First posted: Dec. 12, 2007

The Waukesha County Board, at the urging of SOPHIA, has approved a modest amount of additional funding for two programs that help keep non-violent offenders out of jail while awaiting trial.

The Pre-Trial Intervention and Intoxicated Driver Programs had been under-funded in the county executive’s budget plan by approximately $63,000. The board, during its budget deliberations on Nov. 13, heeded the pleas of SOPHIA spokespersons and added enough money to keep both programs operating at last year’s level.

Fourteen representatives of SOPHIA member congregations were on hand for the budget session. Three spoke during a public comment period: Rev. Ralph Schultz (retired) of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Waukesha, Rev. Carolyn Sellers of Church of the Resurrection in Delafield, and SOPHIA vice president Pat Faherty. Also speaking in support of the programs was Dave Hochschild, an ex-offender who has benefited from both services.

The funding initiative was introduced as an amendment by Sup. Duane Paulson after the county finance committee voted down the idea 5-1. The county board vote was 27-6 in favor of adding $62,730 to fully fund the SOPHIA-backed programs, a veto-proof majority.

The Pre-Trial Supervision Program closely monitors persons accused of minor crimes, who are prompted to show up for court appearances and are encouraged to meet the other court-imposed requirements of their release pending trial. That reduces the number of defendants who wind up in jail on a bail revocation, and saves the county money. Fully funded, the Pre-Trial Supervision Program serves about 500 people a year.

Similarly, the Intoxicated Driver Program gets accused drunk drivers into voluntary substance abuse counseling while they’re out on bail awaiting trial. Again, by reducing the chances that they’ll re-offend and have their bail revoked, the program holds down the jail population and saves the county money. With full funding restored, the Intoxicated Driver Program can serve about 450 clients annually.

Several supervisors spoke in favor of increasing the budget to support the two intervention programs. Among other things, they noted that another expensive jail addition is likely unless the inmate population can be controlled, and that the limited amount of additional funding they approved was too small to even show up in the county’s tax millage rate.

County executive Dan Vrakas had earlier threatened to veto the additional funding, but wound up signing the county's 2008 budget without further changes at a ceremony attended by about 25 SOPHIA representatives.

Posted 12/20/07

Representatives of SOPHIA member congregations testified before the Waukesha County Board Finance Committee Oct. 9 to encourage supervisors to fully fund two cost-effective programs that help reduce the jail population.

The Pretrial Supervision Program targets defendants who are out on bail awaiting trial. They are monitored to assure they make their court appearances and conform to other bail requirements, including staying away from drugs and alcohol. Avoiding pretrial incarceration helps hold down the jail population and saves the county money.

In 2005, only one percent of defendants in the Pretrial Supervision Program failed to appear for court dates. As a result, the county saved an estimated 8,571 jail days.

The Pretrial Intoxicated Driver Intervention Program provides intensive supervision of persons accused of repeat drunken driver offenses. The primary goal of the program is to get defendants into treatment as soon as possible after arrest, so they can get straight and avoid further trouble with the law. In 2005, a full 80 percent of program participants were sober at the time of trial and the county saved an estimated 17,560 jail days.

The 2008 budget now before the county board short-changes these two programs by about $94,000. Allocations for the programs were increased, but not enough to fully fund their cost to continue, much less provide for any further expansion. Because these programs have proven highly effective in reducing the jail population, SOPHIA is urging the county board to amend the proposed 2008 budget to maintain full service levels. In 2007, the pretrial supervision program served 500 clients; the pretrial intoxicated driver program had 443 clients. Without additional funding, the programs will only be able to serve 420 and 340 clients, respectively.

Maintaining these programs, SOPHIA representatives say, is one way to avoid another expensive addition the Waukesha County Jail, which is approaching full capacity just a few years after a major construction project and will need to be expanded again unless alternatives to incarceration are supported by the county board.

Posted Nov. 15, 2007

Are the people around me -- in my city, state, nation and world -- truly my brothers and sisters? Do I care enough about them to build meaningful relationships based on Christian love and trust? Those questions are central to a new initiative being undertaken by SOPHIA member congregations.

