Give Up Your Silence for Advocacy Day: The Postcard Campaign
As part of Advocacy Day 2024, Episcopalians across the Diocese of North Carolina are invited to give up their silence and add their voices to those meeting in person with legislators. You can do this by taking part in the "Give Up Your Silence" postcard campaign.
You can do it as an individual, or you can do it as a congregation.
How it works:
- Individuals or churches can take part. One great idea is to plan the writing of postcards during a post-service coffee hour one Sunday in Easter!
- Churches were given the chance to order postcards in bulk during Lent, but you can still download individual postcards below.
- Share your message with your elected representatives about your issues of concern.
- Return the postcards to Diocesan House.
- The Advocacy Day planning team will take your messages with them to the General Assembly on Advocacy Day in May!
DOWNLOAD INDIVIDUAL POSTCARDS (two per page)
Key dates:
- March 18, 12 p.m.: Deadline to place orders for postcards
- April 1: Expected arrival date of postcards
- May 1: Return (by mail) postcards to Diocesan House
- Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
4800 Six Forks Road
Suite 300
Raleigh, NC 27609
- Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
- May 10: Deadline to drop off postcards to Diocesan House in person
GUIDELINES FOR POSTCARDS
DO:
- Greet your senator or representative by name. Information about who represents you can be found here.
- Your message should be short but personal. Let them know you’re a constituent and why the issue you’re writing about matters to you. There is sample wording below, but please use that only as a guide. Make your message your own.
- It's okay to make your message one of thanks!
- Feel free to mention that you’re a person of faith and how the issue relates to your beliefs.
- Please be civil. Even when we disagree with our elected officials, our communications should be circumspect. Postcards will be screened for inappropriate or problematic content and may be discarded.
- It’s absolutely ok to request follow up from your elected official – they work for you! If doing so, include either your email or USPS address.
DON'T:
- Again, please be civil. Any postcard containing insults, hate speech or any other messaging deemed inappropriate will not be shared on Advocacy Day.
- Please do not mail the postcards directly to representatives. Return them to Diocesan House so that all messages can be shared as part of Advocacy Day. The planning team hopes to take thousands of diocesan voices with us!
SAMPLE TEXT
Again, we encourage you to use the below only as a guide; make your message your own!
- Dear Sen. Elected Person, I am a longtime resident of Town and am grateful for your ongoing support of voting rights. I hope your commitment to ensuring fair access to the polls will continue in the upcoming legislative session. As an Episcopalian, my beliefs include respecting the dignity of every human being, and that includes making sure all voices are heard through our electoral process. Sincerely, I’m A. Constituent
- Dear Rep. Elected Person, As a constituent of your district, I am concerned by your position on care of creation. I hope you will reconsider your stance as legislation moves forward in this legislative session. Both science and my faith motivate me to speak out as I watch the impact of climate change in Eastern North Carolina, where I grew up and much of my family remains. I would welcome the chance to talk with your staff about this. Sincerely, A. Voterin Yourdistrict, [email protected]
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