Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People’s Campaign

It’s been a busy few months! Massachusetts Episcopalians have been helping GOTV with the Poor People’s Campaign by text banking; canvassing in Holyoke and Mattapan, which the Church of the Holy Spirit hosted; and sharing voter resources with their congregations.

Below is our slide for the virtual exhibit hall at Convention.

Read our report on page H-32 of the Diocesan Convention Handbook to see what all we’ve done this year. Follow us on FaceBook at @MAPPCEN and email us at [email protected] with questions and/or to stay connected with us!

Heading Into the Election Season … Ways To Engage With and Support the Poor People’s Campaign:

1 – Pledge to join the Poor People’s Campaign mobilization efforts. Read the moral and just agenda & sign it here.

2 – Become an election activator to GOTV among poor and low-income, low-propensity voters. See this flyer for details or email [email protected] for more info.

3 – Sign up to receive emails from the Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign to stay abreast of news and events. Sign up here.

4 – Make a Donation to the MAPPC to support the work of the campaign. Donate Here.

5 – Follow the Poor People’s Campaign and Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign on social media. Like posts and Share them on your social media pages and with your online groups.

6 – Pray for the Poor People’s Campaign and all fighting for justice in the world.

7 – Learn more about the Poor People’s Campaign and view facts about poverty, voting, and other issues in Massachusetts and across the nation:

ABOUT US

Welcome to the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People’s Campaign (MAPPCEN) web page, and thanks to St. Dunstan’s for hosting us!

Drawing from the resolution passed at the 2022 Diocesan Convention, we acknowledge that issues of poverty and justice are interconnected and cannot be adequately addressed with siloed action. These injustices adversely affect us, our siblings, both locally and globally. We commit to ministries of active engagement, advocacy, and support.

We hope Episcopalians in Massachusetts will join in solidarity with the Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign (MAPPC), whose goals overlap substantially with the justice ministries currently happening, and participate through education, formation, engagement, support, and/or actions, all providing avenues for us to live into our mission strategy.

The network offers Episcopalians in Massachusetts a Bible study based on We Cry Justice, public witness, and actions of solidarity with the campaign at the local, state, and national level.

The network also plans to highlight and support the related justice work already underway, to provide opportunities to build relationships and spread the good news of the work being done.

Mission – What is our purpose?

Our purpose is twofold:

  • Connect local Episcopalians to the actions of the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) movement for people at the local, state, and national levels
  • Foster supportive relationships among those doing justice work in the Dioceses of Massachusetts

Goals – What will we do?

Support the PPC movement to build the political will to eliminate systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.

  • Serve as a bridge to help Episcopalians in MA connect with PPC (via MAPPC), and channel them into action
  • Enable Episcopalians to stand in solidarity with MAPPC/PPC – coalesce when there is an action

Support the constellation of related justice work being done in the Dioceses of MA.

  • Collaborate and support justice organizations in our Diocese and connect with Western MA
  • Connecting and highlighting social justice work done by Episcopalians in our state
  • Build relationships among Episcopalians in Massachusetts doing justice work, giving them opportunities to share their experiences

Tactics – How will we do it?

  • We Cry Justice Bible studies
  • Newsletter to share MAPPC and DioMass Justice news
  • Annual conference/gathering
  • Mobilizing communications for action
  • Others as we discern them

We began gathering as a network in 2022, working to connect people across our dioceses who are interested in learning more about the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival (PPC), how our faith calls us to learn about the five interlocking justices and fight against them, and how we can engage with and support the PPC. You can read about us in the DioMass News HERE.

Since our formation, we have:

  • Participated in the Mass Poor People’s and Low Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2022.
  • Presented a resolution in support of the PPC at the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts 2022 Annual Convention (and it passed!). You can read the resolution and the full convention report for more information, and the resolution is a way to live into our Mission Strategy 2021.
  • Created a monthly newsletter with info on justice work being done here in Massachusetts and at the national church level, as well as news on the PPC and related news articles. You can read all our newsletters here. If you would like to be on our email list and/or have info to add, please email us at [email protected].
  • Built a MAPPC EN Google Calendar. This lists justice events going on across the state and online, with links to more info. A great way to see all the impressive work being done by churches and groups across the state and find ways to get involved. If you have events to add, please email us at [email protected].

If you’d like to be part of the steering team for our network and/or be a liaison between our network and one of the justice groups in our dioceses, please email us at [email protected].

Network Steering Team Members:
Phoebe Chatfield, Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Boston)
Rev. Jer Colvin, St. Luke’s (Hudson)
Claudette Gates, Church of the Holy Spirit (Mattapan)
Meredith Haider, Grace Church (Great Barrington)
Dan Fields, St. Paul’s (Natick)
Martha Gardner, Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Boston)
Rev. Sean Leonard, St. Dunstan’s (Dover)
The Very Rev. Amy McCreath, Dean, Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Boston)
Connie McGrane, Parish of the Epiphany (Winchester)
Amelia Slawsby, St. Dunstan’s (Dover)
Rebecca Spangler, Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Boston)
Wendy Wheeler, All Saints (Brookline)
Kris Wile, St. Andrews (Framingham)