Resolutions

Resolution: Public Funds For Public Education

WHEREAS,	The Hebrew Scriptures tell us about God's covenant with Abram and all his descendants, the people of Israel (Genesis 17:2). furthermore the prophets called the people of Israel to keep the covenant in justice for all the community and of the blessings of God which come to those who keep God's covenant (Jeremiah 32:40); and

WHEREAS,	We can see in the letter of Paul to the early churches the need for the whole community to care for the needs of others, (e.g. Philippians 2:4) "Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others"; and

WHEREAS,	All God's children deserve an equal opportunity for education that will equip them to live productive and fulfilling lives; and

WHEREAS,	Choice within the public school system, such as technical, magnet, or charter schools can be expanded and publicized more effectively; and

WHEREAS,	The commitment to make free public education available to every child has been the foundation of our democracy.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED	that we the Delegates of the 132nd Annual Meeting of the United Church of Christ re-affirm our long-standing position that public funds be used for public education at both the elementary and secondary levels; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED	that we oppose proposals such as vouchers, tuition tax credits, or any other plan that would advocate the expenditure of public monies for use in subsidizing private schools to which access cannot be guaranteed for all students; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED	that we urge all members to speak out and use every opportunity to make known our resolve in this matter; and

	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we invite regional justice and witness ministry teams to provide leadership and resources for use by the conference, associations, local churches, and members to facilitate this ministry in public education to our communities.

	Executive Council of the First Church of Christ Congregational, Mansfield Center

	Public Education Advocacy Group

Resolution: Christians, Riches, And Poverty In Our Times (corrected version)

WHEREAS,	Scripture declares woe to "those who add house to house and field to field" (Is. 5:8a), decries oppressive laws that "turn aside the needy from justice": (Is. 10:2a), and calls us to "defend the rights of the poor" (Prov. 31:9b) sharing the Gospel of Jesus who came preaching good news to the poor (Luke 4:18), calling us to attend to them (Matt. 25:35-40); and

WHEREAS,	Worldwide almost twice the number of people live in extreme poverty as did 10 years ago and at the same time, riches pile up for the wealthy so that now some 350 billionaires have a net worth equaling the net income of the poorest 2.6 billion people; and

WHEREAS	Statewide, the number of Connecticut children in poverty has almost tripled in the last 10 years; and

WHEREAS,	The root causes of this poverty in our times are complex, yet include such practices as slave wages paid by American Corporations in foreign countries , sweatshop conditions in our own country and the cutting of social programs leaving the poor with few resources; and

WHEREAS,	These are difficult problems, systemic and long-lasting, which cannot be solved alone by the historically generous efforts of individuals, churches or other private groups (e.g., soup kitchens, relief groups, mentoring, etc.), necessary and helpful as they are; and

WHEREAS,	We are called to a deeper exploration of longer-lasting solutions at home and abroad such as but not limited to the following: forgiveness of poor countries' debts; changes in World Bank and IMF interventions (e.g. structural adjustment); ending of sweatshop labor conditions; proactive training and skill development; some approaches to USA minimum/maximum incomes; a universal single payer health system; and similar separation of other basic life areas (e.g., public education, criminal justice, etc.) from market forces.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED	that we, the delegates to the 132nd Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Conference encourage local church congregations, through study and preaching, to focus attention on the issues of poverty and wealth in these times by exploring Biblical teaching regarding our rresponsibility to the poor and the responsible acquisition and use of wealth; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED	that in the year 2000,the regional Justice and Witness Ministry Teams and the Justice and Peace Network of the connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, through symposiums, task forces, or some other specific means assist congregations as they explore the Biblical, theological and social-economic aspects of these economic questions. They are asked to do so with reference to the 1987 UCC Economic Justice Study, the 1986-96 economic statement by the United States Catholic Bishops, other pertinent sources, examining especially possible healing, long-term solutions such as, but not limited to, those listed above; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED	that whese concerns about poverty and riches today, including support for such efforts as the CT Interfaith Budget Watch be communicated by local church members and by Conference staff to our national and state legislators and to our public policy advocates.

United Church on the Green, New Haven

These resolutions are also available in a plain text file, "resolutions.txt".

Annual Meeting Index:

Resolutions

Resolution: Public Funds For Public Education

Resolution: Christians, Riches, And Poverty In Our Times