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Christian Action
April 2007
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As the only statewide ecumenical agency in South Carolina, SC Christian Action Council represents a partnership of 16 denominations and 21 regional judicatories, including 4,500 congregations.

The Council serves as a catalyst for:

- Social justice through public policy advocacy;
- Christian Unity and inter-religious dialogue through relationships, collaborations and events;
- Racial and cultural healing by building bridges of trust and understanding.

Read on . . .click here

In this issue:
  • Across my desk . . .
  • Legislative Update & Calls for Action
  • Denominational Gatherings: Visitors Welcome
  • Support Your SC Christian Action Council
  • Community News and Events
  • Comings and Goings
  • SCCAC ANNUAL MEETING 2007

  • Legislative Update & Calls for Action



    Immigration. Senate Bill 392 received a favorable review from the full Judiciary Committee. Will go to the full Senate for a vote soon. There is a provision that could affect churches and others who aid undocumented immigrants:

    SECTION 9. Article 5, Chapter 9, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
    “Section 16‑9‑460. (A) It shall be a felony for any person to transport, move, or attempt to transport within the State, or to solicit or conspire to transport or move within the State, any person knowingly or in reckless disregard of the fact that the person has come to, entered, or remained in the U.S. in violation of law, in furtherance of the person’s illegal presence in the United States.
    (B) It shall be a felony for any person to conceal, harbor, or shelter from detection, or to solicit or conspire to conceal, harbor, or shelter from detection any person in any place, including any building or means of transportation, knowingly or in reckless disregard of the fact that the person has come to, entered, or remained in the U.S. in violation of law, in furtherance of the person’s illegal presence in the United States.
    (C) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (A) or (B) of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed five years, or both.
    (D) A person who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or enters into a plea of nolo contendre to a violation of this section must not be permitted to seek or obtain any professional license offered by the State or any agency or political subdivision of the State.”

    Christians--in response to the teachings of Jesus--feed, clothe, shelter, and visit WITHOUT regard to status. This provision puts our freedom to act faithfully at risk. Contact your Senator and ask that the bill be changed to protect those of any faith who serve others in need without thought of proof of documentation.

    Time to raise Cigarette tax. House Bill 3562. Healthy Communities Capacity Act. Debate by the full House Ways & Means Committee scheduled to start the week of April 9. Raising the tax will result in public health benefits (less teen smoking and lower health care costs) and generate revenue for health care in general and tobacco prevention in particular.
    Contact your local S.C. House District member before April 9th and ask them to support raising the cigarette tax. For more information and to request speakers: contact Dr. Dave Keely.

    Payday Lending. SC Fair Share, reports: The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee handling S.398 reported out strong legislation which, following an amendment offered by Sen. Joel Lourie, would:
    1. Limit borrowers to one outstanding loan at a time;
    2. Cap the number of loans at 5 per year;
    3. Require a 7 day cooling off period between loans;
    4. Establish a statewide database, maintained by a private contractor, to enforce that legislation;
    5. And require an industry-supported extended payment plan option.

    The vote to report the bill was unanimous by senators John Hawkins, Vince Sheheen, Lourie and Lewis Vaughn.

    The bill now goes to Full Judiciary where there will be intense effort to strip out everything but the extended payment plan.

    Contact your Senator and inform him/her as to your desires concerning Payday Lending regulation.

    CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. House members are at home the first week of April.

    CONTACT YOUR SENATOR


    Denominational Gatherings: Visitors Welcome

    April 19, CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Columbia

    April 27-28, The Annual Meeting of the UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Georgia/South Carolina Association, April 27-28, Charleston. www.se cucc.org/news/index.php

    April 27-28, COOPERATIVE BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP OF SC, First Baptist Church, Clemson. www.cbfofsc.org

    May 7-11, BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL AND MISSIONARY CONVENTION OF SC, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, Charleston. www.bemsc.org

    May 31-June 2, EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA, SC SYNOD ASSEMBLY, Newberry College. www.sclutheran.org

    June 3-7, UNITED METHODIST CHURCH SC ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Florence Civic Center. www.umcsc.org

    To email us the event/dates/location of Judicatory events where visitors are welcome click here.


    Support Your SC Christian Action Council

  • Advocating for social justice,
  • Bringing together persons of different faiths and holding differing positions on issues for dialogue,
  • Worshipping ecumenically, sharing the faith traditions we hold dear and learning others,
  • Providing--by example and voice--a model for meaningful and full relationships across social and racial barriers.
  • Together we address these opportunities.

    With your support, YOUR Council will continue to serve our state as a witness to the oneness for which our Lord Jesus Christ prayer.

    Click here to donate NOW!


    Community News and Events


    April 20. Spring For Care to Fight AIDS. Oscar's Restaurant, Spartanburg, from 5:00 PM through Midnight. Owner will donate 1% of food and beverage sales to Piedmont Care, a non-profit organization fighting AIDS in the Spartanburg community. For more information about Spring for Care, click here.

    May 17. "So What's Restorative about Justice?" SCCAC Annual meeting, 9 am-1:15 PM, First Christian Church-Disciples of Christ, Columbia. See final article of this e- newsletter.

