Faith in the Public Square

Today is the fourth and final day of the 2001 virtual Ecumenical Advocacy Days, the time when participants contact their legislators to advocate for issues on which the event is focused. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored.” The website offers this perspective on the issues of concern: As people of faith we call on Congress to act urgently and decisively on climate justice by addressing the intersection of climate change, economic justice, gender justice and racial equity: * Enact infrastructure and energy legislation that will promote climate, economic, gender and racial justice to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy and commit to net-zero climate pollution in electricity by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050. * Provide funding for multilateral and bilateral environmental accounts for FY2022, including $2 billion for the Green Climate Fund, focusing on funding for the most impacted countries and communities, in many cases burdene

Tomorrow, April 7, is the deadline for early-bird registration for this year’s Ecumenical Advocacy Days. This year’s event, usually held in the nation’s Capital, will be a virtual gathering to be held April 18-21. The early-bird fee is just $25.  The 2021 theme is “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored.”   Here is some information from the website:  Ecumenical Advocacy Days is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognized partners and allies, grounded in biblical witness and our shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Our goal, through worship, theological reflection and opportunities for learning and witness, is to strengthen our Christian voice and to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.   EAD 2021 is an opportunity to support this global movement centered on and led by the people and communities most vulnerable to climate impacts due to historic racial and colonial inequities.

United Tenants of Albany (UTA), will be host a virtual film screening the new documentary film A Second Wave: Housing During the COVID Pandemic by local filmmaker Kristen Kopper on Thursday, April 8 at 7p.m. According to the news release, the film reveals the devastating housing insecurities suffered by tenants during COVD-19. “Impacted tenants share their personal stories of housing and economic insecurity experienced in the midst of the pandemic in this documentary. The film also follows the statewide housing justice advocacy effort to win an eviction moratorium in New York State.”   There will be a live Q&A with the filmmaker after the showing.  You can watch the film trailer here .   Admission is free but donations will be accepted. Contributions help UTA in its work of providing: -        -  Housing Hotline; -         - Tenant counseling, including counseling for tenants facing building foreclosure;   -        -  Homeless prevention services; and -        -  Advocacy and comm