News and Commentary
This page displays timely announcements, news reports, and articles written by MOSES members previously published in our newsletters, yearbook, or venues. Signed articles offer information and interpretations to support advocacy, but are not official MOSES positions. Links to official MOSES position statements may be found on this page. The main display shows all items with the most recent first. You can select particular topics, working groups, or types of information to see the articles of one type, with the most recent first. Also see the Publications & Resources page for links to whole newsletters and yearbooks as well as other resources for research.
MOSES Justice System Reform Initiatives (JSRI) Priorities for 2025
by Eric Howland | Jan 7, 2025 | Advocacy, Community Issues, Dane County Jail, Diversions from Incarceration, Featured, JSRI Justice System Reform Initiatives
In early 2025 the JSRI reviewed the current issues in Dane Counties Criminal Legal System and identified issues that are both going to be part of the public discussion and where public education will play an important role. The following 7 established issues and 3 new issues were identified for our attention.
MOSES Member Organizations 2024
by MOSES Publications | Dec 31, 2024 | Information, MOSES leadership, Support MOSES
Congregational/Organizational Members Call to Action Catholics Madison Area First Unitarian Society of Madison First United Methodist Church Grace Episcopal Church Holy Wisdom Monastery James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation Lake Edge Lutheran Church Madison Christian Community (Advent Lutheran and Community of Hope United Church of Christ) Madison Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Messiah Lutheran Church Middleton Community United Church of Christ Orchard Ridge...
Organizer greeting
by MOSES Publications | Dec 31, 2024 | Advocacy, Information, MOSES activities, Organizer
Greetings, All, As 2024 comes to a close, I want to extend my deepest Thanks and Gratitude to everyone who has contributed to MOSES. I recognize you have dedicated your time and energy to making our culture and society a better place for all. Going into 2025, we will face some challenges, but I want to encourage you to stand firm in your faith and convictions to reinforce our commitment to social, racial, and criminal justice reform. Our mission, vision, and values statements reflect who we...
Gala 2024
by MOSES Publications | Dec 31, 2024 | Events, MOSES activities, Profiles, Support MOSES, Yearbook
It was cold and wet outside, but inside it was warm, welcoming, and festive at the MOSES Transformation Celebration Gala on December 14 at the Brassworks in Goodman Community Center. Our focus was celebrating three justice-impacted persons whose perseverance and talent helped them successfully transform their own lives as well as others who are or have been incarcerated. Our honorees have given people hope, skills, and tools for restoration and wholeness. A delicious buffet greeted the...
Exciting News from the Fundraising Team
by MOSES Publications | Dec 30, 2024 | Fundraisers, Information, MOSES activities, Newsletter
Exciting News from the Fundraising Team! By S. Fran Hoffman Thank you to all those who participated in the Spring Lunch and Learn event about Women’s Incarceration and EXPO’s SAFE House, presented by Delilah McKinney. We are pleased to report that $1,800 was raised for MOSES. In addition, The SAFE House received several donations from our guests. Recently, the Fundraising Team was thrilled to receive the news that we had received two grants for which we had applied. First, in recognition of...
Right to Read Bill (ACT 20) Update
by MOSES Publications | Nov 22, 2024 | Advocacy, Information, RJAC Racial Justice for All Children, Schools
Update on the Right to Read Bill (ACT 20) By Shel Gross and Tracy Frank The Racial Justice for All Children task force (RJAC), and specifically the Education Advocacy Group (EAG), has been learning that advocacy work requires time, long-term commitment, nuanced inspection, and connections. Over the past few years, a lot has happened in the state and in our local community in the area of reading. In Wisconsin, fewer than 40% of students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade, and...
Organizer’s Corner: Finish the Story!
by James Morgan | Oct 30, 2024 | Organizer
This issue, Organizer James Morgan is holding a contest! The challenge: Finish this story in one or two paragraphs. James's granddaughter will judge the submissions. The prize for the winner will be an original piece of James's artwork! Submit your concluding paragraphs to: As I sit in this room I silently watch, listen, and wait. It’s now four in the morning or at least that’s what the Babylonians who consciously created time would say. I watch the innocent flies dance together in...
Welcome to MOSES, Second Baptist!
by MOSES Publications | Oct 30, 2024 | Information, Newsletter, Support MOSES
Welcome to MOSES, Second Baptist! By Pam Gates MOSES President Saundra Brown has made it a goal of her presidency to bring more African American congregations into MOSES, and we welcome Second Baptist Church as her first success! Saundra made a presentation to the congregation about a year ago, and another one this summer, on Aug. 18, both times accompanied by our organizer, James Morgan. At the Aug. 18 presentation, several of us other MOSES members also present heard Pastor Anthony Wade and...
The Sentencing Project Provides Data and Other Resources for Reform Advocates
by MOSES Publications | Oct 30, 2024 | Information, Newsletter, Prisons, Resources
The Sentencing Project Provides Data and Other Resources for Reform Advocates, by Sherry Reames I have become a big fan of the Sentencing Project, a national nonprofit that describes its mission as “advocat[ing] for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.” Although it is best known for recommending an end to extremely long sentences, the Sentencing Project...
Returning Citizen: Kory Finfrock
by MOSES Publications | Oct 30, 2024 | Information, Life After Prison, Newsletter
By Ken Warren At our MOSES monthly meeting in October, we had the pleasure of meeting Kory Finfrock and his spouse, Tonia. Kory was born in Stoughton in 1979 and was a student in Edgerton from the early grades until he dropped out of high school. He later earned his HSED. Kory’s father died several years ago, but his mother is well and living in the area. Kory also has a 26-year-old son, but that relationship is strained because, Kory recognizes, he has let his family down. ...