Explanation

The Episcopal Public Policy Network is a network of Episcopalians and others across the country who opt-in to receive e-mail from the Office of Government Relations (OGR) that connects Episcopalians to the members of Congress informs the church of opportunities to advocate at the federal level on matters of interest to The Episcopal Church using the resolutions General Convention and Executive Council to guide and inform the work of OGR. Previous iterations of State Episcopal Policy Networks have existed but were not sustainable due to lack of funding. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)—a full communion partner—has an existing network of State Public Policy Offices (SPPO) operating in 15 states: Washington, California, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. These offices have a designated point person that coordinates the state-based advocacy on behalf of the ELCA Synod(s) in each state. Each context of the ELCA’s SPPO network is different. In some cases, the SPPO “director” is an ELCA deployed church-wide staff. Other directors are synod employed staff. In four of the states—WA, OH, TX, and VA—an ecumenical or interfaith organization serves in that role. In the case of the SE Synod, which includes AL, GA, MS, and TN, the director coordinates teams to work on issues. Across these Lutheran networks, the ELCA’s SPPO network leverages billions of public dollars to the needs of poor and hungry people. Grants, managed by the ELCA’s Advocacy Office in Washington, DC fund these offices and are usually matched by ELCA Synods and donors in each state to keep these offices sustainable. In all cases these SPPOs have local “policy councils” appointed by the bishop(s) to help establish the priorities of each office annually. This resolution proposes to create an Episcopal branded network similar network to the ELCA.