Joint Religious Legislative Council
Minneapolis, MN
jrlc.org
Mission:
Guided by God's vision of the common good as reflected in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, JRLC mobilizes religious communities to influence public policy in Minnesota.
Description:
JRLC is the largest and most inclusive interfaith public interest group in Minnesota - people of diverse faiths bringing vision and wisdom to the public realm for the well-being of Minnesotans. JRLC is authorized and governed by four Sponsoring Members: the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the Minnesota Council of Churches, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, and the Islamic Center of Minnesota.
When JRLC was founded in 1971, it was the first interfaith public-interest lobby group in the United States. JRLC now has an extensive body of public policy statements and continually influences Minnesota legislation in many policy arenas including: welfare reform, housing, health care, human rights, criminal justice, environmental stewardship, tax policy, ethics in government, gambling, economic justice, bias crimes, firearms regulation, and other policy areas.
Presbyterians have long been involved in the mission and ministry of JRLC. Executive Director Brian Rusche is a Ruling Elder at Valley Community Presbyterian Church in Golden Valley, Teaching Elder Doug Mitchell from Westminster-Minneapolis chairs the JRLC Executive Board and At-Large Teaching Elder Paula Sanders also sits on the Executive Board.
JRLC helps PTCA churches, by offering Sunday forums, social justice committee briefings, Children's Sabbath and Prevent Child Abuse worship materials, as well as leadership and advocacy trainings to several PCUSA congregations. JRLC provides a great opportunity for PTCA social justice advocates to plug into a powerful interfaith, statewide network, including Day on the Hill, the largest interfaith social justice lobby day in Minnesota.
JRLC 2013 Day on the Hill
Change Begins With Us - Day on the Hill 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013 - Register Now!
JRLC's Day on the Hill is our annual policy briefing and lobby day. Participants are briefed on portions of the JRLC agenda that are being debated and voted on at our State Capitol. Clergy and lay people from across the state attend Day on the Hill to show our interfaith commitment to social justice and to participate in the lawmaking process. Registration is required. Participants gather in the morning at RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul for inspiration and issue briefings. Buses then transport us to the Capitol for a short rally. Meetings are held with legislators in the afternoon. Buses shuttle between RiverCentre and the Capitol until 4 p.m.
For more information or to register, please click here. You can view a video of PTCA Teaching Elder Alika Galloway giving the Keynote Address at the 2012 Day on the Hill by clicking here.
Click here to learn more about our other Mission Partners supported through the Presbytery's Mission Giving. To learn more about Mission Giving and Special Offerings, go to our
What Is Mission Giving? page.
To download a Mission Giving Pledge form for your congregation,
please click here.
