New York Ecumenical Advocacy Day

There is still time to register for the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Day sponsored by the New York State Council of Churches which, like so much these days will be virtual.

The event begins at 9 a.m. this Thursday, February 25, with a series of presentations. Participants will then be scheduled to meet virtually with their state legislators beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday and in the following week.

 

The day begins with “Historical Reflections on Congregational Activism” with Dr. Alison Collis Greene, Associate Professor of American Religious History at Emory University and Candler School of Theology in  Atlanta, Georgia and Author of No Depression in Heaven, The Great Depression, the New Deal, and the Transformation of Religion in the Delta. In her book, Dr. Greene “demonstrates how the Great Depression and New Deal transformed the relationship between church and state. Grounded in Memphis and the Delta, this book traces the collapse of voluntarism, the link between southern religion and the New Deal, and the gradual alienation of conservative Christianity from the state.”

 

At 10 a.m., Alex Tindal Wiesendanger, National Organizer with the American Musicians Union and author of Seeds of Justice: Organizing Your Church to Transform the World, will discuss faith-based organizing. His book has been described as “a basic guide on how to translate a commitment to social justice into effective action.” It shows “first how to move from charity to justice; how to move from being activists to agents for transformation; how to build power through relationships and congregational listening; how to wield power in the public sphere.”

 

Other sessions include “Theological Reflections on Wealth Inequality and Analysis of State Budget and Revenue Bills,” “Health Care and Covid 19,” “Environmental Justice,” and “Affordable Housing.” In addition, there will be break out legislative sessions.

 

For more information and to register for this free event, go here.