The project -- a series of conversations on the topic "Faith and Our Common Destiny" -- is meant to help people of faith bridge the gap between the core tenants of their religious beliefs and the reality of the world in which they live.

As a first step, participants will be asked to reflect on their personal experiences with fear, isolation and separation from others -- and to explore the systemic forces that push people into ghettos of race, class and religion. Then they'll explore ways that organizations like SOPHIA can help them form powerful alliances with people of like minds to transform their communities into safe places for all people regardless of race, economic status, education, sexual orientation and political beliefs.

During the August 30 organizing session, breakout groups talk about their personal experiences with race, politics and religion.

At an organizing meeting at Galilee Lutheran Church in Pewaukee on August 30, representatives of several Waukesha County congregations gathered to prepare for the sessions. The plan is for churches -- some of them members of SOPHIA, others not -- to pair up for the "Faith and Our Common Destiny" sessions to ensure a diversity of viewpoints. In small groups, participants will be asked to share their experiences with unity and hope, as well as fear and mistrust. Later, they'll discuss how the tension between these conflicting emotions play out in the larger world of politics and public policy, and how to become agents of change for the common good.

The "Faith and Our Common Destiny" program was designed by WISDOM, a statewide organization of which SOPHIA is a member. WISDOM affiliates across Wisconsin are expected to engage in the dialogues in the months ahead.

Posted Sept. 1, 2007

Members of SOPHIA, including President Betty Groenewold, have been advocating for jail alternatives this summer at committee meetings and public forums on Waukesha County’s proposed 2008 budget. According to County Executive Dan Vrakas, 19 percent of the $254 million budget would be allocated to justice and law enforcement, including operation of the county jail, which is close to its full capacity of 469 beds.

The jail was expanded in 2005 at a cost of $34 million. Another building project could cost upwards of $64 million for construction and staffing. To avoid imposing that cost on taxpayers – and to provide humane, effective alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders – SOPHIA has called on the county board to expand a newly-established day reporting center and to pursue other community-corrections alternatives. The county’s Criminal Justice Collaborating Council, which is made up of high-ranking officials including the county executive, sheriff, district attorney and chief judge, has recommended several initiatives and SOPHIA believes those should be fully funded by the county board.

Speaking at a town hall meeting on the proposed 2008 budget on July 30, SOPHIA representative Joel Gaughan, of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in New Berlin, observed that an expanding jail population is a major driver of the county budget, and pointed out that alternative, community based programs are consistent with the county executive’s stated goals of preserving public safety while holding down taxes.

Posted Aug. 13, 2007

Consistent with statements made at SOPHIA meetings recently, both Waukesha County Sheriff Dan Trawicki and District Attorney Brad Schimel have told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they no longer plan to seek expanded authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

According to the Journal Sentinel, the plan to qualify local law enforcement officers to detain and investigate suspected undocumented immigrants, which was initially floated by former Waukesha District Attorney and state attorney general candidate Paul Bucher during his campaign, was simply too resource-intensive to be justified.

The paper quoted Sheriff Trawicki as saying, "It wouldn't be worthwhile" to send deputies to specialized training, at county expense, so they could enforce immigration laws -- which would be a diversion from their primary duties.

District Attorney Schimel, according to the newspaper, was satisfied with assurances from federal authorities that they would act promptly if someone was arrested for a serious crime, and needed to be detained on an immigration hold rather than being set free on bail. That made expanded local powers unnecessary, Schimel said.

According to a later article in the Waukesha Freeman, city Police Chief Les Sharrock has also decided not to pursue expanded immigration enforcement authority.

First Posted July 30, 2007

At a meeting with SOPHIA representatives on June 13, Waukesha District Attorney Brad Schimel claimed that local newspapers have misrepresented a plan, which he has endorsed, that would authorize local law enforcement officers to enforce immigration laws.

Newspaper reports have given some readers the mistaken impression that a massive hunt for undocumented immigrants is in the works, Schimel complained. “We don’t have the resources to go out and round people up, nor do we have the inclination to do so,” he said.