    May 17. The Community Mediation Center Silent Auction. 5:30-8:30 PM, State Museum, in conjunction with annual McKay Brabham Building Bridges Award dinner.

    To donate items and purchase a ticket to the dinner ($25 each) contact the Community Mediation Center.

    __________________________________________
    Have other South Carolina community news? Let us know via email.

    We include information on community events as space and time allow; and, only in accordance with the mission and policies of SC Christian Action Council. We do not accept unsolicited articles.


    Comings and Goings

    Here is a sampling of Council staff engagements this month.

    • April 1-8: Holy Week activities
    • April 10: Screening: "Divided We Fall" at USC
    • April 18. First Baptist Aiken
    • April 19-20: Non-profit Leadership institute, Francis Marion University
    • April 23: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, SC Synod Council
    • April 26: SCEMD/FEMA Emergency Response training
    • April 27-28: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, First Baptist Clemson // United Church of Christ, Circular Church, Charleston
    • April 30: Furman University: Children of Abraham CLC Panel


    SCCAC ANNUAL MEETING 2007

    May 17, 2007
    Host congregation: First Christian Church
    2062 Beltline Boulevard
    Columbia, SC
    (803) 787-9777 (directions only)

    Daily the bad news gets worse. Teenagers and children continue making choices which damage the lives of others and threaten their own lives. Victims are hurt and scarred or worse. Communities are destroyed. Parents, school officials, and community leaders look for interventions to stop the downward spirals of criminal activity in which many are caught.

    The Victim.
    The Community.
    The Offender.
    Each touched by a criminal act.
    Each in need of wholeness.
    Each deserving of justice.

    Several years ago The SC Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) embarked on an effort to implement a movement of restorative justice. Through restorative justice the victim's pain and harm are acknowledged and addressed. Through restorative justice the community's needs are defined and addressed. Through restorative justice the offenders deeds are claimed and addressed.

    Join us on May 17. We'll be exploring restorative justice, its application in our communities, and how people of faith can further its implementation across South Carolina.

    Proclaimer: The Reverend Mark Cerniglia, Vice President for Partnership Initiatives, LFS (Lutheran Family Services; and Chair, Interfaith Restorative Justice Network of SC.

    Keynoter: Ms. Virginia "Ginny" Barr, Restorative Justice Coordinator, SC Department of Juvenile Justice. Followed by responders from the community, concluding with Q&A.

    Schedule

    • 9:00 Registration and Exhibits
    • 9:30 Welcome
    • 9:40 Ecumenical Worship
    • 10:30 Business Session
    • 10:45 Break
    • 11:00 Keynote Presentation & Response
    • 12:30 Fellowship Meal and Exhibits
    • 1:15 Adjourn

    Pre-registration fee: $30 (materials & lunch.
    Registration at the door: $35 (materials nor lunch guaranteed).
    Pre-registration without lunch: $25 (includes materials).

    Click here for registration form. Print, complete, add specifics re: lunch or not, mail with check to SCCAC, PO Box 3248, Columbia, SC 29209.

    Contact Brenda Kneece for more details.

    Pre-registration due on or before May 10.


    Across my desk . . .
    Ship

    Seventy-three years and counting! The South Carolina Christian Action Council continues to live and work together as the visible Body of Christ, a witness for which our Lord prayed.

    Our logo, a boat with the cross, expresses Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice and the ecumenical life to which he invites all Christians.

    The Gospel writer Mark tells us that after a day of teaching, Jesus got into a boat and said to his disciples: “Let us cross over to the other side” (Mark 4:35, NIV).

    The Council's vision of the "other side?" We envision South Carolina as a community where people of faith unite to glorify God through worship, social justice, peace, and mercy.

    The “other side” is the place where everyone eats, where everyone is sheltered, where everyone received the medical treatment needed for health where neither the poor nor the rich are victimized by the divides between them, where the ill are tended, where justice reigns, where peace thrives.

    The "other side” is the place where every human being recognizes the image of God in every other human being; where followers of Jesus emulate among the marginalized of our world his loving acceptance for and empowerment of those on the margins of his world.

    The "other side" is where Christians--all of us--claim and know the reunion ground of the Body of Christ.

    The "other side" is where people of all faiths claim and know the reunion ground of the Household of God.

    As those first disciples knew, we too know the journey to “the other side” is often stormy and uncertain.

    As a voice for the powerless, we accept the turmoil and upheaval which the Prophetic Call often brings. We accept the derision shown often to those who speak truth to power.

    Abolitionist Fredrick Douglass said, "Those who favor freedom yet deprecate agitation are people who want crops without plowing the ground... rain without thunder and lightning. Power concedes nothing without demand and struggle. It never has and it never will."

    So we plow--and sail--on, advocating for justice, working for peace, calling for Christian unity and inter- religious respect and tolerance.

    Get on board, there's always room for more in THIS boat.

    For a report of SCCAC activities in 2006 click here.

    ... that's the view from across my desk.

    Brenda Kneece, Executive Minister

    Contact Brenda



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