Let's talk advocacy

Advocacy at MCC – What’s it all about?? 

As MCC continues to define itself organizationally, the opportunity is ideal to bring up the question of how we do advocacy and how we can do it better, as is the moment to analyze the history of the organization and how advocacy has been done in the past. As an initial invitation into this conversation, I'm presenting a few speaking points to discuss: identity, definitions and future projections. These are the 3 areas of discussion that I feel most pertinent at this moment. However, if there are other issues that folks feel strongly should be included in this discussion, I welcome suggestions. 

1. Who are we? What do we stand for?

One of the things that has continued to strike me as interesting as I learn about MCC and advocacy, is the contradiction between advocacy for self-benefit, and advocacy for the benefit of others in the Anabaptist community. After thinking that we, as a church, just weren't good at advocacy, I was pleasantly surprised that actually, we are very good at it; when the issue affects us directly. Conscription, Forced education in English, agricultural concerns - these issues have gotten us organized and protesting quickly, efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, when the issues concern brothers and sisters in far away lands, it is more challenging to get organized around the issues and respond in Christ-like ways.

 In the Mennonite Confession of Faith, Article 23, there is clear reference to the church as God's "holy nation", the word "church" actually being derived directly from the Greek word, meaning "town meeting". Church is inherently political and in our Confession of Faith we have clearly articulated that "...Christians are responsible to witness to governments not only because of their citizenship in a particular country, but also in order to reflect Christ's compassion for all people and to proclaim Christ's lordship over all human institutions."  
 We should also recognize that silence is political, and silence can also give way to complicity. In our positions of being citizens of the most powerful countries in the world, with democratically elected governments representing the voice of the people, is the voice of God's people being heard? Are we being the prophetic voice that we are called to be?  Lastly, so many of the programs that MCC runs are responding to situations created by systemic issues: poverty, war, hunger, racism. These situations will continue to exist so long as the structures are not transformed. The cycle is maintained and the situation will be slow to change. MCC has done important and excellent work in community development, relief and peace-building.  But are we touching the structures to work towards ending these situations at their roots?  

2. Definitions

 To elaborate an MCC-specific working definition of advocacy, it is important to take into consideration Biblical references to advocacy and reflections of the prophets, as much of advocacy work is finding our prophetic voice and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.Some suggestions for Biblical reference are the following:Exodus 4:11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who
makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes
him blind? Is it not I the Lord? Now go, I will help
you speak and teach you what to say” Proverbs 31:8-9 Speak up for those who cannot speak
for themselves, for the rights of all who are
destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the
rights of the poor and needy.Jeremiah 22:13-16
Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice, making his country
countrymen work for notion, not paying them for their
labor. He says, I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms. So hi makes large windows
in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red.
Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink? He did what
was right and just, so all went well with him. He
defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all
went well. Is that not what it means to know me?James 2: 14-17 What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him? And if a brother or sister be naked and want daily food: And one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself. There are many definitions of advocacy, and without getting into the technicalities, I present 2 that I particularly like: A) Advocacy is the pursuit of influencing outcomes – including public policy and resource-allocation decisions within political, economic and social systems and institutions – that directly affect people’s lives.            Advocacy consists of organized efforts and actions based on the reality of “what is.” These organized actions seek to highlight critical issues that have been ignored or submerged, to influence public attitudes, and to enact and implement laws and public policies so that visions of “what should be” in a just, decent society become a reality. Human rights (Kingdom values) – political, economic, and social – is an overarching framework for these visions.             Advocacy has purposeful results: to enable social justice advocates to gain access and voice in the decision making of relevant institutions; to change the power relationships between these institutions and the people affected by their decisions, thereby changing the institutions themselves; and to result in a clear improvement in people’s lives.[1]
 B)  “[Rights-based advocacy is] an organized political process that involves the coordinated efforts of people to change policies, practices, ideas and values that perpetuate inequality, prejudice and exclusion.”-         from a review of ‘A New Weave of Power, People & Politics:  The Action Guide for Advocacy and Citizen participation’   I'd like to work with these two definitions, and form our own definition.  A first step may be taking the definition that Peter Dula and Alain Epp-Weaver formulated in their article on MCC and Humanitarianism in the July-Sept Peace Office Newsletter: “Advocacy, whether by MCC or Human Rights Watch, need
have little to do with ‘perpetual peace’ or even ‘a
fairer world.’ Advocacy, or better, witness, is an end
in itself. There are times when one speaks only
because on cannot remain silent, not because of any
hope that one’s words will bring about change.…When we
live among the people and make ourselves vulnerable to
them; when we are ready to share power with them, to
engage them as concrete men and women rather than
objectify them into ‘anonymous humanity,’ then it will
naturally flow that we will tell their stories and the
way their stories crisscross with the stories of
MCCers to whomever will listen from congregations to
newspaper readers to congresspersons. Such advocacy
emerges out of relationships forged over years, even
decades…”One of the key points for advocacy at MCC should be mutual transformation. It is not only about policies, or ‘perpetual peace’ as Alain and Peter point out, rather a transformation of mind and spirit towards the will of God and God’s will for the world.3. Projections for the FutureIdeally, the objective of advocacy is to change something for a better future. So, as MCC, what do we think about social and political change? What would the world look like in 50 years if it were up to MCC?  Who or what needs to change?Where does that change come from? Who should be pushing for the change?  Is it the partners at a grassroots level in "developing" countries? Or is it a local governmental change that needs to happen? Or is it an outside government that needs to change its policies?Or is our grassroots constituency in Canada and the US the motor of that change? Or is it some combination of these elements?What do we really think we're working towards? At what level do we work?
These are some initial discussion points for this convoluted and difficult, yet I believe enlightening and invigorating conversation.

[1] David Cohen, et al. Advocacy for Social Justice: A Global Action and Reflection Guide, (Bloomfield, CT: Oxfam America and Advocacy Institute, 2001) 

At the moment, while I'm getting things set up here,

please visit www.mcclatinamerica.blogspot.com to read the latest thoughts on advocacy in Latin America with MCC.

 Hasta Pronto