UNION HEAD ALSO ATTACKS GOVERNOR’S SPENDING CUTS
The Presbytery of the Yukon has spoken: State government should not make unChristian cuts to state spending.
In a letter to Gov. Michael Dunleavy, the organization that represents Presbyterian churches from Anchorage north, including Utqiagvik, Delta Junction, and St. Lawrence Island, told Dunleavy that “Christ’s teachings and his living example lead us to care for all people, especially this vulnerable populace. If we are to follow this example, then funding for education, healthcare, prisons, and assistance to those experiencing poverty should be the last things cut.”
On KTUU last month, First Presbyterian Church’s The Rev. Matthew Schultz, whose wife was a senior member of the Bill Walker Administration, called the Dunleavy budget unChristian.
“Any act that hopes to be considered ‘Christian’ must take care of those who are the most vulnerable, and if we look at this budget, what we see is a budget that targets and impacts the most vulnerable,” Schultz told the reporter. “Those who are already hurting are going to be hurt even more. If you don’t want the label of being ‘un-Christian’ you have to start those cuts at the top with the people who are wealthy and powerful and comfortable.”
The Presbytery’s letter advised Dunleavy: “We also collectively and with one voice pray for your discernment realizing the state of Alaska’s economic situation. Like the church, you with the state legislature, are called to be good stewards of God’s resources, regardless of the scarcity or the plenty. As good stewards, we have the duty to make decisions that are sometimes hard, painful, and unpopular, and so we collectively pray for our state, its people, and our elected officials.”
The letter was signed by Sharon Rayt, the clerk of the Presbytery of the Yukon, which represents 21 churches across Alaska, with the exception of Southeast Alaska.
Read the entire letter here:
03-04-19 PRESBYTERY OF THE YUKON LETTER
The Presbytery leaders may not realize that the Legislature is the appropriating body for the state.
CHURCH BECOMES POLITICAL
The politicization of the left-leaning PCUSA has led to a steady leakage of members, and a changing base for the church’s membership.
In December, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), sent a letter to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, speaking against his position on companies that participate in boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
Bevin had signed an executive order to ban the awarding of state contracts to companies that support the boycott Israel movement.
It’s one of numerous letters the national Presbyterian Church has issued on political issues — from immigration policy to talks with North Korea — in recent months, as the church becomes more engaged in political movements.
UNION BOSS WEIGHS IN
In a similar news report last month, AFL-CIO Alaska President Vince Beltrami spoke out against the Alaska budget on KTUU:
Beltrami and his union was a supporter of Gov. Bill Walker until he decided to not run for re-election. After spending tens of thousands on that failed reelection effort, Beltrami quickly pivoted the union to support gubernatorial hopeful and well-known Democrat Mark Begich, who fell short in the November, 2018 General Election.
