April 2, 2012
“Vulnerable”, “Poor” and “Safety Net”
by Amy Reumann, LAMPa Director At a recent meeting of our state budget coalition, a member objected to draft language describing the state budget as harmful to middle class families. He pointed out this budget will be much harsher on people of low income. “That’s true,” our convener said, “But we follow polling in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Words like ‘vulnerable’, ‘poor’ and ‘safety net’ do not resonate with legislators or with the general public. To get any traction, we must frame our message around what is good for the middle class.” I guess I knew this, but really?! I have [...]
March 9, 2012
Reflections on a Day at the Capitol
by Rachel Barton, LAMPa Field Education Student Just as baseball players and fans are preparing for the upcoming baseball season, so are the legislatures and advocates are preparing for the upcoming budget season in PA. This year, the governor has made cuts to basic human needs such as housing and human services. On Wednesday, March 7, I was able to attend a meeting at the capitol with advocates from organizations including the Housing Alliance of PA, LAMPa, Peoples Emergency Center, Cumberland County Housing and Development Authorities, Project HOME, Northwest Interfaith Hospitality Network with Mr. Andrew Ritter, Governor Corbett’s Deputy Secretary [...]
March 1, 2012
IN MEMORIUM: adultBasic
by Amy Reumann, LAMPa Director I attended a memorial service of sorts today on the one-year anniversary of the ending of the adultBasic health insurance program. When I started at LAMPa , we were working to expand this bare bones health care program for low-income working Pennsylvanians who either lacked access to job-based coverage or were denied outright because of pre-existing health conditions. One year ago today, adultBasic was ended by incoming Governor Tom Corbett. Over 40,000 vulnerable people lost their coverage overnight. AdultBasic subscribers were told they could switch to a successor program called Special Care, which limits you [...]
February 29, 2012
This Way, Or That?
by the Rev. Paul Lubold, Advocacy Developer A sense of ‘longing for the past’ came over me while driving along the PA Turnpike, somewhere between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. It wasn’t a general, nostalgic wishing for the ‘good-old-days,’ but something much more specific. It used to be that most billboards along the nations first Turnpike were advertising places to eat or sleep or get gas at the next exit. While outdoor advertizing companies continue to do business, telling us about those important necessities: food, lodging, fuel. But there are a growing number of billboards advertising whole new “product.” Most of us [...]
February 15, 2012
David Beckman’s Message to the Seminary
By LAMPa Seminarian Dustin Wright On February 7th the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) community was privileged to hear David Beckmann, a Lutheran pastor and President of Bread for the World, speak at our first convocation of the spring 2012 semester. The talk was an encouraging yet sobering update on what has occurred in the struggle to end global food insecurity since the publication of Mr. Beckmann’s book Exodus from Hunger in 2010. Through Exodus’s inclusion in the “One Seminary; One Book” campaign, the LTSP community has learned a great deal both about hunger and what role public theologians [...]
February 6, 2012
Cashing in on Shale Revenue… At What Expense?
By the Rev. Paul Lubold, LAMPa Advocacy Developer Capitolwire’s Peter L. DeCoursey writes: “HARRISBURG (Feb. 5) – Many lawmakers got their first look this weekend at the final draft of the Marcellus Shale fee and regulation bill package the House and Senate will premiere Monday and could approve Tuesday or Wednesday. The bill also, as the House GOP shale bill did, plans to use revenues from shale wells drilled on state land to fund environmental projects. Critics in both parties have said that will require the leasing of more state land, a topic on which the bill is silent, as [...]
February 2, 2012
The Year of the Bible
By Amy Reumann, LAMPa Director In a unanimous vote last week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring 2012 the “Year of the Bible.” H.R. 535 states that this is in recognition of “both the formative influence of the Bible on our Commonwealth and nation and our national need to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.” Now, I’m not sure what our Representatives were thinking when they voted, since the measure was dubbed “noncontroversial” so it could be brought to the House floor quickly and without committee hearings. I wonder if there will be subsequent [...]
February 2, 2012
Fasting for a New Day
by Sister Janet Stump, Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, and a member of the LAMPa Policy Council. Sister Janet shared this reflection on fasting and advocacy with her congregation in 2011. For the past month I have been participating in a fast initiated by Jim Wallis (President of Sojourners) and others for the purpose of standing with the poor as our government considers budgetary decisions and policies affecting the most vulnerable in our society. Ultimately, around 30,000 people of faith, including some members of Congress, joined in the fast. Those who signed on to the effort committed themselves to (1) fast in [...]
February 1, 2012
Reading Lutherans Reach out to Welcome their Immigrant Neighbors
By Marissa Harris Krey, LAMPa Eastern Advocacy Developer Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of accompanying one of our LAMPa Policy Council members, the Rev. Bruce Osterhout, on a visit with Judy Schwank (D, Reading) his State Senator. For several months now, Pastor Bruce has been concerned about how we, as a Commonwealth, are treating immigrants. He discovered that although they are here legally, many immigrants are unable to access services and protections entitled to them by law because of fear and discrimination. An example. In Central and South America, a notary is someone with a law degree and a [...]
January 30, 2012
Why Christians Need to Care About Food Stamps
By LAMPa Field Education Student Dustin Wright (LTSP) One of the best parts of my field site placement with Lutheran Advocacy Ministries of Pennsylvania is taking part in strategy sessions about helping our state’s most vulnerable citizens. Last week I attended a broad coalition meeting of anti-hunger organizations and other interested parties working to combat the Corbett administration’s proposed asset testing for the federally funded SNAP or food stamp program. As I wrote in a recent post on the subject, this is simply a mean spirited, ideologically based move that would in some situations force seniors to spend down what [...]
