Advocacy Day 2025: The Postcard Campaign
Churches and individuals across the Diocese of North Carolina were invited to “give up their silence” and take part in a postcard campaign as part of Advocacy Day 2024. The goal was to give every person who wanted to add their voice to those attending Advocacy Day the chance to do so. More than 500 postcards were completed and taken to Advocacy Day 2024, and it made a difference. As was shared after, “Your voices mattered. Time and again, we heard from legislators and their staff members how much it meant to receive handwritten, personal messages from their constituents. These were not copy-and-paste scripts; each was written from the heart, and those personal words resonated.” (Disciple, Summer 2024)
Planning for Advocacy Day 2025 is underway, and you are once again invited to be a part of it.
As has been done in years past, representatives from various diocesan advocacy ministries and committees, including gun violence prevention, creation care, affordable housing and more, will meet with elected officials in the NC General Assembly. The meetings will be held not with an expectation that advocates will impose religious beliefs on elected officials or ask officials to make decisions that prioritize one religion over another. Instead, the focus will be on advocacy issues as witness to deeply held faith values within the Episcopal tradition and our own diocesan priorities, and building relationships with those who might hold different priorities.
The planning team invites every person who wishes to share a message with elected representatives to do so via the Advocacy Day 2025 postcard campaign.
You can do it as an individual, or you can do it as a congregation.
How it works:
- Individuals or churches can take part. One great idea is to plan the writing of postcards during a post-service coffee hour one Sunday!
- You can order postcards in bulk, or download them for individual use. There is no cost to churches to order postcards; the only cost to congregations is the postage to return postcards to Diocesan House (if you don't want to return them in person).
- Share your message with your elected representatives about your issues of concern.
- Return the postcards to Diocesan House by March 1.
- The Advocacy Day planning team will take your messages with them to the General Assembly on Advocacy Day in March!
Bulk orders must be placed by December 15. Even if you're a church not yet sure about how you'll take part in the campaign but think you might want to, we encourage you to place your order. Postcards should arrive in churches in early January.
ORDER BULK POSTCARDS FOR YOUR CHURCH
DOWNLOAD INDIVIDUAL POSTCARDS (two per page)
Key dates:
- December 15, 12 p.m.: Deadline to place orders for postcards
- January 6: Expected arrival date of postcards
- March 1: Return (by mail) postcards to Diocesan House
- Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
4800 Six Forks Road
Suite 300
Raleigh, NC 27609
- Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
- March 3: Deadline to drop off postcards to Diocesan House in person
GUIDELINES FOR POSTCARDS
DO:
- Greet your senator or representative by name. Information about who represents you can be found here.
- Your message should be short but personal. Let them know you’re a constituent and why the issue you’re writing about matters to you. There is sample wording below, but please use that only as a guide. Make your message your own.
- It's okay to make your message one of thanks!
- Feel free to mention that you’re a person of faith and how the issue relates to your beliefs.
- Please be civil. Even when we disagree with our elected officials, our communications should be circumspect. Postcards will be screened for inappropriate or problematic content and may be discarded.
- It’s absolutely ok to request follow up from your elected official – they work for you! If doing so, include either your email or USPS address.
DON'T:
- Again, please be civil. Any postcard containing insults, hate speech or any other messaging deemed inappropriate will not be shared on Advocacy Day.
- Please do not mail the postcards directly to representatives. Return them to Diocesan House so that all messages can be shared as part of Advocacy Day. The planning team hopes to take thousands of diocesan voices with us!
SAMPLE TEXT
Again, we encourage you to use the below only as a guide; make your message your own!
- Dear Sen. Elected Person, I am a longtime resident of Town and am grateful for your ongoing support of voting rights. I hope your commitment to ensuring fair access to the polls will continue in the upcoming legislative session. As an Episcopalian, my beliefs include respecting the dignity of every human being, and that includes making sure all voices are heard through our electoral process. Sincerely, I’m A. Constituent
- Dear Rep. Elected Person, As a constituent of your district, I am concerned by your position on care of creation. I hope you will reconsider your stance as legislation moves forward in this legislative session. Both science and my faith motivate me to speak out as I watch the impact of climate change in Eastern North Carolina, where I grew up and much of my family remains. I would welcome the chance to talk with your staff about this. Sincerely, A. Voterin Yourdistrict, [email protected]
