American Baptist Women
of Wisconsin
Church & Community
NOTES FROM THE COORDINATOR OF CHURCH
AND COMMUNITY OF ABW OF WISCONSIN
Lynette Miller
The general study theme of ABWomen
and National Ministries for a three year period is "Children
in Poverty". The National Ministries website highlights October
16-22 as "Give Kids Good Schools" week. This is a project
of the Public Education Network.
The website also has links to "Recommended
Changes in NCLB" from the National Council of Churches. NCLB
is the No Child Left Behind Act. This act was passed by the federal
government in 2001 and is up for reauthorization in 2007. To learn
more about these two topics go to http:/www.nationalministries.org
and click on "Children in Poverty" in the left panel.
Next month issues of children in
poverty in Wisconsin will be highlighted.
I would encourage your consideration
of two issues that Wisconsin voters will decide on November 7: The
first is the advisory question: Should the death penalty be enacted
in the State of Wisconsin for cases involving a person who is convicted
of a first-degree intentional homicide, if the conviction is supported
by DNA evidence? An educational resource packet produced by the Wisconsin
Council of Churches is being mailed to every congregation in the state
to encourage discussion on this topic. You can find the same materials
at the website www.wichurches.org.
The second issue is the Marriage
Amendment. This amendment states: Only a marriage
between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage
in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to
that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized
in this state. By law marriage between same
sex couples is already not allowed in Wisconsin. Some of us are concerned
that the second sentence of the amendment will take away the rights,
such as health care, that a large number of Wisconsinites already
have.
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