Raise Your Voice
for Health Care Reform!
There’s no better day than Tuesday
Oct. 20th!
The ELCA has had a
social statement on Health Care since 2003. In
August, the 2009 Churchwide Assembly reaffirmed this
commitment – emphasizing the urgency of the moment. If
you’ve been waiting for the right time to add your
voice, now is certainly the time to act!
Tuesday Oct. 20th is a National Day of
Action. People of faith are calling it “A National Day
of Remembrance and Hope”. This day is a
remembrance of the nearly 45,000 persons who die each
year because they cannot afford (and therefore do not
get) the treatment that they need. It will raise up hope
that this will not be the case in years to come.
Other groups, including the PA Health Access
Network, are calling it “Time to Deliver”. Whatever the
name, the hope is that thousands upon thousands of
people will in some way (large or small) show their
support for reforming our broken health care system.
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in PA (LAMPa) is partnering
with other groups to make sure Lutherans have multiple
opportunities to act:
-
If you are interested in joining LAMPa staff and
other Lutherans from PA in journeying to DC to meet
with the staff members of our two US Senators,
e-mail Marissa Harris at
mharris@lamp.org
for details on where to meet the group and when. A
small group from the Lower Susquehanna Synod will be
traveling down together, and there's plenty of room
to join us. But we'd be thrilled for others from
across the state to meet us in DC!
-
If you’d like to plan your own local event (for
example a prayer vigil), visit the
Faithful Reform in Health Care
website for step by step planning resources, then
contact Marissa if you still have questions - and to
fill her in on your plans so your event can be
promoted to other Lutheran Advocates in your area!
-
If you want to participate in a local event, check
the PA
Health Access Network website for their calendar
on the right side of the page. Only two events
will appear on the main page, but more will show up
if you hit the green calendar button.
-
If you want to make a phone call to your member of
Congress, visit the
LAMPa site that day
(or facebook page!) for a toll free call in number.
-
Finally, to do some research to inform your advocacy
- and, just as important, your conversations with
family and friends! - visit the
LAMPa website and
download the recording of the statewide conference
call with Bob Francis, Director of Domestic Policy
for the ELCA Washington Office. In addition to the
latest updates from DC, Bob eloquently describes why
we as Lutherans must weigh in on this issue!
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