2021 Federal Advocacy Week, May 23-30
Betsy Comstock and Lynne Osborn, for the Mission, Outreach, and Advocacy Team
As Christians we are called to follow Jesus. Part of that call is to acts of mercy – giving comfort and physical care to those in need. But we also believe we are called to follow a more politically visionary Jesus, a Jesus who was all about challenging authority to bring about a more just world for everyone. He broke unjust and unloving laws, defied Roman and religious authorities, included sinners and marginalized people in his inner circle, upended the economic system, practiced radical nonviolence, and reimagined what it meant to be God’s people.
Such activism is not the place to be practical. It’s the place to be aspirational, to advocate for a world that is more just and loving for all.
This year, Mission, Outreach, and Advocacy invites your participation in our Federal Advocacy Week, May 23 – 30. There are many important issues before our nation, and we expect that each person in our St. Matthew’s community has their own unique and heartfelt concerns. Please follow these 8 steps as we advocate together for a better society.
1.Pray to find the issue about which you care most deeply.
2.Discern what the Holy Spirit inspires you to say – what your message is.
| Maybe you’re concerned about | You know best what you want to say, but here are a few examples |
| Attacks on our Democracy | Thank your Representative for passage of the “For the People Act of 2021” to protect voting rights. Urge Senators to do so, too. |
| Care for the Earth | Thank President Biden for rejoining the Paris climate agreement and for setting aggressive goals for reducing greenhouse gases. |
| Equal Rights | Revive the Equal Rights Amendment. |
| Families | Cut child poverty by making child tax credits permanent. |
| Food Insecurity | Urge support for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Bill to ensure that all children in our country have the nutritious food they need. |
| Gun Violence | Ban assault weapons and other militarized firearms, support background checks, repeal the 2nd amendment. |
| Immigration | Urge full, fair inclusion of immigrants, protect DACA and TPS recipients. |
| Pandemic | Thank President Biden for getting vaccines into so many arms so quickly. |
| Racism | Thank your Representative for passage of the George Floyd Act; urge Senators to do so, too. Celebrate the make-up of the Cabinet that “looks like America.” |
3. Prepare your message for telephone or website in a format such as this:
Phone call beginning:
Don’t worry if your message goes to voicemail – aides will listen to it and tally your input just the same.
“Hello, my name is_____________. I’m a constituent from (town), Massachusetts, (Zip Code).
I am calling about (state your ONE issue)___.
Website beginning:
If you prefer to enter your message using the form on officials’ websites, you will be asked to enter your name and address, and to choose from a list of topics (so aides can group your comment with others on the topic).
Message (for both phone and website):
“I strongly urge ___(President/Senator/Representative…)______ to please ______(state what you ask them to do)___________________________________________.
This is important to me because ________{give a personal anecdote or reason you feel the way you do) _______. (If the person has supported your issue in the past, thank them for doing so.)
Thank you very much.”
4. Locate your Congresspeople and/or the President:
| The White House, President Biden | 202-456-1111 | www.whitehouse.gov/contact |
| U.S. Senators | ||
| Edward Markey | 202-224-2742 | www.markey.senate.gov/contact |
| Elizabeth Warren | 202-224-4543 | www.warren.senate.gov/contact |
| U.S. Representative | ||
| Speaker Nancy Pelosi | 202-225-4965 | www.speaker.gov/contact |
| Lori Trahan, MA 3rd District | 202-225-3411 | https://trahan.house.gov/contact/ |
Massachusetts 3rd Congressional District is shown here. 
If you don’t live in this District, find your Representative here: www.house.gov/representatives
5. Do it! You don’t have to be a citizen, an adult, or a voter – federal officials represent you, too, and can only do so properly when they know your concerns.
6. Take a selfie with a 1-3 word sign indicating what your message was about.
7. Send the selfie by May 30th to comstock@comcast.net. We’ll assemble them to be shown on June 6, when Jinwoo will bless our Federal Advocacy messages. We assume that if you send a selfie, we have permission to share it online.
8. Pray that your voice helped in some small way to bring about God’s vision for our world.
Thank you in advance for joining our 2021 Advocacy Week.