Instead, Schimel said, the initiative would focus on a small number of serious lawbreakers who are in the country illegally and, if captured, pose a significant flight risk.

He gave the example of an undocumented immigrant who is accused of running a drug ring in the U.S. Such a person, Schimel said, is a high risk to jump bail and flee the area to avoid trial. If law enforcement officers had immigration enforcement authority and proper training, Schimel said, they could put such a person on an “immigration hold” to prevent his possible escape.

“We want authority to detain serious felons without bail” if they are in the country illegally, Schimel said. “They’ll have to stay in jail until we’re done with them.”

Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel discusses immigration issues with SOPHIA representatives at Ascension Lutheran Church on June 13.

Schimel emphasized that the proposed immigration enforcement authority would be used only on people who are booked into the county jail for serious crimes, and would not be used on the streets “to stop people and require them to show their papers.”

SOPHIA representatives were not entirely reassured by Schimel’s statements. Even if the current sheriff and district attorney acted with restraint, they worried, what about their successors? Schimel admitted that there was nothing specific in the current plan that would prevent officials from expanding its scope in the future.

First posted June 16, 2007

The newest member of SOPHIA -- La Casa de Esperanza -- hosted the group's third annual prayer breakfast fundraising event in Waukesha April 28.

La Casa, "The House of Hope," is a private social and economic development organization that's been active in the area since 1966. It recently became SOPHIA's first "community partner," with full membership in the organization.

Keynote speaker at the breakfast was Rev. Joseph Jackson, pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church in Milwaukee and president of WISDOM, the statewide organization of which SOPHIA is a part. Responding to the theme of this year's prayer breakfast, "The Power of Inspiration," Rev. Jackson called on the crowd to "breathe in God the Father" and be energized to the work of social justice.

"We need to be inspired," Jackson said, "and we need to inspire others, to do the best for our public school children, to welcome immigrants into our communities, to provide housing for everyone who wants to live and work in Waukesha County and to provide treatment and health care for everyone who needs it."

"Every human being is a beloved child of God who deserves to be treated that way," he declared.

Jackson especially praised SOPHIA for its work in bringing a day reporting center to Waukesha County. The center -- approved by the county board in February -- allows non-violent offenders to live at home instead of at the county's Huber Jail, while remaining under close supervision of authorities. Participants must report to the center frequently to ensure compliance with the conditions of their release into the community.

This year's SOPHIA prayer breakfast was in the gym/multipurpose room of La Casa de Esperanza in Waukesha. Before breakfast, participants scan the wide variety of donated silent auction items.

Also speaking at the event were Jessie Mireles, president of the La Casa de Esperanza board of directors, Pat Faherty, a lay member of SOPHIA member Church of the Resurrection in Hartland and her pastor, Carolyn Sellers.

About 100 people from WISDOM affiliates across the state of Wisconsin -- including SOPHIA -- ventured to Madison Feb. 13 to present lawmakers with their ideas about school funding, immigrant rights, health insurance, alternatives to incarceration for drug and alcohol offenders, and more.

The day began at Bethel Lutheran church, just a few blocks from the capitol, where Bishop Linda Lee of the Wisconsin United Methodist church told the opening assembly that the old testament prophecy of Micah 6:8 -- to do justice and to love kindness -- is unfinished business that we must take up in our own lives.

"We must continue to lift up God's word," Lee said. "God's agenda of justice, love and kindness still needs to be completed in our world."

Experts then briefed the crowd on the issues of the day. Among the presenters were Karen Royster of the Institute for Wisconsin's future, who explained that, just as a tree needs a system of roots to maintain its health, the public structures that government provides must be supported by a broad base of revenue. She argued that the state's tax scheme has gone out of balance, with relatively high income and property taxes but low sales and corporate tax rates As the corporate share of taxes has declined over the years, she said, the homeowner's share has increased, putting a disproportionate burden on middle- and low-income taxpayers. Wisconsin looks like a high-tax state, she suggested, if you're a wage-earning homeowner, but not if you're a corporation.

