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Partnering Congregation Program
Faith and Worker Justice
What We've Accomplished
Incorporate Worker Justice Into
Your Worship Service
Support the Mid-South Interfaith
Network Financially
Encourage Your Members to Take Action
Become a Partnering Congregation
Faith and Worker Justice: People of faith want to end poverty in
our community.
Charitable programs, from soup kitchens to job
training classes, are offered by
numerous congregations who want to help families facing poverty. Yet these activities,
by themselves, are not
enough to end the devastation of poverty. While work is often
suggested as the solution to poverty, for too many
Mid-Southerners, working full-time
still means poverty wages without health or retirement benefits. Numerous employers
still force workers to labor in
conditions that endanger their health and safety. Other
workers
face daily discrimination on the job because of their race,
gender, or immigration status.
But things don't have to be this way.
Each person has God-given dignity that is meant to
be honored in
all places, including the workplace. Seeking justice and dignity for
Mid-South
workers, especially those who earn low wages, is the
mission of the Mid-South Interfaith
Network for Economic Justice.
When your congregation joins Workers
Interfaith Network, you'll be uniting with other
people
of faith working locally to ensure that jobs in our community pay living
wages, that
they provide family benefits, and that workers'
dignity and rights are respected. Since we were
founded in 2002,
our campaigns have won concrete improvements in pay and working conditions
for low-wage workers, and have helped working poor people have a voice in
the workplace
decisions that so deeply affect their lives.
Incorporate Worker Justice Into
Your Worship and Education: Help your congregation
become more
aware of the issues low-wage workers face through educational and worship
resources provided by Workers Interfaith Network. Resources including
bulletin
inserts, prayers, and Labor Day lectionary reflections,
are available at no charge. Many
congregations participate in our
special Labor in the
Pulpits program, which provides
worship
resources and speakers to congregations for their worship services on Labor
Day weekend. Speakers are also available year-round to share about the work
of the
Mid-South Interfaith Network.
Support the Mid-South Interfaith
Network Financially: The ability of Workers Interfaith Network
to accomplish its mission depends on generous
contributions from congregations and individuals. Your congregation may wish
to make a
gift once or twice a year after a special collection or
fundraising events, or you may prefer
to make a financial
commitment from your annual budget. As a grassroots, local organization,
you can be assured that your congregation's gift will be used wisely and
effectively to achieve
greater justice for working people in our
community.
Encourage Your Members to Take
Action: Whether taking part in a prayer vigil with
workers
who have been fired for speaking for their rights; attending a County
Commission
meeting where a living wage vote will be held; joining
a delegation to meet with company
managers, or writing letters to
companies urging them to treat their workers with dignity
and
respect, Workers Interfaith Network provides opportunities for
concrete actions
that will bring greater justice for workers in
our community. You can use our bulletin
inserts and newsletter
articles to invite your congregation to take action.
Become a Partnering Congregation:
Deepen your congregation's commitment to justice
for working
people by becoming a Partnering Congregation with Workers Interfaith Network.
Partnering Congregations covenant that in
their worship,
study, living, and giving, they will seek justice
for workers and engage their members in
the work of Workers
Interfaith Network.
Workers Interfaith Network has
many worship, study, and action resources available
for
congregations. Partnering Congregations are also entitled to 4 free
individual Workers
Interfaith Network memberships for
congregational leaders.
Most Partnering Congregations give
between $100 to $500 a year, depending on the size of
their
congregation. What is important is your congregation's commitment- no matter
what
you can afford to give.
Download the Partnering
Congregations Brochure
Enroll in the Partnering
Congregations Program
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