Read floor letter in support of the bill from EMO's Executive Director David Leslie
Read Report on the 2009 Session of the Oregon Legislature
Addressing the root causes of poverty with a focus on community and family stability
Read EMO's 2009 Legislative Priorities.
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is sending a letter to the Oregon State Senate in support SB 966 which establishes a Family Leave Insurance program. Family leave insurance makes it possible for low-wage workers to take time when they have a new child or when an elderly parent, child or other family member is ill, and it does so without any significant cost to the state budget or to employers. Family leave insurance simply makes it financially possible for workers to take advantage of the benefits they are already entitled to under the Oregon Family Leave Act. Please sign-on to this letter by sending an e-mail to Kevin Finney at kfinney@emoregon.org. Read the full letter.
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is committed to bringing the voices of people of faith in the policy-making process at the Oregon Legislature and beyond. Our advocacy is designed to create systems, institutions and public policies that promote peace, justice and a life of possibility for all people. A full statement of the Social Principles that guide Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is available on our Web site at http://www.emoregon.org/pdfs/Statement_of_Social_Principles.PDF
The goal of our public policy advocacy program is to empower people of faith with the tools they need to put their faith into action. A central focus of our advocacy work is to be a voice for those who live in poverty and a voice for civil rights and social justice. We advocate for housing, health care, and hunger relief as fundamental human rights. We believe that the scriptural mandate to "love your neighbor as you love yourself" calls us to acknowledge the dignity of all people and to resist the denigration of any person or group in our society. We also hear a biblical call to environmental stewardship, and believe we have a moral obligation to ensure that the earth and its natural resources are available for our children and their children for many generations into the future.
Throughout 2009, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon will be at the Capitol monitoring legislation and advocating for policies that are consistent with these moral principles. Through our advocacy network, we will provide parishioners with timely information on legislation, key votes and opportunities to meet with legislators and participate in rallies. We will also help arrange meetings with legislators on behalf of local congregations or clergy. We encourage you to invite our public policy staff to meet with your members to discuss issues of social concern.
"You are called to raise up the foundations, to repair the breaches, to restore the streets to live in." Isaiah 58:12
