Organizer’s Corner: James Morgan
Interview by Margaret Irwin
The new year got off to a promising start, with a meeting between MOSES leaders and a new University of Wisconsin-Madison student group: Students Against Mass Incarceration. After learning about the carceral and criminal legal system in a class, these students reached out to MOSES via our website. At the subsequent meeting, James reports, everyone was engaged in an exchange of ideas about what the students are currently doing, hopes for future initiatives, and how MOSES can support them in their work. Three students attended the MOSES February monthly meeting and were warmly welcomed. They have also met with Michael Burch, executive director of The Crossing student ministry, who offered them a stipend to help with startup costs such as printing. James is looking forward to MOSES engaging with the students through conversations, trainings, and events, all of which will increase our presence on the UW campus. He predicts a successful collaboration among Students Against Mass Incarceration, MOSES, and The Crossing. “A wonderful thing is happening!” he adds.
Within the MOSES organization, James has been working on rebuilding the fundraising team. Rachel Kincade, Pam Oliver, Doug Maynard, Mary Anglim, and Julia Slotnik have expressed interest in the team. James notes that in the difficult financial conditions that advocacy and human-services groups are now experiencing, many organizations are struggling to raise sufficient funds to do their work. MOSES needs to be creative in its efforts. He hopes the team can find ways to increase membership and donors, including long-term and sustaining donors, and other ways to engage in fund-raising activities. One such activity will be the return of the Lunch and Learn event.
In the community, James has been invited to work with the Community Justice Council of Dane County. This group is a forum for collaborative leadership among criminal-justice agencies. He will serve as a member of the subcommittee dealing with pre-trial services. James sees this as an opportunity to work with local officials, including District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and judges John Hyland and Nicholas McNamara, who serve on the Council. He believes MOSES will benefit through access to information about the workings of the criminal-legal system in Dane County and through the chance to tell county officials about our work. There may be ways to assist them in achieving the goals they have set for their committees.
James invites us to be in conversation about how to increase participation in MOSES; how to engage our congregations and build effective teams; how to consolidate membership through information sharing and recruitment. He concludes: “We’re in a unique time. Given what’s happening locally and nationally, a lot of people are looking for a place to participate. MOSES wants to be one of those places where education happens and relationships are built. Our common concerns and interests will show us we don’t have to be out here alone. We can face our challenges collectively with compassion, love, and concern for one another across divisions. We can do this because someone has given us all a rally call! We need to talk to one another, support each other, and exert our power. Voting will be a huge issue!
LET’S DO MOSES!”