Casinos and Coffee Hour:
Editor’s Note: This article highlighting successful strategies to promote faithful public policy engagement by Christians. If you have a success story to tell, share it with us at council@masscouncilofchurches.org.
It’s great to hear a powerful sermon about the importance of making a public witness to our Christian faith, but what next? How do we move from conviction to action? Here are some helpful tips on organizing an anti-gambling letter-writing event in your church.
Letter Offering: Invite your congregation to bring a “letter offering” to church next week. In addition to putting their financial offering in the collection plate, ask members who are so inclined to bring in letters to their legislators. Place a basket in the Narthex where the letters can be received. Think of organizing this in the same way you would a canned food drive!
Casino Covenant: Commit a social mission/justice committee to work on this issue. Invite other groups to join in if they are interested, taking 5 minutes at the start of their gatherings to write letters to their legislators.
Casinos and Coffee Hour: Designate time after worship during coffee hour or fellowship time for letter writing. Here are some things to consider:
Make it Meaningful: Consider dovetailing a letter-writing campaign with a church forum or Bible study on responsible stewardship. Use the “Talking Points” as a fact sheet.. What scriptures relate to this issue? How do we understand them? Hold a discussion group on Christian perspectives on gambling.
Make it Easy: Collect beforehand everything you’ll need for writing letters: paper, pens, envelopes, stamps, sample letters, photocopies of talking points. Go online to http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php to find out who your legislators are. Go to the website www.masscouncilofchurches.org and download the “Say ‘NO’ to Casinos! Call-In Tool Kit for Churches,” and make copies for everyone. Ask people to turn on their cell phones (before or after church!) and dial the Statehouse Switchboard at 617-722-2000; the switchboard will connect you to your legislator’s office.
Make it Ecumenical: Invite another congregation in your town to participate with you in whatever ways works best. Invite Laura Everett from the Massachusetts Council of Churches to come to your community’s clergy group and share information and resources.
Make it Fun: Bring food. Provide childcare or invite the Sunday School to decorate the envelopes. Give folks a chance to get to know one another and discuss the issue before you begin writing. Invite your youth group members to participate so they can see how the church makes public its faith.
Make it Stick: While the letter writing event could be a one-time occurrence, make sure folks know and appreciate how they are participating in something larger. Make a poster to chart how many letters are written and sent from your church. Include updates in church newsletters about what’s going on with the gambling debate. Encourage people to tell others about what they are doing through their church. Call the Massachusetts Council of Churches and your denominational offices and tell us what you’ve done. Find out from the MCC what other churches are doing. Situate your church’s witness in the context that many Christians in the state are witnessing against the harm that gambling expansion could bring.
Make room for the Spirit: Chances are the effects of problem gambling have touched people in your congregation. You can have an open invitation for people to speak about this topic if they feel comfortable.
Remember when you’ve sent letters or called your legislators, please call 617-523-2771 or email the Massachusetts Council of Churches at council@masscouncilofchurches.org to let us know that you have contacted them. It only takes a few points of contact for legislators to start paying closer attention to an issue. Thank you for your help!