This article has been adapted from a reflection by Reverend Ebony Grisom at a Faith for Just Lending convening in January. Faith for Just Lending is a national coalition of faith-based institutions working to end predatory payday lending. Learn more about how predatory payday lending harms families and communities here. I’ve been reading Nehemiah for the past […]
EPI Joins Circle of Protection in Opposing Proposed Federal Budget
Washington, D.C., June 21, 2017–Christian leaders from across the theological and political spectrum, including Ecumenical Poverty Initiative Director Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune, today expressed opposition to federal budget cuts that would harm people living in hunger and poverty. Their statement represents the first broad-based, ecumenical response to the ongoing budget debates since the inauguration of President […]
Faith Leaders Urge CFPB to Strengthen Final Rule Against Predatory Lending
The Ecumenical Poverty Initiative (EPI) was joined by more than 20 faith partners from national denominations, state ecumenical bodies and individual faith and church leaders, representing millions of Christians in the U.S., to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue a strong rule against the predatory practices of payday and auto title lenders. Predatory lenders use […]
Copeland-Tune Named Director of Ecumenical Poverty Initiative
Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune has been named director of the Ecumenical Poverty Initiative (EPI), an anti-poverty ministry led by an active partnership of ecumenical leaders from diverse denominational, geographical, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, which adds a prophetic voice and collective action to the fight to end poverty. Dr. Copeland-Tune, who has been serving as the […]
ENOUGH: Virtual Mass Meetings for Faith and Community Leaders
People of Faith Say ENOUGH! The Time is Now! Faith and community leaders are gathering weekly for virtual mass meetings to build a movement that breaks down barriers to economic and racial justice. The “We Say ENOUGH” campaign is calling for a moral response to the deepening disparities and injustice poor and disenfranchised people are experiencing in […]
Major Ecumenical Bodies Raise Concerns About House Republicans Poverty Plan
Leaders of faith-based organizations are responding to the plan released by House Speaker Paul Ryan and the House Republican Poverty, Opportunity and Upward Mobility Task Force with appreciation for the effort made to alleviate poverty but with deep concerns about the negative impacts some of the plan’s policy recommendations would have on the nation’s […]
EPI Co-Sponsors Senate Hearing on CFPB’s Proposed Payday Lending Rule
The Ecumenical Poverty Initiative was a co-sponsor of a briefing for Senate staff on small-dollar loans, including payday, auto title, deposit advance products, and installment loans. Rev. Sekinah Hamlin, EPI’s director, was one of the speakers at the briefing, which was held on Monday, June 13 in the Dirksen Senate Building. EPI is urging […]
A Gift for Low-Wage Capitol Workers
EPI Director Rev. Sekinah Hamlin and Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness Director Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson co-authored asking for justice for Capitol workers and an hourly wage of $15, fair working conditions and the right to engage in collective bargaining. Click here to read the op-ed.
Good Jobs Nation Action
Please join us for an interfaith breaking of the bread, Tuesday July 29th, at Columbus Circle, Union Station. Faith leaders will be coming out to stand in support of low-wage federal contract workers who are calling on the President to create Good Jobs Nation. We will break bread together to symbolically declare there is enough abundance among us that all people can partake of the fruits of Creation.
Tax Reform Makes Unacceptable Cuts to the Earned Income Tax Credit
The tax reform bill released yesterday afternoon
