Annual Report 2017-2018

OREGON COALITION OF CHRISTIAN VOICES:  

OUR ANNUAL REPORT TO YOU

 

“A Christian’s commitment to justice is not some merely political phenomenon.  It is not a function of party or ideology, whether of the right or left.  It is a matter, ultimately of faith in the words of Jesus in the Gospels.  Whatever we do to the least of our brothers and sisters, we do to him.”

John Kavanaugh in Following Christ in a Consumer Society.

  

OCCV entered its twelfth year in 2017, seeking to stay true to the work we are called to do, motivated by our faith to advocate for social and economic justice for all.  If we take seriously that all are created in the very image of God, each person imbued with inherent dignity and worth, it is imperative that we work for laws and policies that protect and nourish the well-being of all.  We confess we fall short in that effort, yet stay committed to more fully living out of the reality of what Jesus said; however you treat those who are hungry, naked, homeless, imprisoned, that’s how you are treating me.  

In the attached report, we reflect on our work from July 2017-June 2018.  We hold ourselves accountable for staying true to our mission of seeking a society that reflects God’s desire for how we live connected to each other, caring for each other, transcending partisan ideologies as we advocate for policies and laws protecting the most vulnerable.  We also hold ourselves accountable to our supporters and those with whom we collaborate, to be good stewards of the trust placed in us.  Most of all, we hold ourselves accountable to being faithful to God’s calling for us as an organization, and as individuals.

“I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.”

“And they asked, when did we do these things? 

“I’m telling you the solemn truth; Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.”  Jesus (The Message) 





OCCV ANNUAL REPORT:  JULY 2017-JUNE 2018

LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES

During the 2018 legislative short session, OCCV stayed true to its calling to advocate for legislation protecting the most vulnerable people in Oregon.  Although it was a short session, there were significant pieces of legislation being considered.  We endorsed a number of those bills, and actively advocated by giving testimony at hearings, writing endorsements, and participating in lobby days.  Following are the major activities during the session:

  • OCCV and Interfaith Alliance on Poverty co-sponsored a letter supporting HB2830, which would have increased the corporate excise tax rates.  We personally delivered the letter to each legislator early in the session.  Unfortunately that bill did not pass.

  • We strongly advocated for HB2004, a bill that would have given relief for lower-income renters. Despite the crisis in affordable housing, the efforts of housing advocate groups and support from many state and local officials, even a watered-down bill did not pass.

  • We advocated for SB 558 which extended health insurance to all children regardless of immigration status, whose families earn up to 300% of federal poverty level.  This bill passed.

  • We endorsed, and were pleased that the gun safety bill passed that prohibits a person who presents a risk to self or others from possessing a deadly weapon.  Other gun safety bills we endorsed did not pass.

  • OCCV continues to be engaged in advocating for environmental justice legislation, endorsed two bills, one to reduce diesel emissions, and the other to transition to a clean energy economy.  Neither bill passed.

In addition to legislative activities, OCCV endorsed and authored a voter pamphlet statement in support of M101, which was voted on in a special election in January 2018.  The bill provided for assessments to fund health care for low-income people and to stabilize health insurance premiums.  This measure passed.

During the first half of 2018, several initiatives qualified for ballot measures, four of which are of great concern to OCCV, due to the effect they potentially have on those most in need.  We are taking action on those measures as follows:

  • M102:  OCCV is endorsing this measure which would change Oregon law in such a way that would provide for more affordable housing.  We signed a Faith Leaders statement for the voter pamphlet, supporting the measure.  We are also endorsing a local bond measure that would provide additional funding for affordable housing.

  • M103:  OCCV takes a strong position in opposition to this measure, which would ban taxes on food-related industries, and would reduce the ability of the state to raise revenue to meet the most urgent needs of its citizens.  Board member John Calhoun wrote a position statement in opposition to M103, which we’ve shared with other groups, sent to our mail list and posted on social media.  OCCV also authored a voter pamphlet statement, coordinated by Defend Oregon and signed by faith leaders.   

  • M104:   OCCV is strongly opposing this measure, a Constitutional Amendment which would make it difficult to raise needed revenue for the most vulnerable.  As in M103, John Calhoun wrote the position paper stating the reasons for our opposition, and which we disseminated  to our various audiences.

  • M105:  This deeply concerning measure would repeal Oregon’s sanctuary law, and is widely opposed by faith and social justice organizations.  John authored our position paper in opposition to this measure.  Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and OCCV jointly signed a voter pamphlet statement in opposition to M105.

EVENTS

OCCV held its fourth legislative forum in January 2018, prior to the short session, with co-sponsors, Interfaith Alliance on Poverty, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.   This event continues to be well-received by both legislators and participants, with over 60 people attending.  We heard from our legislators about the upcoming session and what opportunities the faith community would have to engage, and were able to advocate to them for our priorities.  Thanks to John Calhoun’s efforts, six legislators attended and spoke, including Senate Majority leader Ginny Burdick and House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson.  We also had representatives from three partner organizations speaking about and advocating for legislation on energy, tax reform and housing.