After breakout sessions on the issues and a working lunch, the group climbed the hill to the capitol for visits with legislators. The SOPHIA delegation visited the offices of Senators Neil Kedzie, Jim Sullivan, Ted Kanavas and Mary Lazich, and Representatives Bill Kramer, Scott Newcomer, Rich Zipperer and Mark Gundrum. They urged lawmakers to support $22 million in the state budget to fund community-based treatment programs for drug and alcohol offenders, a WISDOM initiative that would save money by reducing the jail and prison population while providing addicts with a road to recovery.

Visitors to the capitol were also prepared to speak on other WISDOM issues:

Health Care Reform

Southern Wisconsin has some of the highest health care and insurance costs in the nation. Spiraling insurance costs have significantly worsened our state's school funding crisis and have caused huge problems for our cities and counties. State lawmakers must pass a comprehensive, statewide health reform plan to address this crisis.

There are three health care proposals in front of the legislature this year. All have merit, and two have bipartisan support. The key, in the view of WISDOM issue experts, is that all Wisconsin residents must have access to affordable, comprehensive health care with a choice of provider and level of services, along with fair financing strategies to contain costs and assure affordability.

School Funding

WISDOM supports a fair school funding system that provides sufficient resources for children with special needs along with after-school and early childhood programs and in-school health care initiatives. WISDOM supports LRB1211, a joint resolution that calls on legislators to permanently solve the state's school funding crisis by 2009, and believes that tax reform must be part of that solution to ensure that corporations and other special interests pay their fair share to support our schools along with homeowners and small businesses, who currently bear a disproportionate share of the burden.

Immigration

In response to federal law (the REAL ID Act), after April 1 Wisconsin will require individuals to prove legal residency in order to get a drivers license. WISDOM calls on the state to push back that deadline to May of 2008, when the federal law actually takes effect. The state also needs to create a new option for undocumented persons: a driving certificate that would not serve as a federal ID, but would allow them to drive and get insurance.

WISDOM also supports in-state college tuition for children of undocumented workers who have graduated from Wisconsin high schools, have lived in Wisconsin for three years, and otherwise qualify for admission.

WISDOM's issue positions are consistent with a statement of faith that was shared at the start of the day's events. The key elements of the organization's "Prophetic Declaration" are:

• Every child of God has the potential to be healed and redeemed; therefore we must invest in community-based treatment alternatives for non-violent offenders who suffer from addictions;
• Every child of God has unique gifts and talents which are meant to be developed for the good of the community; therefore our schools must have the resources to give all children the chance to discover and develop their gifts;
• Every child of God deserves to be treated with compassion and respect; therefore we will stand with our immigrant brothers and sisters as they seek to work and live productive lives in our state and nation.

Judge Kathryn Foster of the Waukesha County Circuit Court received SOPHIA's first-ever Community Leadership Award at Ascension Lutheran Church on Dec. 13.

The award quotes Micah 6:8 -- "What does the Lord require of you? To do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God."

Introducing Judge Foster at the event, SOPHIA president Mark Doremus told the sixty or so people who attended that the alcohol court -- which puts third-offense drunken drivers into a community based treatment program as an alternative to extended jail time -- represents the application of justice and kindness in a criminal justice setting. The court -- set up under a $450,000 federal grant that Judge Foster helped the county obtain -- puts alcohol offenders under strict supervision, but also gives them a chance to reclaim their lives, and thereby combines justice and kindness in an innovative way, Doremus said.

Participation in the court is voluntary and is limited to non-violent offenders over 18 years of age. The court started up last summer and is already at capacity, with 60 program participants. As chief judge, Foster worked with the county’s Criminal Justice Collaborating Council to win support for the alcohol court from county officials and, at present, she handles the court’s entire caseload. It’s a demanding assignment that Foster takes on willingly for the benefit of program participants – who get a chance to turn their lives around – and the community, which benefits from reduced recidivism and lower corrections costs.

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• the process of learning for women is distinct from that for men;
• women bring important qualities and attitudes that must be appreciated and reflected in an organization's work; and
• women need a place where they can support each other and create responses to their own needs.

