October 12th TIME TO BELIEVE gathering.  More Information

Huge VICTORY on transportation funding!
ISAIAH marks a huge victory with the successful passage of the transportation funding bill into law on Monday, February 25, 2008!  More

"Honest Abes" proclaim vision and wisdom on transportation funding  (February 12, 2008)
ISAIAH leaders started off the 2008 legislative session with some truth telling from an iconic American—Abraham Lincoln.  A dozen “Honest Abes” proclaimed vision and wisdom on the issue of transportation funding.  More

Launching ourselves on a racial justice path for 2008
On Saturday November 10, 250 metro and 100 St. Cloud area ISAIAH leaders gathered to launch our organization on a path toward viewing all the issues we work on with a racial equity lens.  Through research and discussions over the past several years, it became clear to us that we cannot reach our shared vision of a healthy, just community, rooted in hope, community and shared abundance, without solidarity across racial lines and an intentional focus on racial justice.  Read more

Candlelight vigil for S-CHIP.  This is a YouTube video of ISAIAH's President Grant Stevensen speaking out in support of children's health care during a S-CHIP vigil at Congresswomen Michele Bachmann's office.  October 16, 2007.   Video

Workforce Development Task Force Sees Opportunity on I-35W Bridge Rebuild Project

ISAIAH leader Victoria Schanen's recent commentary in the Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/commentary/story/1479295.html describes the opportunity for recruitment and training of underrepresented persons into highway construction jobs.  ISAIAH’s workforce development task force is part of the Transportation Equity Network (TEN).  The TEN website,  http://transportationequity.org/  includes a brand new “Road to Jobs” study that documents the under-participation of minorities and women in highway construction in 18 metropolitan regions across the US.   

Faith in Democracy: Renewing the Promise Campaign
2007 Legislative Agenda and Session Report 
The results of this session were mostly disappointing in terms of real steps toward our vision, but we did make progress in our collective ability to act as co-creators. We built relationships with many new legislators, and deepened and strengthened our relationships with others. In addition to issue advocacy work, 38 congregations brought 300 people to talk with legislators during our Lenten Vigil. Over 100 of them had never been to the Capitol before. Nearly 150 returned to participate in our end-of-session “Boost of Courage” event.   MORE

Co-creating with Courage:  Lenten Vigil and a ‘Boost of Courage’ at the Capitol  More

Victory in Twinsville!  Level Playing Field Campaign wins jobs for local residents in stadium construction  More

Town Hall Meeting on the Proposed Target World Headquarters in Brooklyn Park 
ISAIAH’S Northwest Caucus, in conjunction with the African American Action Coalition (AAAC), held a public meeting Thursday, April 12, 2007, at the Church of St. Gerard, about the proposed Target World Headquarters to be built in Brooklyn Park near Highways 610 and 169.  Over 120 interested citizens attended the meeting, seeking information and answers about this large scale development.  More

St. Cloud’s Community Policing Agreement:  Is It Working?  On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, when most people were out enjoying the April sunshine, 100 People of Color and ISAIAH leaders gathered to work on a common issue – ongoing policing issues between the St. Cloud Police Department and Communities of Color.  More

Taxes vs. Vision in ISAIAH’S Odd Couple Action
ISAIAH leaders took our powerful worldview right to the center of the action at the State Capitol on April 11th, 2007. In teams of two, we delivered these bold messages to 34 legislators, including Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Speaker of the House:  1) We are a people of prosperity.  Only through shared abundance can we in Minnesota achieve the kind of communities we envision.  2) As people of faith we believe our destinies are linked to each other.  More

Together, We Brought A Living Wage Ordinance Into Creation
Remarks to the St. Paul Caucus by Lonnie Ellis, St. Luke’s Catholic Church in St. Paul on January 25, 2007
...Hundreds of workers will get living wages so that they can take care of their families.  Companies asking for large amounts of taxpayer dollars including Walmart and Target will no longer be able to pay their workers poverty-level wages AND get a subsidy for it from our city.  Many of us in this room know people who will benefit, and we all interact with people in St. Paul who will receive living wages...  Read the entire address.

Building Just Communities
Working together we can create just communities!

Building Just Communities is one hour of inspiration and information about congregations acting together to transform the world around them and the mission of ISAIAH.  This event is held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 a.m. at the ISAIAH office.  RSVP to Ginny Gleason at 612-333-1260 ext. 210.

Time to Believe:  New Alliances for Our Health

Thursday, August 21st; 12:30-2:30 PM
Central Lutheran Church, 33 S 12th Street, Minneapolis 55404

We invite faith and business leaders to join in a conversation with ISAIAH clergy and religious leaders, to help us craft a vision for health care reform and health in Minnesota and the country.  We will seek real solutions and a path for addressing the needs of our shared community in resolving this crucial challenge to the health of our society.

As leaders in the faith and business communities, you have a particular capacity to shape and influence the common life we share as partners in this democracy.

GUESTS:
? Dr. Anthony Iton, Alemeda County, California Public Health Officer
? Jan Malcolm, CEO Courage Center, Former Minnesota Health Commissioner

RSVP:  612-333-1260 ext. 210
 

(Many ISAIAH member congregations are using the "Unnatural Causes" and "Close the Gap" series to deepen the conversation around community and health disparities.  If you are a member of ISAIAH and would like further information about how to use these to educate your congregation, please contact the ISAIAH office at 612-333-1260 ext. 210.)

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
The U.S. is one of the richest countries on the planet. Yet, we rank 29th in the world for life expectancy, among the worst in the industrialized world - and even lower than some poor countries like Costa Rica and Chile.  What’s happening to our health?  UNNATURAL CAUSES will, for the first time on television, sound the alarm about America's glaring socio-economic and racial inequities in health - and search for root causes. The six 30 minute series (slated for PBS broadcast beginning March 27 and a March 2008 DVD release) sifts through the evidence to discover there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care, or unlucky genes. The social conditions in which we are born, live and work profoundly affect our health and longevity.

UNNATURAL CAUSES is stimulating a national dialogue about what we as a society can - and should - do to tackle our health inequities and create more equitable, healthier conditions for everyone. The challenge is that improving health outcomes demands tackling other social problems.  But there's a silver lining: working towards equity in other areas means better health and a better society for everyone. Things CAN be changed. Together, we can make a difference.

Close the Gap: The Case for Change
In 2006, the Brookings Institution did a study of the Twin Cities called Mind the Gap: Reducing Disparities to Improve Regional Competitiveness. The study found alarming and striking disparities across income, race and place.  The study made broad recommendations to address the disparities and prepare the way for a prosperous future through making core investments in critical infrastructure such as education, transportation, job creation, etc.

Produced in partnership with The Itasca Project, a documentary series has been created to deepen the conversation around solutions to the challenge of disparities in the region. The documentary is a series of five 30 minute episodes plus a 60 minute retrospective.  To order copies email mindthegap@unitedwaytwincities.org.