The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) held their annual “Day on the Hill” event February 20th at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. A record 900 people registered this year, and it was my first time.

The goal of “A Day on the Hill” is to update us with fact and figures on important political and social issues. Armed with this ammunition, we meet with our representatives to discuss these issues. When I registered on the JRLC web site, they suggested we set up appointments ahead of time with our legislators, told me who my legislators are, and how to contact them.

Brian Rusche, JRLC Executive Director
When we got to the RiverCentre, we were greeted by toe-tapping bluegrass gospel music from the House of Mercy Band. When it was time to get started, the band brought us together by inviting us to sing Amazing Grace with them. Brian Rusche, JRLC Executive Director then welcomed us and introduced the Reverend Sandye Wilson for an opening prayer. Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr, from the Diocese of Duluth, was introduced and gave us the keynote address.

Bishop Schnurr explained that as people of faith, it is our duty to speak for the poor, the weak, the voiceless. Being a voice for the voiceless was the running theme for the day. With the state budget shortfall of $4.5 billion, many programs will be cut, and people of faith need to fill the gaps.

Bishop Schnurr told the story of Esther in the Old Testament. Esther was a Jewish woman who was chosen to be queen for a king who had banished his first wife for being too outspoken. Later, the king sent out the message for the Jews to be destroyed. Esther’s cousin, Mordecai pleaded with her to go to the king and make an appeal that her people be spared. But she hesitated, fearing for her own safety. But Mordecai reminded her that she was put in this position for such a time as this. She gathered all her courage, and went to the king to ask him to spare her people. In the end her people were saved. Even though Esther was faced with problems that seemed overwhelming, she didn’t focus on her own needs and safety. The needs of her people were more important than her own and she used her influence to be a voice for the voiceless.

With that story as a basis, Bishop Schnurr touched on many issues and concerns regarding budget cuts: healthcare, affordable housing, education and fair wages.

Bishop Dennis Schnurr
Duluth Archdiocese
Bishop Schnurr went on to cite statistics throughout various industries that paint a bleak economic picture. Farmers and rural communities are suffering, but we need to support them so we all can have access to affordable nutritious food. Timber communities are suffering as well: 38,000 jobs have been lost in four years, more jobs than have been created. Service industry jobs are all that are available, but they don’t pay a livable wage.

When Bishop Schnurr said, “Our faith calls us to believe that what affects some of us, affects all of us”, there was thundering applause. He said our faith keeps us active and engaged and he has seen over and over how communities of faith as well as individuals can create change and be a voice for the voiceless. He called us to tell our representatives that our voice is important. We cannot do it alone so we must involve all members of our faith community in this work.

Describing justice, Bishop Schnurr stated that secular justice is mostly about securing political rights, righting wrongs and fairness. Justice in our faith traditions is about God’s wish for us to be in loving relationships with each other. It upholds the things that give people dignity; housing, healthcare, food and clothing, and a dignified job with fair wages.

Bishop Schnurr sent us off to our legislators, asking us to give them this message: “Balancing the budget on the backs of the poor is wrong and we seek justice. People must come first. The economy exists to serve the person, not the other way around.”

Fortified with those rousing words, the group split off into one of a choice of several workshops: Introduction to Lobbying, Advanced Lobbying, 2003 A Child’s Perspective, Impact on Immigrants, and Rural and Agricultural Concerns.

Not knowing all that much about lobbying, I attended the introduction to lobbying. The Rev. Mark Peters, Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota presided. His information was concrete and helpful. He described his job as a lobbyist as more of an advocate. Lobbyists obtain money for their cause by speaking out. An advocate is a voice for the voiceless. (Hmmm, I think I’ve heard that somewhere.)

Peters pointed out materials in our folders that we received during registration, one of which was a pamphlet called Tools for Faithful Citizenship. (The issue papers and brochures we received that day are available at their website: www.jrlc.org, click on Issue Papers link on the left) This is an extremely helpful piece if you’re interested in contacting your legislator and includes basic lobbying do’s and don’ts and how to write a letter. Rev. Peters even suggested that if your legislator is in session when you arrive at the capital, hand a note to a page asking for your representative or senator to come out and see you, right now! After all, Peters reminded us, we employ them. Lastly, he reminded us to write thank-you notes to the representatives we visited. (Just like your mother taught you!)

After the 40 minute workshop, there were several issue briefings we could attend, and they were repeated so that you could attend two different briefings. Each was presided over by experts in their field, lobbyists (advocates) for specific causes. Affordable housing, gun violence, early childcare and education, environment, and hunger are samples of the issue briefings.

I attended two briefings that have meaning to me, and I discovered the real secret to successful lobbying. Find a concern that’s important to you, one you can be passionate about. Because when you’re passionate about something, it’s easier to get other people interested and passionate, too.

After the issue briefings, we took our box lunches to tables that were numbered with district designations. My district is 62B. The idea was to sit with other folks in your district and brainstorm about how best to approach your representative. It was also a great way to get a meeting with a representative if you were unable to schedule one yourself. And besides, it’s more effective to approach legislators in numbers. As it turned out I was able to reach only one of my representatives, State Senator Wes Skoglund, but someone else had an appointment with another. Before we boarded the shuttle bus to the capital, we established an agenda of sorts, and chose a spokesperson from within our group. What started as a table of strangers, transformed into a team of committed disciples!

Michele Jansen is a free-lance audio/video producer and multimedia project manager, who also works as an on-call announcer for KBEM-FM, Jazz 88. In other words, a jack-of-all-trades for the new millennium. She and her family, husband John, teenagers Mick and Lauren, have been members of St. Joan of Arc for 12 years. She is also a happy member of the choir, and has volunteered for various activities at St. Joan's including the Faith Formation Advisory Board.
At the capital we found Senator Skoglund (“please call me Wes”) very willing to see us and he was very impressed with the number of people from JRLC. He told us that we were the largest group to come out of that event. I was gratified to see that Wes was truly committed to serving his constituents, and it was important to him not only to tell us where he stood on the issues, but what we thought about them. I’m not sure how other groups faired in terms of getting the attention of their representative or senator, but the message of the day was that we need to keep trying to get the issues to our lawmakers, and, if necessary, remind them that they answer to their constituents.

Finally, at the end of the day, I was exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. The JRLC had taught us how to take the issues to their lawmakers. We learned that if our legislator was already on board, contact friends and family in other districts, and tell them how to be advocates for those who cannot speak. In the end they taught us how to be disciples. They taught us that it’s up us to be “a voice for the voiceless.” And you can be too.

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