Economic and Environmental Justice

The Economic and Environmental Justice Program calls the church and society into a greater faithfulness to the biblical vision of wholeness and justice for all of God’s creation. From global warming and environmental racism to worker justice and poverty eradication, the program seeks to restore right relationships among ourselves, others and the created world.

The primary goals of the program are to restore and protect God’s creation, ensure just and sustainable communities, and seek economic opportunity and security for all.

Through education and advocacy, the program helps United Methodists understand the positions of the church on the full range of economic and environmental issues, offers resources to help people of faith live into the biblical vision of wholeness and justice, and encourages engagement with policymakers and other decision-makers to change unjust systems which destroy God's creation and harm God's people.

As our Social Principles clearly state, "let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social, and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God's creation." (Social Principles, "The Natural World" ¶160)

Issues

Social Principles

Coalition Memberships

The elected members of the General Board of Church and Society have voted to join the following coalitions and organizations. The staff person responsible for maintaining a liaison with each group is listed.

General Secretary's Office

Faith and Politics Institute – James Winkler

The Faith and Politics Institute provides occasions for moral reflection and spiritual community to political leaders, drawing universal wisdom from a range of religious traditions. The Institute encourages civility and respect as spiritual values essential to democracy and strives to strengthen political leadership that contributes to healing the wounds that divide our nation and our world.

website: http://faithandpolitics.org/

 

Economic and Environmental Justice Work Area

Alaska Coalition – John Hill

The Alaska Coalition has over 700 conservation, sporting, labor and religious groups working together to protect wild public lands in Alaska. A project of the Alaska Conservation Foundation, the Coalition’s priorities include protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Chugach and Tongass National Forests.

Website: http://www.alaskacoalition.org

Alliance for Fair Food – John Hill

The Alliance for Fair Food is a network of human rights, religious, student, labor, sustainable food and agriculture, environmental and grassroots organizations who work to promote principles and practices of socially responsible purchasing in the corporate food industry that advance and ensure the human rights of farmworkers.

Website: http://allianceforfairfood.org

Ecumenical Eco-Justice Network – John Hill

The Ecumenical Eco-Justice Network provides educational information on environmental and ecological issues from the Christian faith perspective. The Network produces the publication “Between the Flood and the Rainbow” which provides periodic updates on a range of eco-justice issues. The Network has been less active in recent years, although leaders continue to contribute to the activities of the National Council of Churches’ Eco-Justice Working Group.

Website: http://www.ecojusticenetwork.org

Fair Labor Association – John Hill

The Fair Labor Association is a non-profit organization combining the efforts of industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), colleges and universities to promote adherence to international labor standards and improve working conditions worldwide.

Website: http://www.fairlabor.org

INMEX (Informed Meetings Exchange) – John Hill

INMEX (Informed Meetings Exchange) was formed as a network of labor, environmental, religious and other non-profit organizations to assist in planning socially responsible meetings.

Website: http://www.inmex.org

Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility – John Hill

The Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) is a thirty-year-old coalition of over 250 faith-based institutional investors including denominations, pension funds, healthcare corporations, and foundations. The ICCR helps coalition members connect social values with investment decisions and use investments and other resources, including shareholder resolutions, to change unjust or harmful corporate policies focusing on peace, economic justice and stewardship of God’s creation.

Website: http://www.iccr.org

National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture – John Hill

The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture shapes national policies to foster a sustainable food and agriculture system. The Network is an alliance of hundreds of grassroots, state, regional and national organizations including representatives from family farms, rural and urban communities, environmental and wildlife advocates, workers, students, indigenous peoples and faith-based organizations.

Website: http://www.sustainableagriculture.net

National Farm Worker Ministry – John Hill

The National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM) is an interfaith organization that supports farm workers as they organize for empowerment, justice, and equality. Begun in 1920 as a ministry of charity and service, NFWM became the vehicle for the religious community to answer United Farm Workers founder César Chávez’s call to change its emphasis from charity to justice. NFWM brings together national denominations, state councils of churches, religious orders and congregations, and concerned individuals to act with the farm workers to achieve fundamental change in their living and working conditions.

Website: http://www.nfwm.org

National Low Income Housing Coalition – John Hill

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to ending America’s affordable housing crisis. The Coalition focuses its advocacy on those with the most serious housing problems, the lowest income households.

Website: http://www.nlihc.org

National Neighborhood Coalition – John Hill

The National Neighborhood Coalition serves as a link to Washington for neighborhood and community-based organizations. The Coalition also serves as a networking resource for representatives of regional and national organizations involved in community development, housing and a wide range of other neighborhood issues.

Website: http://www.neighborhoodcoalition.org

National Youth Employment Coalition – John Hill

The National Youth Employment Coalition works to ensure every young person is assured the full range of educational, developmental, vocational, economic and social opportunities.

Website: http://www.nyec.org

Rural Coalition – John Hill

The Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural is an alliance of regionally and culturally diverse organizations working to build a more just and sustainable food system. The focus of the Coalition’s efforts are to bring fair returns to minority and other small farmers and rural communities, to ensure just and fair working conditions for farmworkers, to protect the environment, and to deliver safe and healthy food to consumers.

Website: http://www.ruralco.org