There are many 'new initiatives' for the advocacy ministries of Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State (LPPOWA), Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Oregon (LAMO), and our advocacy partner Idaho Interfaith Roundtable Against Hunger (IIRAH):

	Mark your calendar for the "Ethics of Eating" event at Pacific Lutheran University on October 15 & 16. For more info. contact the SW Washington Synod office at 253/535-8300.
	IIRAH is co-sponsoring the Third Idaho Summit on Hunger, October 19th, at the Doubletree Hotel in Boise. For more info visit www.iirah.org. • Bring your laptop to church this summer or fall and use it to generate e-letters at an "offering of letters" at your congregation. Any of our three ministries will help you coordinate this effort in your state.
	For Washington voters many initiatives regarding tax reform, immigration, and privatizing liquor sales have been filed. LPPOWA is available to coordinate and resource educational forums for congregations over the summer and through October on any initiatives that qualify for the November ballot.
	Stay updated with LPPOWA on Facebook and Twitter, or visit our website - www.lppowa.org - to learn about our latest initiatives.

Please contact us, or Vivian Parrish at IIRAH (208/362-9579 ), to learn how you and or your congregation can be an advocate for justice and involved in any of these amazing and effective ministries that work to create a more just and sustainable world.

In every successful democracy, there is a strong partnership between the public and elected officials.  This becomes increasingly important when “pseudo-politics” gain financing, power, and influence.  One of the most important roles we can have in developing public policy is to be in close communications with our representatives.  Whether they serve in Congress or in State Legislatures, or in other levels of leadership, one of the most difficult jobs they face is to get out of ‘Beltway” or “Capitol” thinking and truly hear and understand what is happening in their districts.

YOU are the key to their understanding of the issues in the district that they represent.
Whether your concern is foster care, health care reform, environment, the death penalty, tax fairness, violence prevention, refugee issues, meeting the needs of elders, or supporting the education of our children, it is your knowledge and perspectives that they need to hear.  

To be as effective as possible in your advocacy:

	Know who your representatives are, their contact information, and the issues that are important to them. This information is available on their web sites. Go to www.congress.org, enter your zip code, and all representatives for your district are listed. Select their official web site and your will learn their goals, actions, and perspectives.
	Become known to your representatives. Communicate on issues that are important to you. Get to know the staff person who covers your issue. When possible, attend a town hall meeting and state your concerns directly to you representative. .and preserve the historic importance of these democratic meetings.
	Contact the Lutheran Public Policy Office in your area for assistance in understanding the current public policy issues and making your voice heard.

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To be an advocate is to plead on behalf of another. For the church it means to speak for those without worldly power; those whose voices are not heard; those who may not have a vote.

	Advocacy has an ancient history - The Old and New Testaments are filled with the voices of the prophets and the ministry of Jesus Christ, calling for justice
	Advocacy is a task of reason, requiring the understanding of social structures.
	Advocacy is intuitive, involving the capacity for empathy.
	Advocacy is political, involving the struggle for power among competitive groups.
	Above all, advocacy is moral, involving the fundamental human capacity to know what enhances and what destroys the being and dignity of the person.

Lutherans are strengthened as they reach out to meet the needs of their neighbors. Understanding the barriers that face those in need strengthens advocates as they bring those needs to others. At times, direct service by members of congregations can meet specific needs and address unique circumstances. Often, however, it takes a community response to meet the need.

When the involvement of government is required, or when government puts up barriers, it is time to bring the message of those in need to policy-makers. A Lutheran presence in the development of public policy brings experienced, seasoned voices to the dialog: experienced because we are directly involved in helping; and seasoned, because we seek effective ways of meeting the needs of those in crises. As advocates for the poor and unrepresented, Lutherans respect the open exchange of ideas as we reason together to build a just society. Assuring a Lutheran presence in the development of public policy is the living out of our baptismal affirmation, …"to strive for justice and peace in all the earth."

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