Posts By: Nora Leccese

The OPW Says Goodbye to Nora Leccese, Domestic Policy Advocate

Dear Presbyterian Community, This Friday August 17th will be Representative for Domestic Policy, Nora Leccese’s last day with the Office of Public Witness .  Nora has been with the OPW since September 2015 and has made a tremendous contribution to our work in D.C. the past three years. She began her work as a fellow, but… Read more »

Reflections on the Launch of the Poor Peoples Campaign

By Jamila Cervantes, Emerson National Hunger Fellow with the Office of Public Witness From behind the bars of the Birmingham Jail, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. […] We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of… Read more »

Just Transition: A Pathway to Environmental Justice

By Jamila Cervantes, Emerson National Hunger Fellow with the Office of Public Witness In response to a question on energy policy during a Democratic town hall in Ohio in 2016, then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” Though this response was… Read more »

Our Faith, Our Vote: Resources for Presbyterians to Engage with the 2018 Midterm Elections

In line with a legacy of affirming the right for all citizens to participate in the democratic process, the 223rd General Assembly passed an overture calling on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to oppose, “any efforts to restrict participation in elections, including, but not limited to, voter suppression initiatives and racially based and/or partisan gerrymandering.” The… Read more »

PC(USA) 223rd GA Condemns President’s EO that Detains Families Indefinitely

The 223rd Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly “condemns the President’s June 20th Executive Order ‘Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation’ that further criminalizes migration through the expansion of family detention on military bases and other government property, potentially indefinitely.” Watch Rev. Jimmie Hawkins statement HERE The president’s order does nothing to address the plight… Read more »

End Family Separation: Decriminalize Migration Grassroots Tool Kit

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[g] you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40-41 NRSV Update July 26, 2018– 1. On Monday, July 30 at 4 PM EST members of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops… Read more »

Join the Movement to End Money Bail at the 223rd General Assembly

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” Luke 4:18 (NRSV) With the 223rd General Assembly quickly approaching, the “Hands and… Read more »