Attendee Karen Slattery of First Congregational United Church of Christ, Waukesha, said, "It was a wonderful experience -- life-changing in many ways.  It compels you to examine your own personal reasons for committing to social justice, and the depth of that commitment."

Betty Groenewold, SOPHIA vice president, was a key organizer for this year's event.

 

Republican Bill Kramer, an investment consultant, and Democrat Steve Schmuki, a real estate lawyer, joined about 50 people from SOPHIA and the general public for a candidate forum on Oct. 18 at Ascension Lutheran Church.

 

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stated in a headline the following day, the candidates were "poles apart" on most issues. As Schmuki put it, they were divided by "bright line" differences.

 

The candidates came closest to agreement when they discussed the statewide Treatment and Diversion initiative. SOPHIA is pressing for the program to be funded at a level of $22 million or more in the next biennial budget.  Both candidates think the idea has merit.

 

The candidates also addressed:

 

Justice isn't achieved with idle talk or good intentions, but only when our voices are raised in the halls of power.  That was the message brought by South African activist Johanna (Joey) Usher to Waukesha Temple, a SOPHIA member congregation, during the Sunday service Oct. 8.

 

Usher, who was in the area to help with a nationwide leadership training program for women, held in Milwaukee Oct. 5-7, based her talk on Matthew 5:13-16: "You are the salt of the earth.  You are the light of the world."

 

Salt, she observed, was an essential preservative in Jesus' time.  Without salt, food spoils.  Similarly, without activists committed to social justice, society decays, User said, calling on SOPHIA members to "be the salt in Waukesha County."

 

Usher, a former school teacher, is now lead organizer for Communities Building Credible Ownership (CBCO KZN) in Durbin, South Africa.  The group's member churches work on issues such as HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, public roads and infrastructure, environmental protection, school safety, drugs and crime, and community policing.

 

Usher urged audience members to reject individualism and embrace responsibility to the community. She called on them to speak out against substance abuse, family violence, and parental neglect, which are just as prevalent in Waukesha County as they are in less prosperous areas of the nation and the world.

 

Usher insisted that private piety is not enough to fulfill Christ's prescription in Matthew 5.  "It doesn't say you are the light of your household," she observed, "it says you are the light of the world.  That sounds like a mandate to me.  We are compelled by our faith to pursue these goals in the public arena."

 

 

 

SOPHIA joined with area Latino organizations to host a Fifth Congressional District candidate forum on Sept. 23, an event that drew about 50 people -- but not all the candidates -- to La Casa de Esperanza in Waukesha.

Incumbent F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Menomonee Falls) declined to appear at the forum, choosing instead to speak at the grand opening of the Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Riverwalk in Delafield.  His Democratic Opponent, Bryan Kennedy, participated, as did the Green Party candidate, Bob Levis.

The Waukesha Freeman quoted a Sensenbrenner staff member as saying the congressman was "uncomfortable" with the forum because it was sponsored by groups that have disagreed with him on immigration.  The forum was organized by La Casa de Esperanza, LULAC-Wisconsin, LACLA, Voces de la Frontera and SOPHIA.

Independent candidate Robert Raymond also did not attend the forum.

 

 

The second SOPHIA-MICAH Fifth State Senate District candidate forum was held Sept. 21 at St. Therese Catholic Church in Wauwatosa.  Once again, incumbent Tom Reynold (R-West Allis) refused to attend.

Reynolds said that concerns about unregulated videotaping of his comments prevented him from appearing at the forum.  He had declined to attend an August SOPHIA-MICAH candidate forum for the same reason.

As was the case with the first event, Reynolds had originally agreed to attend the September forum without conditions.  Later, he said he wouldn't come unless all cameras and recorders were banned from the room, with the exception of those wielded by professional journalists.

In an effort to win Reynolds' cooperation, Dave McGuiness of MICAH, the forum's main organizer, conducted elaborate "shuttle diplomacy" between the camps of Reynolds and his opponent, Wauwatosa Alderman James Sullivan. Sullivan's team agreed that there would be no videotaping, and promised that it would not use any unauthorized footage from the debate for campaign purposes.

