Friday, August 31, 2007

Issues Poll for Rainbow Peace & Justice

Peace & Justice Sunday
September 30, 2007

A. Please look over the following list of issue areas (the list is from the MCC web site: http://mcc.org/us/washington/issues/

B. Think of an imaginary budget of time and/or money. Your unit of measure may be hours or dollars.

C. Allocate your budget units among the various choices listed or fill in the blanks with headings you prefer. (Don't worry if the individual budgeted units don't add up to the total indicated in step B.)

D. Add any comments you may like and turn in your completed form to a member of the Rainbow Peace & Justice Committee AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Thank you!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Imaginary Budget: ____________ (hours or dollars), allotted as follows:

1 * Civil Rights & Civil Liberties __________
Reforming the USA Patriot Act __________
Hospitality __________
Accompaniment __________
____________________________________________________ __________

2 * Criminal Justice __________
Restorative Justice __________
Victim-Offender Reconciliation __________
Death Penalty __________
Gun Violence Prevention __________
Juvenile Justice __________
Prison reform __________
____________________________________________________ __________

3 * Environment __________
Climate Change __________
Renewable Energy __________
Air & Water Pollution __________
Eco-Justice __________
Water Privatization __________
____________________________________________________ __________

4 * Global Economic Justice __________
Economic Globalization __________
____________________________________________________ __________

5 * HIV/AIDS __________
Global AIDS __________
____________________________________________________ __________

6 * Immigration __________
New Sanctuary Movement __________
____________________________________________________ __________

7 * Militarism __________
Nuclear Weapons Control __________
Depleted Uranium Weapons __________
National Missile Shield __________
Military Recruitment __________
Veterans Affairs __________
____________________________________________________ __________

8 * Peace Issues __________
Iraq War __________
Threats Against Iran __________
____________________________________________________ __________

9 * U.S. Economic Justice __________
Nutrition/Hunger Relief __________
Housing __________
Accesss to Healthcare __________
____________________________________________________ __________

10 * Africa __________
HIV/AIDS __________
Uganda __________
Congo __________
Sudan __________
____________________________________________________ __________

11 * Asia __________
HIV/AIDS __________
Land Mines __________
North Korea __________
Vietnam __________
Laos __________
Burma __________
____________________________________________________ __________

12 * Latin America __________
Colombia __________
Haiti __________
____________________________________________________ __________

13 * Middle East __________
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict __________
Iraq War __________
Threats Against Syria __________
Lebanon __________
Jordan __________
Egypt __________
Sabeel __________
____________________________________________________ __________

14 * Rainbow High School Essay Contest __________
Similar rules to the MCC H.S. Essay Contest (see attached)

15 * Other ______________________________________________ __________
____________________________________________________ __________
____________________________________________________ __________

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Comments______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
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2007 MCC H.S. Essay Contest

http://mcc.org/us/washington/programs/essays/2007/

Purpose

  • To promote church-wide awareness of significant public policy issues by highlighting Mennonite and Brethren in Christ (BIC) youth perspectives
  • To promote youth understanding of the relationship of faith to public policy
  • To promote greater awareness of the work of MCC’s Washington Office and expand the base of Mennonite/BIC policy advocates

Guidelines

  • Contest is open to all Mennonite and Brethren in Christ youth of high school age in private or public schools, and to all youth who attend Mennonite high schools.
  • Immediate family members of current MCC staff or board members are not eligible for the contest.
  • Essays should be 1,500 - 2,000 words in length, typewritten and double-spaced. Essays must be on one of the four listed topics.
  • Each student may submit only one essay. Please keep an electronic copy of your essay.
  • A list of resources is provided with each essay topic.
  • Essays must be postmarked by November 30, 2007 and submitted to the nearest MCC U.S. regional office.
  • Each region will submit the top three essays to the MCC Washington Office for selection of the winners.
  • Prizes will be awarded as follows: 1st place essay $500; 2nd place $250 and 3rd place $100
  • The MCC Washington Office will announce winners by February 8, 2008.
  • Entries will be judged on content (demonstrated understanding of the issues), clarity (writing style) and creativity (imaginative and thoughtful policy positions).
  • Portions of the winning essays will be published in the Washington Memo.