In August 2017, OCCV and three partner groups organized and hosted a potluck to bring together social justice advocates from various organizations, to network and identify areas of collaboration.  We had a good turnout of people sharing their stories and encouraging one another in the work we all do. Both this event and the forum were held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and we are grateful for their hospitality.   

OCCV was again this year involved in the planning and program for the annual Faith Labor breakfast sponsored by Jobs with Justice.  This event, held in February 2018, continues to be an opportunity to express our faith inspired commitment to the rights and dignity of workers.

CHANGES AND ENHANCEMENTS

OCCV is committed to staying relevant in our message and in how we effectively communicate who we are, and what we believe is our calling.  The changes and enhancements made over this last year included the following:

  • We are grateful for the work of our volunteer, Lucas Kibby, who brought passion for the work of OCCV and his considerable skills in marketing and in website and social media design.  Luke completed a major overhaul of our website, designing the format for various publications as well as contributing to the content.  He has encouraged us all to make better use of social media to spread our message.

  • As we became more aware of how the loss of worker rights contributes to income inequality, we felt our faith called us to write a position statement in support of labor unions.  Our position reflects our belief that unions are crucial to standing up for the God-ordained right to a living wage, safe working conditions and a voice in the workplace.

  • OCCV continues to develop new partnerships with groups who share our advocacy for policies and programs benefiting our most vulnerable citizens.  Given that we are part of various coalitions who support and collaborate together, we decided to change our name from Oregon Center for Christian Voices, to Oregon Coalition of Christian Voices. We are grateful to be one of many voices, all seeking to bring Christ’s kingdom to earth.  We are also grateful to one of our founders, Adam Rose, whose law firm  donated the time and expertise required for the name change.

  • We were pleased to add a new board member, David Groff.  David is co-chair of the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty, one of our close partner organizations.  He brings a faith-inspired passion to our work, and wisdom and experience in social justice activism.    

BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS

We are grateful for the steadfast financial support of a small group of donors who trust us to speak prophetically to a society and to political leaders on behalf of those most at risk, and those whose most basic needs are often ignored when policies and laws are made.  Our commitment to our supporters is to be good stewards of those resources by keeping our expenses well within our available assets, and to keep our focus on the work we are called to do together.  We are also grateful to those who may not be able to give, but who support our work through their prayers and involvement in our advocacy.

We keep our expenses within our budget by relying on volunteers for most of the work we do.  Our activist board spends countless hours in advocacy work, keeping the faith voice relevant and effective in our many collaborative efforts and in our work on legislation.  We are fortunate to have a paid office manager, Amanda Larriva tending to administrative functions and overseeing our publications and media presence.  Amanda continues to effectively maintain these functions within her 10 hours a week schedule.

 

PARTNERSHIPS

One of the great lessons we’ve learned over the last few years is how critical it is to collaborate with other groups, many of whom have been doing advocacy work longer then we have.  In choosing our partnerships we are guided by how their work aligns with our priorities. We partner with organizations some of whom are both faith-based, some not, but all of whom are doing what we believe is the work of the Kingdom, acting out of a moral imperative on behalf of the marginalized and those most at risk.

 Many of these groups have expertise and experience in areas where we do not, and it is privilege to support them in their work.  We are stronger and more effective when we are in coalition with others who share our faith-inspired vision for healthier people and communities, and for just laws that consider the needs of all the citizens of Oregon.  We are grateful and proud to be partners with the following groups, formally endorsing and being members of their organizations, and by actively serving with many of them in our joint efforts:  

Faith Labor Committee of Jobs with Justice;  Wage Theft Coalition;  Tax Fairness Oregon;   Housing Alliance of Oregon;  Children First for Oregon;  Interfaith Alliance on Poverty;  Oregonians Against the Death Penalty;  Human Services Coalition of Oregon;  Health Care for All Oregonians; Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon;  Spirit Led Alliance;  Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice. 

THE WAY FORWARD

“The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.”  John 1:5 (The Message)

The way forward for all people of faith is to walk in the light, be the light, reflecting the Life-Light of Christ.  Our calling is to hope and resolve, undeterred by darkness, to see the need of the most at risk in our communities, come alongside, and advocate for their dignity and well-being.  

OCCV will continue to focus on issues of poverty, health care, racial justice, fair economic systems,  environmental stewardship.  We are giving particular focus to income inequality, seeing it as a root cause of our society’s failure to assure that all our citizens have the means to provide for basic needs.  Anything less than the opportunity for all to thrive is a violation of what God intends for his beloved community. 

OCCV will continue to seek ways to engage people of faith in advocacy for those most in need, through educational forums and opportunities to be involved.  We will continue to look for ways to expand our collaboration with other organizations who share our vision and values, and who are doing good work in their advocacy and actions. 

We are looking forward to an important 2019 legislative session, where much is at stake for those most at risk.  We will be active as an organization and with partners during the session, bringing light and speaking prophetically to our lawmakers about the moral imperative to consider the impact of their decisions on those whose voices are often not heard, whose most basic needs are often not addressed.  We will exhort people of faith to view their political positions not through the lens of a partisan ideology, but through the eyes of Christ.  As was said in a sermon recently, “What if every vote you cast expressed God’s love?”  Amen, and may it be so!