Reynolds replied that he wouldn't participate unless event organizers screened forum attendees at the door and agreed to throw out anyone who violated the "no cameras" rule. 
Organizers decided they couldn't go that far.  So Reynolds didn't attend the forum.

After the event, McGuiness and others went to Reynolds' house and presented him with letters, signed by forum attendees, which chided him for his failure to appear.  According to a report at WisPolitics.com, Reynolds took the visit in stride, but was unapologetic about not attending either of the two SOPHIA-MICAH candidate forums.

 

 

 

It was standing room only -- with one noticeably empty seat -- as more than 200 people crowded into Unitarian Universalist Church West on Aug. 23 for SOPHIA's second candidate forum of 2006.  The empty seat had been reserved for one of the candidates -- incumbent state Sen. Tom Reynolds (R-West Allis) -- who canceled at the last minute, citing concerns that he might be videotaped by his political opponents at the event.

Reynolds, who had confirmed his attendance in writing weeks in advance, told organizer Becky Steffes on the day before the event that he would not attend unless non-media video cameras were banned from the room.  Reynolds apparently was concerned that his political opponents would use footage from the event to embarrass him in political attack ads later in the campaign.

 

The unusual rationale for Reynolds' cancellation attracted media attention -- the story was prominently featured in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel political column -- and this may have increased public interest and attendance to the benefit of Reynolds' opponent in the race, James Sullivan, a Wauwatosa alderman.

 

In Reynolds' absence, Sullivan had the audience to himself, answering prepared questions from event organizers, and spontaneous questions from the floor.

Reynolds said he supports spending $22 million a year to fund treatment as an alternative to incarceration for drug and alcohol offenders  -- a plan advocated by a statewide consortium of which SOPHIA is a member.

In response to a question about immigration, Reynolds stated that he supports federal border security programs, but also favors a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are already in this country.

 

Unitarian Universalist Church West, which hosted the event, is not a member of SOPHIA but has often been involved in SOPHIA activities.  The forum was co-sponsored by MICAH (Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope), which plans its own Reynolds-Sullivan candidate forum on Sept. 21.

 

 

I must admit it was a bit stressful.  On May 24, at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Waukesha, SOPHIA held a forum for the candidates for state attorney general and Waukesha district attorney.
 
It was my job to make sure all the candidates showed up.
 
And by May 12 I had obtained written confirmation that all the candidates would attend, except for incumbent attorney general Peg Lautenschlager.
 
So imagine my surprise when Paul Bucher, one of the AG frontrunners, called me the night before the event and said he had a scheduling conflict.  After considerable discussion over the course of two phone calls, we agreed he'd come, but that he'd be somewhat late.
 
Then, on the day of the forum, AG candidate J. B. Van Hollen canceled out.  And district attorney candidate Dennis Krueger, through a representative, advised that he might not be there, either.
 
Yikes.  A nightmare in progress.  We had publicized the event from Beloit to Green Bay, we had alerted the news media, and we had invited our friends and fellow church goers, with the claim that all the candidates except Lautenschlager would be there for sure. And now three of the five confirmed attendees were discovering they had last-minute conflicts!
 
In the end, AG candidate Kathlen Falk and district attorney candidate Brad Schimel turned up more or less on time.  Paul Bucher made it, too, but he was at least 45 minutes late.  Van Hollen and Krueger were no-shows.
 
So it was obvious to everyone that the event didn't come off the way we'd planned.
 
Believe me, the SOPHIA leadership is doing some deep thinking about that.  Did we (me, really) not communicate to the candidates?  Did they not realize that we had invited lots of people to come and hear them talk about treatment instead of prison, and other topics?  Did we (me, again) not make it clear when and where the event would occur?  Are we (me) not sophisticated enough to organize this sort of event?
 
With thoughts like those whirling around in my head during the candidate forum, I entirely missed the real defining moment of the event,  when Paul Bucher stood up and said:
 
"Would I advocate the state to invest money in alternatives for non-violent offenders with substance abuse issues? Sure.  Absolutely.  I do that now as district attorney and I would continue doing that as attorney general."
 
