Minutes for Peace with Justice meeting 2-5-06

We’ve Chosen Affordable Health Care as our Peace with Justice campaign!

1. Actions needed before our next meeting:

• Linda will get more info about the list of organizations and a timeline for kickoff, rallies, and other activities that may be in the works so we can decide how to plug in and begin to apply our own ideas as well.

• Linda will put together a half page briefing and check sheet for our presentation at church on February 12^th.

• All of us: Think of five Walkerites to call and tell who might participate if they knew you were gonna do this too. Communicate that we’ve chosen the Healthcare Constitutional Amendment, that we’re very excited about it, and you’ll be connecting with them to let them know how they can be involved in the future.

• Presenting this to the church: Marg and Paul will be the ring leaders for a skit for Feb 12^th, this next Sunday, that will spread the news and begin to capture people’s possible interests.

2. Next meeting dates and locations

Wednesday February 22^nd, 6:30 – 8:30pm

David West’s House (Treat Bringers: Steve S., Paul and David)

2900 37^th Ave S

Sunday March 12^th, 12:30 – 2:30pm

Host?:

Walker Church

3. Meeting notes on our process:

Bonnie is convening a group to do emotional depth and processing work to strengthen Peace with Justice and to help sustain us as activists. Times for a first meeting are in the works.

4. Leadership for each meeting will include:

Facilitator: bring the pre-agenda and guide the meeting; find someone to do “inspiration,” and “fun”

Time keeper: help the group with gentle reminders of the time we’ve set

Barometer: watch the process; note our emotional needs and suggest

adjustments

Note taker: Record notes, send them to Jim, coordinate communication from that meeting if needed.

5. We sang - “Turn the World Around:” a little ditty about where we come from, where we invest our lives, and how social justice and change turns the planet.

6. Jan 22^nd Feedback from the Walkerites

We discussed the clear affirmation that the congregation gave to the Health Care Amendment and through a process of good discussion rallied around it as our project.

Linda described how she pictures people from Walker plugging into the work of the campaign. She stressed that this project will have all the features of a major campaign and will need help with:

· Fundraisers

· Postcard and letter writing

· Media: personal stories and press conferences

· Testifying and sitting in at committees

· Indiv. meetings with legislators and mass lobbying

· Rallies at the capital and elsewhere

This campaign will be led by a coalition that is joining under the organizational structure of the nonprofit Minnesotans for Affordable Healthcare and already includes labor unions, hospital workers, nonprofits, citizens, congregations, lobbying groups, etc.

Part of our task will be helping the coalition grow by doing outreach to more congregations, groups, and individuals.

Success for part one of the campaign looks like getting the Constitutional Amendment on the ballot by getting it passed by a majority of both bodies, the House and Senate.

Note: we plan to win.

Next Steps:

We generated lots of energy during this meeting. (Some of the immediate steps appear above.) People already know of other people and other projects that might fit in well (like a movie being made around healthcare stories, and an acquaintance who wants to put on a play on the subject). We talked about Theater of the Oppressed (a street theater strategy), branding walls and doors with the campaign logo, and lobbying in successive accumulation on successive days (1 person on Monday, 2 people on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday… 64 on Friday).

We also brainstormed some catchy slogans like:

“The Time Has Come: Affordable Healthcare for All!”

“Affordable Healthcare: Spreading like a Rash”

“Healthcare: It Scratches my Itch”

More zany fun to come from your P w/ J friends!