HourChallenge

On the surface, writing a letter to your representative can seem like a meaningless act. You may be skeptical that doing so would make any difference at all. In reality, writing a letter to your congressman or senator is easy and the impact it can make is much greater than you would think. OK, I will concede that in many cases one letter will not change the world all that much. But many letters certainly can and will.

Last year, our church of about 250 partnered with a school and delivered more than 200 hand written letters to four representatives in California! This does not include many powerful drawings from our Sunday school classes. One senator – Feinstein – received 70+ letters urging her to consider development assistance, increased aid to help meet the MDG’s and letters urging support for upcoming legislation. This made a significant impact on her office.

Now, this was just one church. Our church. We need to expand this effort further to make a greater impact and to ensure that the poor have a voice in San Marcos. This year we hope to have four to six churches writing letters here in our little city (only two have committed so far, but four are considering an event right now) and next year twelve. We also hope to bring the neighboring cities of Escondido and Vista on board beginning with four churches next year in each of those communities. You see where this is going. We are one little city situated in North San Diego county, California.

I envision (years from now) every church here writing letters and sending representatives to local congressional offices. I image thousands or even tens of thousands of letters showing up in individually stamped envelops to these offices from San Marcos. Add the neighboring communities I just mentioned and you have a recipe for change (or at least less comfort for business as usual). And then, add your community and the communities of those you know. This is what is required if we expect change.

Let me provide a story here so years from now we can look back and see where we’ve been. I have been trying to get a face-to-face meeting with my Representative, Brian Bilbray, for months. I’ve spoken and met with many people in his office and have asked repeatedly for an in-person meeting with the congressman. I am always passed off to an aid. Why is that? Well, I’m not sure exactly. But I have a sneaky suspicion that it’s partly due to the fact that he’s not hearing much about this issue and considers it unimportant to those he represents. IS IT??? I’ve asked several folks in Bilbray’s office who else is calling to voice concern for the poor and marginalized or those suffering from extreme poverty. The answer is always something like, “(pause) no one, I can’t think anyone who’s called about this”.

And that is exactly what needs to change. If Bilbray had received thousands of letters this year on this topic, would his response be the same? Do you think he would meet with us then? I do. Let me know if you can help ramp up an offering of letters at your church or among those you know in San Marcos and its neighboring communities. This is an exciting time.