2007 Topics

  • Sudan: How Should Christians Respond to Violent Conflict?
  • Crime & Justice: Restorative Justice v. Retributive Justice: Should Christians Take a Side?
  • Economic Justice & Immigration: How should Christians respond to U.S. trade policy in light of its direct connection with immigration to the United States?
  • Faith & Politics: Faith, Values and Voting: Christians and the 2008 Elections

MCC Regional Offices
Entries must be postmarked by November 30, 2007 and submitted to nearest MCC office:

MCC Central States
121 East 30th Street
PO Box 235
North Newton, KS, 67117
(316) 283-2720
~ ~ ~

2006 Essay Contest Winners

First Place
“Have Dominion Over the Earth”
http://mcc.org/us/washington/programs/essays/2006/first.html

Matt Thomas, Bethany Christian High School (Goshen, IN)

“God gave us these things to use. After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back.” James Watt made this famous statement regarding the use of natural resources. This Christian belief is erroneous and . . .
~ ~ ~
Second Place

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
http://mcc.org/us/washington/programs/essays/2006/second.html

Meg Kennell, Bethany Christian High School (Goshen, IN)

In the beginning, there was an endless void -- a ceaseless expanse of emptiness, a vacuum devoid of any living creature. And then God spoke. . . . But God took the risk of untying the puppet strings . . .
~ ~ ~
Third Place (Tie)

A Poverty Draft vs. Reinstatement of the Draft: Solving the Issue of Unjust Military Recruiting
http://mcc.org/us/washington/programs/essays/2006/thirda.html

Rachel Lanctot, Bethany Christian High School (Goshen, IN)

It is a common practice for Mennonites to view certain issues dealing with war or violence from a strictly pacifist mindset. . . . However, when it comes to specific issues . . .
~ ~ ~

Immigration and the American Border Policy: A Christian Response
http://mcc.org/us/washington/programs/essays/2006/thirdb.html

Hannah Roth, Bethany Christian High School (Goshen, IN)

In an age when millions of people celebrate Diversity Day as a national holiday and recognize the March on Washington as an honorable moment in history, it seems incongruous that the growing number of immigrants to the United States continue to face animosity. Today, immigration is near the top . . .
~ ~ ~
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Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Knowing too much

Working as a volunteer with inmates at a prison, sometimes it's best to not know too much. You know they are in prison, but you don't know what they did or what were the circumstances. You can just accept them at face value. No labels except they are in prison.

As you get to know each other through your volunteer organization, in my case, a men's chorus, you begin to form an image of each person based on your own personal interaction with them. Are they serious, are they always joking around, are they distant, are they too personal, etc.

Sometimes someone tells you more than you want to hear. Details about their mental health, episodes from their childhood, a vague or vivid description of their crime. What do you do with this information?

You are not trained as a priest or a counselor. You can not say, "Your sins are forgiven. Do this for penance. Go and sin no more." You can not say, "How did you feel when . . . ? Can you forgive yourself and move on with your life?"

Now a label forms in your mind. You have an easy way to describe your inmate: a bank robber, an alcoholic, a drug addict, a wife abuser, a murderer, a pedophile, a con artist, etc.

Can you ever go back and relate to your inmate as a human being, now that you have this label in your head? Must you move on to a new inmate, one you don't know as well?

Why can a little knowledge be such a dangerous thing?

Sometimes I think I would like to stay in a safe, naive, non-judgmental place. Jesus said, "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (Luke 6:37) and "I was in prison and you visited me" (Mt. 25:36).

But now I know too much. I need to grow into this knowledge and learn what to do with it.
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