Collegium Meets With Governor, Legislative Leaders

It was a bright and chilly day – no snow.  February 4th was just the kind of day for winter travel.  And travel they did from all parts of the state to meet in Albany with the Governor and legislative leaders – from Rochester, Long Island, Syracuse, Buffalo, New York City and the Hudson Valley.  Continuing a decade long practice of the bishops and executives of NYSCC member denominations meeting with the Governor, the 2008 event was the best attended ever. Members of the Collegium and the chaplains who were their guests represented the following denominations: American Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church USA, Reformed Church in America, Religious Society of Friends, United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church.

The day began with a briefing at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 10:00am.  Those attending were briefed on poverty, health care, criminal justice and chaplaincy issues that they would be discussing in afternoon meetings.  They also received packets including background information about these issues.

The meetings began after lunch.  First there was a short meeting with Senate Majority Leader Bruno and Senator Dale Volker.  This was followed by the meeting with the Governor.  He brought with him to the meeting his Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, Michael Balboni, and Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, Marty Mack. Follow-up meetings are being planned.

At the meeting the group thanked the Governor for his commitment to quality education for children everywhere in the state and made clear their hope that he will be able to move forward on the state’s responsibility for seeing that decisions of the court case become a reality.  They also thanked him for trying to do the moral thing in asking for driver licenses for undocumented immigrants.

During the poverty/economic justice discussion, they pointed out that a budget is a moral document, stating clearly who we are and what we value.  Since this often means choices between who will benefit and who will be hurt, between giving in to powerful forces and doing what you know in your heart is the right thing, they expressed particular concern about the gap between rich and poor, and the increasing numbers of working poor who come to church food pantries and soup kitchens.  These situations have implications for both assistance the state makes available to low income households and to tax policy.

As other years, criminal justice issues were a concern for these leaders, who are aware of the research about best practices in the field. They assured the Governor of our support as he tries to build a criminal justice system that does what its name implies – corrects or rehabilitates.  They pointed out several issues they have worked on for a number of years which have a goal of  helping those released become productive members of safe communities.

• Because education is tied so closely to recidivism, they promoted the restoration of TAP funding for those serving time.
• Because, as our chaplains report, what  gives those in prison hope and incentive is that they will be paroled. Until recently there was a trend to only consider the original crime when making decisions about release. In 2005 we met with the entire parole board to make known our feelings about also giving consideration to what people have done to rehabilitate themselves while incarcerated.
• Because we want to see those released make a successful transition from prison to community, the NYSCC has been working to remove the roadblocks  to making that possible – such as promoting enrollment in Medicaid 90 days before release so the person does not have to use the emergency room, go without needed health care or recommit in order to get needed care.

The  issues discussed were ones that affect large numbers of New Yorkers, especially the least, the lost and those most unlikely to receive attention amid a myriad of clamoring interests.
 

Collegium Peace and Poverty Mission 2008

In April the Collegium will travel to Capitol Hill for their 8th Annual Peace and Poverty Mission.  The dates will be Monday, the 14th to Wednesday, the 16th. .

In 2007, one of the highlights of the event was the first evening in which everyone gathered for a time of contemplation, clarity, discernment, and grounding their witness in scripture.  This year such a gathering will follow dinner on the first day of the event

Briefings, as in previous years, will be held in the National Council of Churches Conference Room located in the Methodist Building located on Capitol Hill.  The first briefing will begin at 1:00pm  on Monday and the second on Tuesday at 9:00am.  Briefers are from the denominational offices in DC.  They make presentations on issues identified by the Collegium, bringing them up to date on the latest action or inaction on the issues they wish to address.

Tuesday afternoon and as long on Wednesday as participants can stay is reserved for pre-arranged visits with New York legislators.  Usually the entire group meets with the Senators and break up into small groups according to congressional district and interest area to meet with New York legislators on committees dealing with issues we are addressing during this mission.
 
Those who attend will again be staying at the Capitol Hill Suites at 2nd and C Streets.  This hotel is on Capitol Hill and is only a short walk from the Methodist Building and both Senate and House Office Buildings.  

Web Site Has a New Look

If you go to www.nyscoc.org, you'll see a new look. The goal was a cleaner, user-friendly three-column style built around the NYSCC logo. Here’s a guided tour of our new home page:

The left column introduces visitors instantly to who we are by listing supporting judicatories. The listed judicatories and denominations are linked to their respective internet home pages. This makes the NYSCC a convenient starting place for anyone who wants to reach judicatories online.

The middle column contains news and archives, including current advocacy appeals as they are developed. A new feature is that artifacts of past advocacy efforts, such as legislative testimony, will now be archived for historical and reference purposes.  

The right column holds those useful links that used to clutter the top of the site: Disaster Resources, Issue Briefs, Photo Gallery (a work in progress) and Driving Directions. Also new are two brand new features –

GoodSearch and GoodShop for NYSCC

Do you use the search engine when you’re on-line? Do you ever shop on-line? You can help The New York State Council of Churches just by doing these things..

What if The New York State Council of Churches earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Target, Gap, Best Buy, eBay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you'll be supporting your favorite cause.

Just click the GoodSearch button on our home page or go to www.goodsearch.com, and be sure to enter The New York State Council of Churches as the organization you want to support. Also, be sure to spread the word!

If you want to get or update your email address on our mailing list
 
If you happen to be reading the print edition of this newsletter, it’s because the NYSCC does not have your email address on file. On the other hand, you may want to update to a new email address. The home page of www.nyscoc.org makes it easy.

At the bottom of the right hand column is an opt-in button. Just fill in your first name, last name, and email address and click “Subscribe.”

Once you have that, you will get an email message almost immediately to the email address you entered. That email will read:

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Click the website link, and the NYSCC will receive an email with your information, and will enter it into the emailing list. 

New Chaplains Certified

Congratulations to individuals who were certified in 2008.  With certification a person is eligible for employment as a chaplain in a state facility.  They are:

The Rev, Jenifer Hale Deming (UCC) certified for service in Department of Corrections facilities.
 
The Rev. Susanne Hope Graham (Epis) certified for service in Department of Corrections facilities.
 
The Rev. Doris Tongo (Baptist Ministers' Convention of Greater NY & Vicinity) certified for service in all departments.
 
The Rev. Michael Ojewale (Christ Life Ministries, Inc.) certified for service in Department of Corrections facilities.