COVID, Vaccines, Unemployment, School, Children, Parents, Seniors, Homeless, Isolation….. There is no end to the needs, nor a time soon for it to all be over. What we do have is our community, the church and our networks. And an opportunity to extend our arms (virtually) and embrace our neighbors. Dayspring has stepped up in so many ways and we will continue to share the concerns of one another and to work together for solutions, small and large.
Watch for announcements of upcoming House meetings. We invite everyone to join in at least one where you can listen to concerns of one another in small groups.
Feel free to email Bethany for further information, current needs, or ideas for issues.
Loving like Jesus, Acting for Justice and UNITED in Hope.
How to influence your state legislators
Request to Speak (RTS) is a tool provided by the Arizona state legislature to allow each of us to express our opinions on pending legislation. Due to COVID, there will be extremely limited opportunities to testify in person this year. Therefore, RTS will be even more important.
Step 1 – Get an RTS account – Sign up here to get your account set up – https://bit.ly/3aov6eO
Step 2 – View online training – https://www.cebv.us/rts.html
Step 3 – Log into the system and set up your account. Now you are ready to take action!
If you need additional training, you can attend a weekly online class – https://bit.ly/3czPHiW
Reach out to a member of the Dayspring Church and Society team if you need help or have questions.
Hunger & Poverty in the U.S.
Despite a growing economy and the immense wealth of the United States, many communities, families and individuals continue to struggle with poverty and hunger.
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
-Jesus
The persistence of poverty and hunger in the shadow of glorified riches lies in stark contrast to a faithful vision of our common life together.
While churches respond to immediate needs by providing food, clothing and shelter, we are called also to challenge the systems and practices that have led to economic inequality, poverty and hunger. In relationship with people impacted by our broken economic system, we can together give life to a new vision – one that embraces God’s economy of abundance and ensures that all God’s children have the opportunity to thrive.
-General Board of Church & Society
What can you do?
- Share your knowledge and connections.
- Engage and listen.
- Learn about the issues and be a voice in the election here.
- Attend VIP Civic Academies addressing key issues in September via Zoom.
- Join the non-partisan VIP Voter Engagement Team to share information and encourage voting here.
- Learn about our partner schools and opportunities for support through Dayspring. (see below)
This short video can remind us of our calling:
The Poor People’s Campaign
Regardless of our political affiliation, all of us can acknowledge the challenges that millions of poor and low-wealth people confront each day—challenges which severely limit their prospects to flourish and in many cases to even survive. While politicians of both parties express concerns for the problems faced by middle class families, we hear very little about the issues confronting more than 140 million poor and low-wealth Americans.
Better politics and politicians aren’t sufficient for addressing the hardships that so many American families confront. As Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a half century ago, our nation must undergo a “radical revolution of values.”
A new “moral fusion” movement, the “Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival” has responded with a renewed call for a values revolution. The Campaign has issued this invitation:
If you believe it’s time to rise, join us!
We rise to demand that the 140 million poor and low-income people in our nation — from every race, creed, color, sexuality and place — are no longer ignored, dismissed or pushed to the margins of our political and social agenda.
We rise not as left or right, Democrat or Republican, but as a moral fusion movement to build power, build moral activism, build voter participation…
We rise to change the moral narrative and demand an end to the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy/militarism and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.
We rise to challenge the lie of scarcity in the midst of abundance.
We rise to lift the voices and faces of poor and low-income Americans and their moral allies with a new vision of love, justice, and truth for America that says poverty can be abolished and change can come.
If you’re interested in a revolution of values, you can learn more at PoorPeoplesCampaign.org
Small Steps Toward Sustainability
