Reflection based on comments at Cedar Lane, Sunday service, 8/12/18
In December, the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps visited Congressional offices to encourage signatures on a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. The issue was protecting Dreamers . . . young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
We hoped he could be forced to call a vote on an issue he wanted to ignore.
My group of volunteers visited the offices of several House members including Room 1233 in the Longworth House Office Building, the Speaker’s office. At a normal office, by that I mean every other congressional office on Capitol Hill, we walk in and are helped by a young person at the front desk. We say, for example:
“Hello, my name is Michael Thoryn and I’m here with several members of the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice. We don’t have an appointment, but we would like to speak to the person who works on immigration issues to briefly discuss protecting DREAMERS. And we have some letters to deliver from constituents on the issue.”
We hand over our business card and often explain, as best we can, what is a Unitarian Universalist. UUSJ has been lobbying since February 2017 and I started the following month. I can testify that since then many more people do know who we are. When we have an appointment, set up by UUSJ staff, we are escorted to a conference room for a 10-20 minute sit-down meeting. Or standing in the hallway for 10 minutes.Or to the hallway for a brief stand-up discussion.
The sign on the Speaker Ryan’s door read: Only scheduled appointments will be admitted
We knocked and a big guy leaned out while firmly holding the side of the thick wooden door. His body was positioned to make sure we didn’t walk, unbidden, into the entry room.
“What can I do for you?” he asked. We weren’t getting in, that was clear, but he would accept what we wanted to give him. We handed him letters from UU constituents in Ryan’s Wisconsin district prepared through the UUSJ Write Here! Write Now! toolkit for letter-writing campaigns, and a copy of the “request for a vote” letter circulating to Republican House members .
People who know me know I’m rarely at a loss for words. I said, before the door closed, “These are important times. You may want to remember what is going on. You should keep a journal or take notes on what you are experiencing.”
He looked at us and said, seriously and quietly, “I don’t want to remember.”
He didn’t want to remember.
During my year and a half as a volunteer advocate I’ve talked to many senior staff people as well as a few senators and representatives. We advocate on issues and lobby in support of specific bills but there is a larger message.
I try to convince everyone I meet to:
- Remember people with no or limited medical care,
- Remember that our environment needs protecting,
- Remember that poor people need shelter, food, and medicine,
- Understand that the needs of poor people are just as worthy as the need of wealthy campaign donors for a second BMW or a third home.
I didn’t have much time to volunteer when I was a full-time federal employee. How do you find time for social justice when days are filled doing your best for your employer and caring for your family? For many of us, the time for doing good in the community is when we are no longer working full-time and when family responsibilities are reduced.
So, what is UUSJ?
It is a partnership of UU congregations, affiliated organizations and individual members in the national capital region with a mission to “Mobilize and amplify the voices of UUs.”
Why did UUSJ organize an Advocacy Corps?
There is no other UU organization conducting direct advocacy at the federal level. We are bringing critical issues to the attention of federal policy-makers.
Can we actually make a difference?
The Advocacy Corps takes the UU voices and values to offices on Capitol Hill on priority issues — income inequality, immigration, and environment and climate justice.
The need is urgent for a progressive religious voice to build relationships and talk with members of Congress and their staff from a perspective of faith and values.
What do Advocacy Corps members actually do?
There have been as many as 21 UUs on our second Tuesday of the month trips to Capitol Hill. We gather at 9:30am in a designated location on the Senate or House side for a short briefing and Q&A session about the focus issue. UUSJ provides the Corps members with background information, talking points, and material to leave behind at the end of each visit or meeting.
We disperse in small teams and complete our visits by early afternoon. Cedar Lane participants include John Gubbings, Ginger Essink, Eileen Moulin, Nanci Wilkinson, and Dian Belanger.
Do I have to be an issue expert or have experience in lobbying?
Generalists are welcome! UUSJ provides orientation and training to be an effective citizen advocate.
This is the national capital area. People come from across the country to visit our monuments, museums, and federal offices. For us, Capitol Hill offices are 12 miles from Cedar Lane driving downtown on Wisconsin Avenue . . . or by my preferred route, a short walk from two Metro stops.
Have I been successful? Has this mild-mannered retiree changed the world? I fear not, but maybe, possibly, I or another Ccorps member will change a mind, change a vote, clear a small path to a more just world.
I’m trying and it’s good to try.
Michael Thoryn
Advocacy Corps Member
Cedar Lane UU Church, Bethesda, MD
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Michael Thoryn joined Cedar Lane UU Church in 1986 when his older daughter asked to go to Sunday School. She is now a UU minister & Michael and spouse Patricia are committed UUs. He served on the CL board and is currently a Worship Associate. He is also a nearly every month citizen-advocate with UUSJ. Michael’s paid career was in communications/public affairs — the highlight was ten years as the speechwriter for the Administrator at the Federal Highway Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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