On Faith, State Budgets, and Advocacy

A righteous person knows the rights of the poor.   Proverbs 29:7

The writer of the quotation above offers some pretty direct advice to the people of God: we know what our responsibilities are when it comes to serving our neighbors who are hungry, disabled, homeless, in prison, sick, unable to work, or otherwise unemployed . . . or any combination of the full list. This call to serve those around us when they need help appears in every section of our Bibles, from the beginning of the covenant relationship through the time when Jesus was here with us.

So if we have been faithful in reading God’s Word and applying our faith to our actions, we know what is needed and that we need to respond. What we actually do can vary quite a bit, depending on our own context or resources, but that we are called to do something to make things better for others who are suffering is not ambiguous.

While gifts to private charities and non-profit organizations are usually highlighted in our churches, as individual members and as communities we can also get involved in the process of setting budget priorities for local and state governments. We can call elected officials, email them, or step up to the microphone at a public meeting to advocate for budgets that place a priority on public funds for the people who need help with groceries or rent or utilities or medical care. We can raise our voices in protest when elected leaders make helping the wealthy and powerful a higher priority than the needs of the most vulnerable.

If you agree that participating in public meetings and speaking up during budget debates and discussions is a good use of your time and energy, right now is an ideal time to invest in advocacy, at least here in Wisconsin. The biennial budgeting process for the State of Wisconsin is at the midpoint, with the Governor’s office working on what they will present to the citizens and the legislature on February 12^th.

The listening sessions the governor’s office organized have ended, but there is still time to contact the governor to advocate for a budget that is just and serves all the people of this state. After the 12^th, action on the budget moves to the legislature, starting with the Joint Finance Committee. That group will be holding meetings and hearings on the budget before sending it on to the Assembly and Senate. At each stage of the budgeting process, your voice as a non-partisan advocate for spending and policies that help poor and hungry people can make a difference.

And you can get some training on how to best do that kind of non-partisan advocacy with your own representatives and senators, the Governor, members of the Joint Finance Committee, and other legislative leaders a couple of different ways:

WISDOM, a statewide organizing network, is offering some advocacy training webinars that are open to any and all who are interested in learning more about the budgeting process or in getting involved in direct advocacy. The next two are focused on how to communicate effectively with legislators, on Saturday, January 23, from 9 am to noon and Tuesday, February 9 from 5 to 6 pm. You will find registration information for those opportunities as well as information about others at https://wisdomwisconsin.org/sign-up-for-wisdoms-school-of-democracy/. I encourage you to register for one or more of these webinars or send this information on to people you know.

The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin [LOPPW] will also be reaching out with resources and information about advocacy during the state budgeting process in the next few weeks. Please sign up for their regular emails and look for updates on their website [https://www.loppw.org/]. LOPPW’s advocacy priorities for 2021 can be found at https://www.loppw.org/about-us/current-priorities/.

I encourage you to take the step into non-partisan advocacy this year, if you haven’t done so in the past, and take advantage of any and all resources available to help you feel more confident in talking to our elected leaders.

Breathe deep. Seek peace and justice. Pray every day.

Deacon David Rask Behling he/him [Why are pronouns important?]

Hunger and Justice Advocate,

NW Synod of Wisconsin [ELCA]

URL: http://nwswi.org/social-justice-advocacy