ELCA Advocacy Update – June 2016 – Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rahway NJ

Today, we present our ELCA Advocacy Update for the month of June. Please read below for important information on ELCA Advocacy efforts in Washington, across the country and throughout the world. To read the full version of the update and for more information on advocacy efforts from our Lutheran State Advocacy offices, visit our blog!

ELCA Advocacy, Washington D.C.

CENTRAL AMERICA BLOG SERIES: Gettysburg seminarians traveled to Honduras and Guatemala earlier this year to better understand the conditions driving so many Central Americans to leave their communities. Several of the students shared their experiences with ELCA Advocacy in a three-part blog series released last month. Each entry highlights something the author learned when they met individuals from communities the ELCA accompanies or is in relationship with. These reflections show the amazing power that individuals have to move from accompaniment to action by walking and advocating alongside affected communities. Help share the series now on the ELCA Advocacy Blog!

PRESSURE BUILDS ON FLINT, MICH: After months of divisive debate, members of Congress are still working to pass legislation to provide emergency aid for Flint, Mich. Flint’s residents have spent nearly three years dealing with lead contamination in their water. The U.S. Senate at the beginning of May proposed substantial federal funding for Flint in the draft Water Resources Development Act. Sen. Jim Inhofe’s, R-Okla., bill would enable federal resources to help Flint fix its failing water infrastructure and assist other cities facing similar crises. ELCA Advocacy sent an action alert on Flint in early May as President Obama was visiting the city, but action is still needed to prompt Congress to act. Take action now!

SOUTHEASTERN SYNOD LAUNCHES NEW ADVOCACY OFFICE: The Southeastern Synod celebrated the opening the newest ELCA state public policy office during Southeast Synod Assembly in May. John Johnson, ELCA program director for domestic policy, was invited to make the announcement during Bishop Julian Gordy’s synod address. The Southeast Synod Advocacy Office will receive an initial grant of $30,000 to begin the coordinating work of this first regional (states include Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama) to address hunger and poverty and to equip ELCA members for advocacy.

Lutheran Office for World Community, New York, N.Y.

LUTHERAN PARTICIPATION IN HIV and AIDS “LOBBY WEEK”: In preparation for the High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS (June 8-10), members of the United Nations are negotiating the text of the “2016 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS.” Every five years this declaration, outlining a political framework for ending the AIDS epidemic, is drafted and considered by the members. From May 16 to May 20, the Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC) participated in a civil society-led “Lobby Week” to ensure that key components of the AIDS response are included in the document. These components include: the inclusion of “key populations” (men who have sex with men, sex workers, drug users, transgender people and prisoners), using sex education as a tool for HIV prevention, and integrating sexual and reproductive health into the AIDS response. During the week, LOWC met with a number of governments that are providing forward-thinking leadership in these negotiations and reminded them of the HIV-related statements and positions of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance – a global network of churches of which the ELCA is a member. This culminated in LOWC Program Associate Nicholas Jaech making a formal intervention on behalf of the alliance at a U.N. briefing on the declaration. LOWC will continue to follow the negotiations and will participate in the AIDS and HIV meeting.

BRIEFING ON THE REFUGEE CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA: On May 19, Charlotte Mildenberger, a new program associate at LOWC, attended a meeting at the International Peace Institute addressing the refugee situation in Ethiopia. Speaking at this event was Clementine Awu Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Ethiopia. She noted the grave situation in Ethiopia: As of April 30, the refugee population has risen to 734,931. This number includes refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and other nationalities. In addition, the number of unaccompanied minors and separated children is 38,422. There have been some strides in education of refugee children – a total of 153,589 (86,981 males and 66,608 females) have been enrolled in schools within and outside the refugee camps, marking an increase of 16 percent in the average gross enrollment rate from the same time last year. However, school attendance in some of the camps in Gambela showed a marked decrease during the fourth quarter of April following the recent security incidents in the region. LOWC will continue to monitor the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia at forums and briefings at the United Nations.