Public Policy Delegation to Washington DC
CRLN Members Lobby Senators, Representatives
Nearly 30 CRLN members, friends and ecumenical partners recently gathered in Washington DC to advocate for peace and justice in Latin America! We thank them for raising their voices, contributing their rich experiences and participating in this year's Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference as part of CRLN's 2008 public policy delegation! We are inspired by their commitment to calling on Illinois members of Congress to work for more just policies toward Latin America. Also inspiring is the truly ecumenical participation in our 28-member delegation, which included lay people and clergy from six different denominations! Together we brought a unified message of peace and justice for Latin America to our Illinois Senators and Representatives!
Building Relationships, Influencing Policy
A critical part of our work at CRLN is maintaining relationships with the foreign policy staffers in each Congressional office. It is through these relationships that the grassroots can have real influence on U.S. policy. Now that nearly thirty CRLN members and friends have met personally with the foreign policy aides for Senators Durbin and Obama, as well as for their Representatives, the messages we send to Congress will be more influential and have a stronger impact on U.S. policy toward Latin America.
We invite you to join us next year for Ecumenical Advocacy Days so that you, too, can meet personally with your Senators and Representatives and so that changing U.S. policies becomes a real possibility for the grassroots. The more relationships we establish with our members of Congress, the more opportunities we will have to influence policy.
Remarkable People
CRLN's 2008 Public Policy Delegation was remarkable, for the experience of its members and their diversity. Here's who participated in this year's delegation:
Faye Buttrick United Church of Christ John Buttrick United Church of Christ pastor Gary Cozette CRLN Board of Directors, Program Director Stephanie Dernek Catholic, 8th Day Center for Justice Nancy Goede CRLN Board of Directors, Lutheran pastor Julian Gutierrez Christian Peacemaking Team, Colombia Gloria Hannas Presbyterian, retired Paul Horst Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance, Chicago Colombia Sanctuary Project, Mennonite Joe Houston Catholic, retired Sharon Hunter-Smith CRLN Human Rights Coordinator, United Church of Christ Emmy Lou John United Methodist Church Northern Illinois Conference Secretary of Global Ministries Stephanie Johnson student, Lutheran Im Jung United Methodist pastor Dan McGuire Catholic layperson Milton Mejia CRLN Board of Directors, former General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia Megan Nuehring student, Lutheran Ed Osowski CRLN Board of Directors, Catholic Chris Pierson CRLN Board of Directors, Methodist pastor, Director of Connectional Ministries Northern Illinois Conference Addie Rosenwinkel student, Lutheran Clara Elena Salinas Hurley CRLN Board of Directors, Catholic, Colombian Elaine Schaudt student, Lutheran Erica Spilde CRLN Encuentros Coordinator, Lutheran Maureen Swanson Lutheran layperson Jim Vondracek CRLN Managing Director, Lutheran Robert Vondracek student, Lutheran Danielle Wegman CRLN Public Policy Coordinator, United Church of Christ Renate Willer student, Lutheran Margot Worfolk CRLN Board of Directors, Catholic Claudette Zobel CRLN Colombia Delegation, PresbyterianSave the Date!
Mark your calendars now for CRLN's 2009 public policy delegation to Washington DC! Join us March 13-16, 2009 for the seventh annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days. Next year, we will have a new Administration and a new Congress, which means that your voice and participation will be especially important as we work to create a more just and peaceful U.S. policy toward Latin America.
Thank You!
A special thank you to all of you who contributed to CRLN's Ecumenical Advocacy Days scholarship fund! Your support made the participation of several CRLN delegates possible!
For more information about about working with your members of congress to build just policies, contact Danielle Wegman, CRLN's Public Policy Coordinator, at dwegman@crln.org
