LCM’s Day at the Hill
This Past week, a small group of us from LCM joined the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition for their “Day on the Hill.” For this event we split into our districts and discussed the JRLC views on some of the hot topics being discussed this session by the MN Legislators. Some of the focused topics were those such as Pay Day Lending, Minimum wage, and housing. It was a very exciting experience to see so many people of different faiths coming together on issues of social justice in our community!
I found this experience to be especially inspiring because of the passion that I saw come alive in people. One woman from my district was especially passionate about the Pay Day Lending motion, which will close a loop-pole that allows lenders to lend more to clients at time with higher interest. It also limits the number of loans per year as a way of keeping people out of a debt trap. This woman that I spent most of my day with was very knowledgable about the topic and was clearly a veteran at talking to her legislators. She made talking to the legislators easy and was very helpful. Seeing someone acting out their passions for social justice is truly inspiring.
Coming away from this experience, I feel that my own beliefs on the topics that were addressed became more settled on my faith beliefs. I am really interested in looking at the bond between faith and justice. I feel that my passions for social justice are related to what I believe God has called us to do on Earth. Coming together as a community and interacting with others who believe in that connection as well is reenergizing. I had a number of people tell me how excited they were to see young people at the Day on the Hill. For me it was exciting to see the large turn out for the event.
