EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume Four, Number Three
January/February 1995

We are all members of one body; when one member suffers, all suffer as one . (I Cor. 26) Whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me. (Matt. 25:45)

TWIN CITIES RELIGIOUS COALITION FIGHTS URBAN SPRAWL

Archbishop Sets The Context

At an October conference on sustainable development sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project of Minnesota, in connection with a meeting of the National Growth Management Leadership Project, Archbishop John R. Roach of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis articulated four basic moral principles that should guide metropolitan development:

  • The life and dignity of the human person. Social structures must consider the dignity of every person (referring to the class tensions between city and suburb).
  • The principle of the common good. The long- term welfare of the whole community must take precedence over the immediate interests of individuals.
  • The preferential option for the poor and vulnerable. When there is a disparity in the distribution of resources, the economic health of the entire region suffers.
  • Stewardship - the responsible use of resources (referring to the number of acres of farmland sacrificed to metropolitan economic development).

The Inter-Religious Working Group for Metropolitan Stabilization

Seven groups have come together in an ad hoc task force to bring the voice of the religious community into the debate concerning the growing disparities between the rich and the poor; between the inner cities and the expanding wealthy suburbs. Working together are the Office of Social Justice of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, St. Paul Area Council of Churches, Minneapolis Council of Churches, Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota, St. Paul Ecumenical Alliance of Congregations (SPEAC, 15 churches in St. Paul), Suburban Ecumenical Alliance of Congregations (SEAC, 12 churches in 6 inner ring suburbs), and the Metropolitan Interfaith Coalition for Affordable Housing (MICAH).

In anticipation of the 1995 legislative session, member congregations have been hosting community meetings to educate both legislators and the public about the signs of trouble and the policy changes needed in the metropolitan area.

Metropolitan Government Policies Being Debated

To reverse the increasing concentration of poverty in the core cities, lessen the widening gap between rich and poor municipalities in the metro area and stop the environmental degradation from urban sprawl, the Working Group advocates a coordinated regional response to stabilize the area:

  1. An elected Metropolitan Council, accountable to the voters.
  2. Land use planning and growth control.
  3. Greater regionalization of the property tax base.
  4. Requiring wealthy suburbs to have their fair share of low and moderate income housing.
  5. Re-investment in housing and economic development in the core cities and inner ring suburbs.

For more information contact Office for Social Justice, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 328 W. Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul MN 55102, 612/291-4477; or SPEAC, 451 W. Central AVe., St. Paul MN 55103, 612/227-5820.

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