Fwd: The #MoralTakeover is underway! Good news & Call for Support
Linda Holtzman
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sheila Armstrong (POWER) <in...@powerphiladelphia.org>
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Subject: The #MoralTakeover is underway! Good news & Call for Support
To: rabbil...@gmail.com
Dear Linda,
I'm writing with updates from Harrisburg and news of powerful things God is doing here.
Since Saturday, around 20 POWER leaders, including my two sons and 5 nieces and nephews, have been fasting from sun-up to sundown on the steps of the PA Capitol building through wind, rain, and hot sun.
We're here until June 30th in a "Moral Takeover" to ensure that in the final hour of budget negotiations, lawmakers know peope of faith are watching and that we stand our ground about the need for a fully funded, equitable education system in Pennsylvania.
Since Saturday, when hundreds of people got on the bus to bless our fast, and pray for our communities and country in these hard times, this space has truly been made holy.
Yesterday, we announced our presence by taking a "Jericho Walk" through the Capitol. Then we brought our song and prayer into the legislative chamber itself: clergy and lay people from the UCC, many from Old First in Philly, dropped a banner from the balcony of the House of Representatives during their session while singing the spiritual "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho." The banner, which said, "Our prayer is for you to fully fund our schools", was confiscated - but many members of the legislature sang and clapped along. For a look into more of what's going on, check out this social media summary (click here).
Those of us overnight in Harrisburg may be on the "front lines", but we are all in this together. If you have our backs, here are four ways to contribute to this fight:
- Come to a phone bank in Philly. You'll contact people in key counties and and connect them to their legislators so they can say they stand with for a moral budget that fully funds education. Upcoming phonebanks will be held from 6-9PM in the POWER office (1429 N. 11th St) on Thursday June 25th and Tuesday, June 30th. Click here to RSVP.
- Ask your legislator to let us stay on the top steps of the Capitol. We've been asked by Capitol Police to move our tents further down on the Capitol steps from where we first erected them. Where we've had to move is not handicap-accessible and doesn't allow us to talk with lawmakers easily. We need our representatives to tell security we have the right to be at the top of the steps and that they support us. Click here to find your legislator's info to call their office now. Leave a message, and call again first thing tomorrow.
- Join us in Harrisburg for a day or more. Everyone is welcome to join the fast any day, even if you are not a member of the faith group leading action for that day. You may skip lunch to fast with us, or simply be with us in solidarity. We're staying strong but need more people to join us to show (and feel) how powerful we really are. You're welcome to stay with us at the church across the street from the Capitol where we sleep and break fast every evening at 8PM. Email Cecily Harwitt at charwitt@powerphiladelphia with questions or to say you're coming.
- Donate to the fast. We need to get supplies each day to keep us going and to reach legislators as effectively as possible. Give to our GoFundMe today to help raise $5000 for our efforts and share it with your friends!
Finally, I am overjoyed to break some great news.
Last week, the Basic Education Funding Commission came out with their recommendations for a funding formula - and there is no sign of racial bias! This means we've won the first part of our fight to get the Commission to propose a fair funding formula that addresses systemic racism in our funding system. We should feel extremly proud and celebrate this victory.
But here's the catch: the formula will only create equitable funding if it is applied to the entire budget for classroom spending, instead of just new money. As of now, the Legislature is considering applying the formula just to relatively small increases, not the "whole pot", and wants to wait another year before applying it. We need this formula implemented in the 2015-16 school year - our children can't suffer another year of underfunding when districts are already starving. Click here to read our full statement from our Education Strategy Team.
That's why we need to keep the #MoralTakeover growing.
So far, we've had many transformational conversations with legislators who stop by our tents, even those who we would not expect to support us. Even when we disagree about how to solve our problems, God is present with us as we pray with them for their moral leadership, wisdom, and courage. Many Harrisburg locals or visitors to the Capitol have also stopped by and told us about their own worries about whether their child will get a good education, and add their story to the paper hands that we hang on our tents.
Keep praying for us. To say strong, we're singing, sharing from our faith, having fun, and refuting the myth of scarcity everywhere we find it. We hope we'll see you in Harrisburg before June 30th to join us in this incredible moment. But if you can't make it, there's still tons you can do from home. Keep calling your legislators. Get to the phone banks. Post on social media that you support the #MoralTakeover (Tweet us at @powerinterfaith).
I'll see you when we return, and in the meantime, I pray you much peace!
Sheila Armstrong
Education Strategy Team Co-Chair
Parent Leader at Spring Garden Elementary School
