ISAIAH meeting at Ascension Catholic Church
Tuesday, March 27th, 2001
... What is ISAIAH??
ISAIAH meeting at Ascension Catholic Church
Tuesday, March 27th, 2001
... What is ISAIAH??
Before I attended the ISAIAH meeting at Ascension Catholic Church in North Minneapolis on Tuesday evening, March 27th, I expected it to be much like the last ISAIAH meeting I attended about a year ago. Boy was I wrong!
At that previous meeting, we focused solely on affordable housing. We learned a lot about the issue and went away empowered with a comprehensive action plan and a commitment to encourage our legislators to do something positive about it. That led to me attending my first ever caucus meeting. But that's another story.
This time, the 15 of us that got there early at 5:30 PM, got treated to two meetings for the price of one, with the added bonus of a box snack with a tasty sandwich, cookies, chips, apple and pop. Best of all, the price was free!
The first meeting was an orientation meeting. Initially, we were asked to pair up with someone we didn't already know. That was easy for me because I didn't know anyone there. I was paired with Mike from St. Gerard's in Brooklyn Park. This was mainly a question and answer session where we got to know each other while eating our snack. I later discovered this is part of ISAIAH's strategy of having one-to-one sessions to develop relationships and expand our peer groups.
Later we all got together for group orientation. After participating in a rousing motivational discussion we learned a little more about ISAIAH. We found that it is comprised of 3 local organizations. There's one for the St. Cloud area, one for St. Paul area, and the Interfaith Action organization for the Minneapolis area, which St. Joan of Arc belongs to. Each of these organizations has member churches of diverse denominations. ISAIAH currently has about 85 member churches in all, and is expanding rapidly. It is also part of a larger organization, The Gamaliel Foundation, which consists of 40 organizations from about 15 states in the United States and South Africa.
ISAIAH is all about social justice, empowerment, activism, and relationship building, all with a firm foundation in faith. We were reminded of Christ's activism, and the relationships He established with His disciples, and also that the word "power" appears more than 6 times as often as "humble" or "humility" in the Bible despite the much more frequent sermons on humility in modern times. The issues ISAIAH confronts are as numerous and diverse as the homilies at St. Joan of Arc.
After this stirring introductory meeting, we joined about 15 more ISAIAH individual members, for their regular Leadership Assembly. We all introduced ourselves. I was joined by Josh and Becky from St. Joan's, and others from a variety of mostly Lutheran and Catholic churches from around the Minneapolis area.
Some formal business was conducted and then we were introduced to an issue ISAIAH is currently confronting: the confiscation and denial of driver's licenses for working immigrants, which makes them unable to obtain insurance or proper training. This is a safety hazard as well as an injustice. The recommended action is to petition and otherwise express concern to the Commissioner of Public Safety, Charlie Weaver.
Following this, we were introduced to some fund raising efforts being made and leadership training being offered. We broke into small groups to learn about the life altering benefits of the week long leadership training course being offered by ISAIAH's parent organization, the Gamaliel Foundation, July 29-August 4, 2001, in Collegeville, MN. This won't be back in Minnesota for about 3 years. It offers CEU credits for teachers, and is half price to ISAIAH members, which includes all St. Joan's parishioners.
ISAIAH will also be sponsoring a retreat on Friday, May 4, 6-9 PM, and Saturday, May 5, 8:30 AM to 2 PM, at St. William's in Fridley. Those attending will get to know each other and ISAIAH, and will gain skills to help them organize within a congregation as well as outreach to the broader community. There will be a nominal cost to cover meals provided. FFI call Maureen at 612-333-1260, ext. 221.
One thing that was similar to the first ISAIAH meeting I attended is that I came away with an armful of papers, more commitments than I thought I had time for, and a sense of empowerment that may help me accomplish more than I could ever have imagined.
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