It took me a couple of days to realize the full impact of that statement:  Paul Bucher and Kathleen Falk both agree that the state of Wisconsin should spend more money treating substance abusers who get in trouble with the law instead of sending them all to jail or prison.
 
Of course, Bucher and Falk have different ideas about how a program of treatment alternatives should be implemented.  As Bucher said, "the devil's in the details."
 
To let you evaluate their positions more fully, we have posted a full transcript of Bucher's statement and Falk's corresponding remarks at http://www.gamaliel.org/Sophia/transcript.htm.  Both were responding to a prepared question from SOPHIA about treatment instead of prison.  The question had been provided to all attorney general candidates by mail prior to the May 24 event.
 
Mark Doremus
President, SOPHIA
 
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Values -- the ideals we are willing to sacrifice for -- have been a topic of discussion among SOPHIA member congregations and affiliated groups in other counties over the past several months. In a comprehensive series of "faith and values dialogues," participants have named and affirmed the core beliefs that motivate them, as people of God, to work in the public arena for peace and justice.

 

On May 16, representatives of SOPHIA and other, like-minded organizations gathered at Cross Lutheran Church in Milwaukee to begin compiling the results of the dialogues held so far.  A number of common themes emerged.

 

Participants in several cities said they find hope for the future in:

Dialogue participants were also encouraged to name the values that could be inferred from their hopes and fears.   Among the ideas that came forward were:

compassion,

Organizers believe that these common hopes, fears and values can be an inspiration and a guide to future activities of SOPHIA and other affiliates of WISDOM, a statewide peace and justice network.

 

By examining their faith values in a focused, intentional way, WISDOM affiliates are developing a set of core principles that will tell them how to respond to new, unanticipated public policy issues as they arise.

 

The faith and values dialogues are ongoing within SOPHIA and elsewhere in the state.  Also ongoing is the effort to compile, summarize and interpret information that is gleaned from the discussion sessions.  At the May 16 meeting, a small team was organized to manage that effort.

 

The ultimate result, according to WISDOM executive director David Liners, will be a common language that expresses the core values of all WISDOM affiliates.

 

"We want to consistently use that language and make it a distinguishing feature, or 'trademark,' of WISDOM in the future," Liners said.

 

So far, the following SOPHIA congregations have conducted faith and values dialogues:

Two other congregations, Community of the Living Spirit and Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, have scheduled dialogues in June.

 

 

I hope we'll have many more faith and values dialogues in the future.  We want to hear from everyone possible, in every SOPHIA member congregation, especially if their views are different from what we've heard so far.

 

What's important is reaching consensus on the values that we all consider to be essential to our faith.  I think everyone in the SOPHIA leadership team is committed to listening closely and respecting the beliefs of everyone in our member congregations.

 

Mark Doremus
President, SOPHIA

 

 

Seems to me that every organization should be able to explain itself in a sentence or two. But describing SOPHIA in simple terms is not easy. 

 

Most of us say something like: "We're a coalition of faith communities working for peace and justice in Waukesha County and in the wider world," or words to that effect.

 

But that explanation doesn't quite capture how we do what we do.

I've thought about this a lot and here's what I've come up with:

 

"SOPHIA puts people of faith face-to-face with decision-makers."

 

I think this captures our approach pretty well. We arrange events -- forums, public meetings, small-group sessions -- where people with a commitment to justice get a chance to speak truth to power.

 

When we do it right, we put articulate, well-informed spokespersons and supporters in front of people with authority.  The result: people with power hear from people who speak in good faith and who, in turn, have an impact on public policy.

 

But this process requires discernment.  It requires prayer, reflection, study, and honest, open discussion with other well-intentioned people.   Together we strive to identify the values that are worth promoting and defending in the public arena.

 

If the path we choose is morally defensible -- derived from prayer and reflection, and pursued with an open heart and mind -- we can have confidence that we are on a path that leads to peace and justice, missteps and occasional wrong turns notwithstanding.

 

In the end, it's about as close as we can come to following the Biblical injunction to "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."

 

Mark Doremus
President, SOPHIA