[Oe List ...] I Found Hope

[KarenBueno at aol.com]

Was there anything said about the immigration issue?  That's what many  of 
think of when we think of Phoenix.
 
Karen Bueno
 
 
In a message dated 10/26/2011 7:25:28 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time,  
elliestock at aol.com writes:

We work with a similar group here in St. Louis--Metropolitan  Congregations 
(really interfaith) United (MCU) one of groups in the area  affiliated with 
the Gamaliel faith-based community organizing group.   Their public 
meetings are tight, well-rehearsed, with accountability of  officials at the end.  
Focus is advocacy.
 
Ellie



-----Original  Message-----
From: Isobel and Jim Bishop  <isobeljimbish at optusnet.com.au>
To: Order Ecumenical Community  <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Tue, Oct 25, 2011 11:56 pm
Subject: Re:  [Oe List ...] I Found Hope

Dear Joan,  
Thank you for sending this- it is encouraging to hear such positive  things 
happening in the local community.  We here in Sydney are in the  early 
stages of this kind of meeting, and it is called The Sydney Alliance,  loosely  
related to the Industrial Areas Foundation, from the '30's in  Chicago-  and 
Saul Alinsky, of 'other aeons'! 
What a wonderful world!


Grace and peace; and love to you, dear Joan.


Isobel Bishop.

On 26/10/2011, at 2:23 PM, Joan wrote:



 
I found hope in the most unexpected place last Sunday evening: a  political 
meeting to meet the Mayoral candidates for the City of Phoenix  mayor's 
position.  This meeting was sponsored by the Valley Interfaith  Project (VIP), 
an community organizing group I don't know much about  but my friend Edith 
Byers had told me how impressed she was with the  meetings she had attended.  
It is made up of Catholic and Protestant  churches, synagogues and mosques 
along with some community  groups.  I wanted to get some information on the 
candidates so I went,  along with 220 other people.
 
The first thing that happened was two leaders from VIP briefed the  group 
on the agenda for the meeting.  These people are not paid staff  but local 
people who trained by the VIP organization.  They made the  purpose and the 
agenda very clear, as they had done previously with the two  candidates.  This 
was not a meeting for them to campaign or  to attack their opponents.  We 
were there to support the leadership and  no booing or heckling would be 
tolerated.  The agenda had come from  "house meetings" to talk through the 
issues affecting their  lives as citizens of Phoenix.  These meetings with small 
groups  are often held during church services or at a school meetings.  The  
three main issues that had emerged were jobs, housing foreclosures and  
neighborhood safety.  The candidates were briefed on these issues ahead  of 
time.  Each issue was presented by a local citizen telling their  story of how 
this issue affected them.  Each candidate was given so  many minutes each to 
respond.  Several times the VIP leader  stepped in to say to the candidate 
to please answer the question that  had been asked, which really kept things 
on point.  At another point  the VIP leader stepped into say there would be 
no campaigning and to please  address the issue at hand.
 
When this concluded, both candidates were asked if they were to be  
elected, would they work with VIP on these issues and would they attend two  
upcoming meetings and the dates of those meetings were given.  Of  course both 
candidates said they would work with VIP but VIP then held their  feet to the 
fire and extracted the promise to attend the two meetings on the  dates 
given.  
 
The printed agenda had the meeting beginning at 5:30, the meeting with  the 
candidates at 6:00 and ending at 7:00.  As I turned to leave, I  looked up 
at the clock and it was precisely 7:00 p.m.  As we left the  meeting. 
everyone had been given a sign-up sheet to do different things for  VIP and there 
were women of about my vintage who were pressing folks to turn  in those 
forms to become involved.  Impressive!
 
What excited me was to see the intentional process to deal with real  
issues, holding accountability with local people in charge demanding of our  
leadership to serve the people and all of this being done with love and  
respect.  Now there is something worth  replicating!    Joan Knutson
 
 


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