PRIORITIES FOR 2024

COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP

Steering Committee Co-Chairs: George Hodge and Cathy Kimble

Better Together 4NC Meeting
April 25 | 6:30 p.m.
Convocation Room

Representative Abe Jones, NC House of Representatives, will speak to Better Together 4NC on April 25, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s. Rep. Jones attended Harvard and Harvard Law School and currently has almost 40 years of legal experience. He has worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, and as an Administrative Law Judge. After he was appointed to the Superior Court in 1995, he was re-elected twice, serving 17 years behind the bench. This event will also be available on Zoom.

Sacred Ground

A Film-Based Dialogue Series on Race & Faith

Mondays 10-11:30 a.m. | April 1 - June 3 | Parlor

Sacred Ground is a series that creates space for transformative dialogue on race and racism. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and polarization of the present day — all while grounded by our baptismal covenant in our call to faith, hope and love. Participants will walk back through history reflecting on family histories and stories, as well as essential narratives that shape the collective American story. Sacred Ground's guiding star is the vision of Beloved Community – where all people are honored, protected, and nurtured as beloved children of God, where we weep at one another’s pain and seek one another’s flourishing.

Interested parishioners should contact either of the co-facilitators: Helen Moses or John Adams below.

Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) at St. Michael’s

On January 23, 2024, 80 people, including St. Michael’s clergy and the CEO of The Green Chair Project, participated in a Poverty Simulation cohosted by St. Michael’s and The Green Chair Project. Everyone was cast either as a member of a low-income family or a community service provider. Each family biography detailed the personal challenges as well as specific financial constraints. The structure of four “15-minute weeks” instantly created stress as the head of the household—perhaps a single grandparent raising two children—had a number of crucial tasks to accomplish. If the grandmother has a job she must be “at work” for 8 minutes, leaving only 7 minutes to take the bus to the bank, to go to the grocery store, to attend to health appointments for a child. There was never enough time.

By the end of the evening, participants understood on a visceral level the heroic energy it takes to cope with the challenges and the psychological impacts of poverty, especially on children.  Participants learned that 5,143 North Carolina children experienced homelessness in the 2022-23 school year, up from 2,174 in the 2015-16 school year. The Green Chair Project reports that 1 out of 30 Wake County students do not have a bed of their own.

The poverty threshold is $30,000 for a family of four; 92,000 residents of Wake County (8% of the population) live in poverty, while 13% of people in North Carolina live in poverty. 17% of North Carolina children live in poverty.

The federal minimum wage, last raised in 2009, is $7.25. A worker earning minimum wage earns $1,257 a month; the median Raleigh rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $1,499.

Poverty data from Wake County, HUD, and The Green Chair Project.

Bill Duff runs the Pawn shop. Sally Norton recruits workers. Lining up for work.

RESOURCES AND PAST EVENTS