News and Commentary
This page displays timely announcements, news reports, and articles written by MOSES members previously published in our newsletters, yearbook, or venues. 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.
New MOSES Member Organizations 2024
New Congregations That Joined MOSES in 2024 2024 brought three new congregations/organizations into the MOSES fold. While all new members are celebrated, these three additions were particularly welcome. A longtime goal for MOSES has been to increase diversity in our membership. Our President, Saundra Brown, has made it her personal goal to bring more African American congregations into MOSES. Second Baptist Church became her first milestone toward that goal. Anyone who has attended our monthly...
Learning Opportunities in 2024
Additional Learning Opportunities for MOSES and the Community in 2024 (1) “End the Lockdowns,” a community forum at First Unitarian Society on Feb. 1, presented dramatic testimony about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Wisconsin’s overcrowded prisons. James Wilbur, outgoing director of prison inreach for WISDOM, described the squalid conditions inside Waupun and Green Bay in particular, and tragic personal stories were added by family members whose incarcerated loved ones had died or been...
Wisconsin Hears About Solitary Confinement
Wisconsin Hears About Solitary Confinement On April 23, 2024, in the state Capitol building, a panel of 10 spoke to a packed hearing room about the practice of solitary confinement in Wisconsin’s prisons and jails. The 70-plus listeners included five legislators and about twice that many aides; the panel included seven who had spent time in solitary, two ministers, and a woman who had recently lost her dad to suicide in solitary. The first speaker was MOSES’s own Talib Akbar, who designed,...
Racial Justice for All Children (RJAC) 2024 Report
Racial Justice for All Children Task Force (RJAC) Had a Busy Year In 2024, RJAC was active on a number of fronts, including developing new avenues for promoting racial justice for our youth. Education Advocacy Group (EAG) This group focused firmly on monitoring the implementation of new early learning literacy requirements as outlined in Wisconsin Act 20, for which RJAC had advocated in 2023. This advocacy took place on a number of fronts. With the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), ...
MOSES Justice System Reform Initiatives (JSRI) Priorities for 2025
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
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
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
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
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
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...