Episcopal Presence Strong At Impact Briefing
Episcopal News Service. April 12, 1984 [84074]
NEW YORK (DPS, Apr. 12) -- On March 25 over 500 people -- 80 of them Episcopalians -- met in Washington for the beginning of the 12th annual IMPACT/Washington Interreligious Staff Council Briefing on Issues Before Congress.
Intended primarily for members of the religious community who are already active in advocacy efforts, the purpose of the intensive three-day meeting is to acquaint them with issues expected to figure in the year's congressional session, to present them with pertinent facts, and to work on developing local and national lobbying strategies around these issues.
IMPACT, a 12,500-member organization defining itself as a "National Interfaith Action Network", is sponsored by a coalition of Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant groups which includes the Episcopal Church. Each group is given a certain number of places to fill for the year's briefing. This year the number of Episcopalians desiring to attend far exceeded the available space, even though that was expanded from 50 people to 80 in an effort to accommodate the surge of interest.
The Episcopal presence at the IMPACT briefing this year was more visible than in the past in ways that went beyond numbers. A pre-briefing celebration was held which included the 11:00 A.M. Eucharist at the Washington Cathedral and an invitation to a reception and brunch at the College of Preachers for Episcopal delegates to the briefing. This was hosted by the church's Washington Affairs Officer, the Rev. Dr. William L. Weiler. A number of staff persons from the Episcopal Church Center in New York also attended either to give presentations on areas related to the briefing subjects or just to be available for possible questions and to get acquainted with their fellow church members.
Another new facet of Episcopal involvement this year was a hospitality suite maintained at the hotel where most briefing participants were staying. Here Episcopalians could meet to relax, get to know one another, strategize, debrief, and share: programs, experiences, frustrations. As a result, a real sense of community was forged. Those staff members attending the briefing stopped by the suite on a rotating schedule to join in, expanding the opportunities for contact begun at the reception/brunch.
One evening of the briefing schedule is always set aside for denominational dinners. At this year's Episcopal dinner, the speaker was Representative Bill Alexander, an Arkansas Democrat and an Episcopalian, who serves as Chief Deputy Majority Whip in the House. He took as his topic the situation in Central America, an area in which he has had a particular interest.
Central America was also the topic of one of the briefing's plenary presentations. Others were the effects of budget cuts, acid rain, lobbying skills, arms control and U.S.-Soviet relations, the Economic Equity Act, immigration, sentencing reform, and the death penalty. Workshops were held to provide additional information on these topics for interested persons. Participants were encouraged to make immediate use of the information by arranging meetings with their legislators while in Washington.
The amount of information contained in the briefing was almost overwhelming, but IMPACT's director, Episcopal priest Craig Biddle, III, explained, "A lot of these people have come a long way. We have to fill the time, we have to make it worthwhile." Barbara Volker, an Episcopal hunger activist from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts who was attending for the second time, agreed. Summing up the general feeling, she said: "I don't remember it all now, but in a week it will all come back."