wfn.org | NCCUSA, Communions' Public Policy Goals

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the 
U.S.A.
Contact: Carol Fouke, NCC News,212-870-2252
Internet: news@ncccusa.org

NCC12/5/97      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC, COMMUNION PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCATES OUTLINE 1998 
GOALS

 WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 5 ---- Public policy 
advocates for the National Council of Churches and 
its member denominations spent an intensive three 
days working on their 1998 common goals in four 
areas: reducing poverty, fostering racial justice, 
protecting religious liberty, and promoting peace 
and human rights.

 As the nearly 60 leaders in public policy 
ministries representing the "mainline" church 
community sought to find a focus among the dizzying 
array of current and pending legislative initiatives 
affecting their four priorities, one "crossover" 
theme emerged: public education.

 "It touches immigration, race, poverty - 
virtually every issue we've said is among our 
priorities," commented the Rev. Dr. Joan B. 
Campbell, the NCC's General Secretary, as the 
conference drew to a close.  

Advocates expressed their concurrence by citing 
horror stories of Philadelphia schools without 
books, New York City's use of school bathrooms as 
classrooms, a $1.5 million shortfall for public 
education in one Virginia county after the state 
eliminated the car tax, enormous disparities between 
schools in affluent and poor communities, ongoing 
confusion about appropriate religious expression in 
public schools, and more.

 The Dec. 3-5 conference was the advocates' 
second annual "working session on how churches 
engage in public policy advocacy from our heritage 
of faith," said the Rev. Dr. Albert Pennybacker, NCC 
Associate General Secretary for Public Policy.  

The conference committee's chair, the Rev. Dr. 
Paul Sherry, President of the United Church of 
Christ, said the goal of the nearly 60 participants 
from the "mainline" churches is to  build better 
public pressure on national and state governments 
"on critical issues facing our society."

 Points that the group identified for common 
work included the following:

 On "Reducing Poverty":* Collection and 
publication of research, including both hard data 
and stories, on the "hidden" impact of welfare and 
immigration reform.  Advocates said their social 
service organizations report increasingly heavy 
demands for food assistance and growing despair 
among persons losing public benefits.  * The need 
for much more job training, child care and 
transportation assistance for persons moving off 
welfare to work.  * Active ecumenical support for 
Hunger Has a Cure legislation.

 "Giving people jobs that do not help them get 
out of poverty must be challenged," Dr. Campbell 
said.  

 The group also agreed to accept a challenge put 
to them at their opening session by U.S. Secretary 
of Labor Alexis Herman.  She urged mainline 
Protestant and Orthodox churches to join the "No 
Sweat" campaign against sweatshop-like conditions 
especially in the U.S. garment industry.  "You can 
make an enormous contribution by just asking the 
question" of under what condition the school 
uniforms and other goods denominations and their 
institutions use were made, she said.

 On "Racial Justice":  * Vigilance against, and 
correction of, decisions on environment that 
inordinately harm poor people and people of color.  
* Advocacy for fair treatment of immigrants and 
refugees.  * Opposition to H.R. 1909, which was 
described as the "federalization" of the anti-
affirmative action Proposition 209 approved in 
California;  * Pressure on the U.S. Senate to move 
the Bill Lann Lee nomination as Assistant Attorney 
General for Civil Rights forward to the full Senate 
for confirmation,  * Work to defeat Juvenile Repeat 
Offenders Legislation, which is "punitive only" with 
no rehabilitation component.  * Perseverance in work 
to educate, register and turn out voters.

 Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the 
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, addressed the 
conference, and urged  extension of the President's 
Race Initiative through 2000.  He also urged that 
they give enforcement of existing civil rights laws 
a top priority.

 On "Religious Liberty":  * Support of Religious 
Freedom Restoration Acts at the state level, along 
with a newly formulated federal "RFRA II."  * 
Support for and enforcement of the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act, which would protect workers 
against discrimination because of their sexual 
orientation.  * Opposition for the "Istook 
Amendment" to the Constitution.  * Continued 
advocacy for alternatives to the "Wolf-Spector" 
religious persecution bill, which, they contended, 
"could be extremely dangerous for our brothers and 
sisters around the world."  * Support for the 
Workplace Religious Freedom Act.

On "Peace and Human Rights": * Continued work 
for a ban on anti-personnel landmines.  * Support of 
the Jubilee 2000 campaign for debt relief for poor 
nations.  * U.S. payment of its dues to the United 
Nations.  * "New energy" to lift the embargo against 
Cuba.

 In general, the representatives encouraged an 
active partnership with regional and local 
ecumenical bodies.  They took steps toward 
appointing a planning group on advocacy-related 
media strategy, and resolved to continue efforts to 
rebuild a national advocacy network among the NCC's 
member communions.

-end-
 -0-