Faith Advocacy Day 2008


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On Tuesday, January 29th, approximately 175 people of faith braved ominous weather reports and gathered in Olympia for Faith Advocacy Day.

Over the past several years the day, organized by the Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State, has grown from a smaller, exclusively Lutheran event, to a larger ecumenical witness co-sponsored by Earth Ministry, Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy and the Washington Association of Churches among others.

Attendees began the day with worship at Olympia’s Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, followed by a legislative update and advocacy tips from the Rev. Paul Benz, Director of the Lutheran Public Public Policy Office, as well as attending briefing sessions on a wide variety of social justice issues before the legislature.

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In his morning sermon, Darel Grothaus, Interim Executive Director of the Washington Association of Churches, spoke to the necessity of working for systemic justice. “How do we give a cup of cold water when the waterworks has broken down?” he asked. For him, the answer is justice. “When the waterworks breaks down we work, we pray, we organize for justice to reconstruct waterworks that will deliver pure, cold water to our thirsty brothers and sisters and thus to Jesus.”

The day’s commitment to advocating for justice was evident in the issues highlighted in the morning briefing sessions and throughout the day. Legislative items included a Working Families Tax Credit (HB 3235, SB 6526), a $100 million dollar expansion of the Housing Trust Fund, Local Farms / Healthy Kids (HB 2798, SB 6483), and the full elimination of the co-pay on all school lunches.

In the afternoon, the program moved to the Capitol Campus. In the capitol rotunda, Representatives Mark Miloscia and Maureen Walsh and Senator Dan Swecker spoke to the group about their perspectives and priorities for the 2008 legislative session. Elsewhere on campus, advocates took part in nearly 50 visits with legislators and aides, while still more dropped off notes and information to the offices of their legislators.