EXTEND EVICTION MORITORIUM: Washington’s eviction moratorium ends August 1. Without an extension, hundreds of thousands of Washington residents could lose their homes.
A new analysis based on U.S. Census data estimates that without adequate rent assistance, 195,000 Washington households could face eviction over the next four months if the moratorium expires. Among those, Communities of Color are likely to be hit the hardest. Even before COVID-19, Black/African American households were about 10-times and Latinx renter households were almost twice as likely to face eviction as white households. Homeless students service provider David Sims said, “These numbers are infuriating, but not surprising.” We must also consider the layers upon layers of trauma that residents, particularly from Communities of Color, are experiencing right now with increased health issues, loss of family members, income loss, childcare challenges, and more. This is on top of the daily fear of losing their home.
The Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance is asking for folks to call for lawmakers to extend the eviction moratorium through March 2021. Take action at https://bit.ly/ExtendEvictionMoratorium.
You can also talk about your advocacy and share the action link on your social media networks, using the the hashtags #HomesAreEssential and #RentReliefNow, and encourage others to join you in this effort.
Meaningful Movies Online Discussion: Do Not Resist
7 p.m. Wednesday, July 22
Release Year: 2016
Running Time: 72
Director: Craig Atkinson
Meaningful Movies has gone online! Even though the pandemic is keeping folks apart physically, we can still come together to learn about important justice issues together. Meaningful Movies is hosting several online discussions this week. Tonight's movie is the documentary Do Not Resist, an urgent and powerful exploration of the rapid militarization of the police in the United States. Starting on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, as the community grapples with the death of Michael Brown, “Do Not Resist” – the directorial debut of Detropia cinematographer Craig Atkinson – offers a stunning look at the current state of policing in America and a glimpse into the future. The Tribeca Film Festival winner for Best Documentary puts viewers in the center of the action – from a ride-along with a South Carolina SWAT team and inside a police training seminar that teaches the importance of “righteous violence” to the floor of a congressional hearing on the proliferation of military equipment in small-town police departments – before exploring where controversial new technologies including predictive policing algorithms could lead the field next. Written by Katie Atkinson
Please watch the film before the discussion. The film is available on Amazon and YouTube for about $3.00.
Email meaningfulmoivesspokane@gmail.com to get the Zoom link for the discussion, which will be held at 7:00pm (Pacfic Time) on July 22.
Other movies to view in the next week:
Tuesday, July 28, 6 p.m.: Join Fix Democracy First and Meaningful Movies Project for a screening and discussion on democracy and the media with filmmaker Kevin Bowe on his film, “Democracy Through the Looking Glass: Politics & Media in the Post-Truth Era.” Register for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Nz5z6HiuT92lS8A4VWwOJg. “Democracy Through the Looking Glass” covers the national conversation around the 2016 presidential election, rather than focusing on the daily sound bites or sniping between campaigns. The documentary explores the evolution of traditional media models and their coverage of the run-up to the election. It also covers the very profound impact technology had in uniting and amplifying previously silent segments of society that dominated political discourse during the campaign.For more info and to view the trailer visit: https://www.democracythroughthelookingglass.com/
Active Discipleship @Keystone: Action items from Keystone members you can act on this week
Here's some items that Keystone members are asking folks from the congregation to take action on or share around through their networks. These are all items geared toward bringing about the good in the world!
SIGN UP FOR DRAWDOWN THIS SUNDAY: This past Sunday, Jim Little reminded folks that Drawdown Seattle will host Rob Beem, with the Movement Voter Project, at its next Climate Solutions Conversations, on Sunday, July 26 at 3 p.m. on Zoom. The Movement Voter Project promotes get-out-the-vote efforts by grassroots organizations in key swing states for the November 2020 election. Jim said that Drawdown needs a critical number of people to sign up for the conversation, or else they'll have to cancel it, so he's asking folks to please sign up and be a part of this talk. Sign up to participate in this talk at their meetup page at https://www.meetup.com/SeattleClimateChange/events/qnxwtrybckbjc/ .
At its July meeting, the Keystone Green Team identified voter participation as a key element to climate justice, since it's through voting that we can get lawmakers who will work with communities to pass climate- and community-oriented policies.
GO TO CAMP ONLINE: Dick & Pat invite campers of all ages to nourish our Spirits during this week with Camp Adams's "Together in Spirit" Camp, a virtual camp for all ages. With so many traditional summer youth camps getting suspended because of the pandemic in 2020, Keystone folks can tap in this week at Camp Adams, which goes through this Friday. You can check out Camp Adams and what's going on every day through their Facebook page Camp Adams Up Close, or learn more at their blog: http://campadams.org/blog
Solarizing Keystone Update: How You Can Help!
Christian Townsdin (Keystone’s lead in our solar panel project) gave a presentation after July 19th on-line worship, to update on our fundraising, and share numbers from one installer, Sun Path (he’s gotten quotes from two installers, and Sun Path’s was the best price). According to Christian:
"Last time we were in person, reviewing our fundraising thermometer in the narthex at Keystone, we were 41% of the way to our goal. Now (he held the gauge with more red up to video screen… drum roll…), we are 57% of the way to our goal!
We are staying home to be safe, but this moving!! Share the news of our work to put solar on our church roof: You can click on this story on the Keystone web site and post it on your Facebook page, or you can send folks the link. And you can easily contribute to the fund. Every bit will get us there.
To contribute to this solar panel fund-raising, send a check marked “solar panels” to the church office or donate by clicking on the button below and choosing “Solar Panel Project” in the box that says “(Optional) Use This Donation For …”
In an earlier email, Christian wrote:
“20.78 kW of solar will fit nicely on our roof, providing 103% of our estimated current needs.
“Our investment of $41,507 now is estimated to profit us by over $70,000 over the next 30 years. Yes, you read that right, we pay off the panels in 15 years, and then go on to make more than we paid for them in the next 15 years. … The basic reason it's such a good investment is that the cost of electricity generally rises by about 4% a year. If that were to continue, we've bought the ability to make most of the electricity we need now and will benefit from that over time.
”Financial benefits aside, this is the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do because our time to mitigate the most serious negative effects of climate change (global warming) is running very very short. We have the money, we can do this, and we can set an example of our values and the right way forward for the community.”
You can read more about the installer, Sun Path, and their estimates for Keystone’s solar panels in this PDF.
Links here to watch/listen to John Lewis speeches & interview! for ongoing study of nonviolence in action
Pastor Lauren writes to pass along a great resource: Each week at Keystone worship, we steep in the amazing words that form a charge for our lives from Rep. John Lewis, as Pastor Yuki weaves them in to the benediction at the end of our service. On Sunday July 19, our worship held a couple kinds of tribute, as the stories to celebrate his life, became part of our prayers (Lauren) and sermon (Rich), and benediction (Yuki). On Monday July 20, a neat interview with John Lewis was shared on Democracy Now, along with clips of some of his pivotal speeches as he worked with MLK Jr. There are stories here about his mighty and faithful nonviolence (and surviving his near-death, at a nightstick beating, in a march in Selma). We also learn how he became called to be a legislator, and carry on the work, after the assassinations of MLK, both Kennedy’s, and Malcolm X.
So we share this incase it may fuel your self-guided ongoing study of nonviolence, here are video and audio options: from July 20, 2020. 1 hour show, but you can use any part. Happy listening! You can also find the clips from the show below.