these important issues?
- Reform to our outdated and harmful immigration system – Lord, may it be so!
- An end to U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – Lord, make us bold!
- An infusion of moral values and justice into our financial systems – Lord, transform our hearts and minds!
- A comprehensive approach against growing poverty at home and abroad – Lord, shatter our complacency!
- Educate, equip, and speak to churches about the biblical call to social justice – Lord, bring spiritual revival that leads to social reform!
One thing is certain: Whatever 2010 holds, Sojourners’ policy and outreach team will be working in Washington to keep you informed about key policy issues that touch our hearts and move our spirits, and to equip the church to fulfill its God-given mandate of seeking justice.
We wish you a peaceful and reflective Advent, a very merry Christmas, and a blessed new year,
The Policy Team at Sojourners: Rev. Jen Kottler, Duane Shank, Rev. Aaron Graham, Elizabeth Denlinger, Pastor Kevin Lum, Allison Johnson, and Justin Fung.
P.S. A heartfelt thank you to colleagues who toiled with us this year, but have moved on to build the movement elsewhere: Rev. Adam Taylor, Nate Van Duzer, and Jennifer Svetlik.
