Faith in the Public Square

The New York State Council of Churches is working with other religious groups and housing advocates to organize a rally in Albany tomorrow (Tuesday) to promote Right to Counsel legislation, which would ensure that every tenant in New York State has the right to a lawyer when facing an eviction. According to an email from the council, “Our faith leads us to proclaim the dignity of all people and the right to shelter. We agree with Pope Francis, who said during his 2015 visit to the United States, ‘We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing.’”   The Council reports that 1.2 million households are behind on rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic and more than 237,000 eviction cases pending across the state. Advocates are gathering at the staircase outside the Legislative Office Building (172 State Street) for a rally at 11:00 a.m., after which they will enter the building and go through security. Once inside, they will have a press c...

The Capital Area Council of Churches will have a Good Friday Ecumenical Service at noon on April 15.  The service will be at First Lutheran Church, 181 Western Avenue in Albany. People can participate in person, via Zoom or on Facebook Live.   The service is being prepared by the following clergy:  - Rev. William Hinrichs – St. John’s Episcopal Church, Cohoes;  - Pastor Rebecca Richards – Trinity United Methodist Church, Albany;  - Rev. D. Lowell Chilton – First Lutheran Church, Albany;  - Rev. Charles Anthony Rogers, Sr. – First Congregational Church, Albany;  - Rev. James Kane – Director, Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.   Links to Zoom and Facebook are here .

On Monday, I got to join Rev. Peter Cook, Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches , and representatives of various faith communities for one of a series of Zoom meetings to lobby our state legislators ahead of the budget deadline this Friday. As the deadline draws closer, the Council is working diligently to ensure its legislative priorities are presented to the Governor and legislators. These meetings follow the Council’s Virtual Ecumenical and Interfaith Advocacy Day in February, an annual event that draws people from across the state. To my mind, it is one of the most informative and effective advocacy events for people of faith in New York. That may be one reason why Governor Kathy Hochul was willing to address the group. Among the issues of concern to the Council are criminal justice reform, gun violence prevention, economic development, affordable housing, education, wages, our children, environmental justice, health care, immigration, labor rights and voti...

On February 1 at 12:30 p.m., the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University will offer an on-line dialogue titled  Faith, Politics, and Policy in 2022: What Is a Faithful Agenda Now?   It will examine faith, politics, and policy in the larger Christian community in the United States.  According to the website, this dialogue will explore questions such as:   -         How are religious values, voters, voices, and voters reflected in American politics and policy choices of 2022? How are people of faith and communities of faith part of the problem, and how are they part of a way forward? -         How are religious communities seeking to shape policy decisions in the U.S. Congress and the White House? How do conflicts over abortion, voting, poverty, immigration, and religious freedom reflect impacts of faith in public life? -       ...

 In order to assist church and faith leaders discuss the importance of vaccinations in the fight against COVID, the National Council of Churches has produced a fact sheet titled  A Christian Approach to Vaccine Hesitancy   The fact sheet also provides “a scriptural basis for a compassionate response to vaccine hesitancy and provides responses to Biblical misinformation around vaccination.”   When announcing the release of the fact sheet, the Council cited research showing that church and faith leaders can successfully encourage people to get vaccinated. The fact sheet states that some religious Americans have indicated that certain religious approaches made them more likely to get vaccinated. They have responded favorably to these situations: - A religious leader encouraged them to get the vaccine.  - A member of a local religious community they trust addressed their concerns about the vaccine or got the vaccine. - A healthcare professional from a local religio...

The New York State Labor-Religion Coalition -- in conjunction with the Capital Region Poor People’s Campaign, FOCUS Churches of Albany, and Schenectady Community Ministries -- will sponsor a Truth Commission on December 7 to highlight “the continuing crisis of poverty, amplify the demands put forward by directly impacted communities, and help connect leaders and groups representing different identities, issues and regions of New York.”   According to an announcement for the virtual event, it will “gather testimony from directly impacted leaders, learn about ways communities are organizing in response, and build solidarity among the poor and dispossessed.”   Here is more: In 2017, the  Labor-Religion Coalition  organized a  Truth Commission on Poverty in New York State  that collected testimony from directly impacted New Yorkers, advocates, direct service providers, faith leaders and policy experts. The Truth Commission showed the prevalence and systemic nat...

The Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State will hold its Virtual Moral Fusion Leadership Awards on November 17 to “honor leaders who were on the front lines of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting critical needs in our communities and fighting for justice, equity, and protection for workers.”     The recipients this year are:   Mark Emanatian (Capital District Area Labor Federation) and Sister Betsy VanDeusen (Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany), who partnered with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York to coordinate hundreds of drive-through mass food distributions throughout the Capital Region during the pandemic.   Workers at Pindar Vineyards (RWDSU/UFCW Local 338), who this year became the first group of farmworkers in the state to unionize under the 2019 Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act.   Albany Medical Center Nurses (NYSNA), who won a fair first contract that offers them a stronger voice in patient care, as well as...