Budget

An open letter to our governor:

Dear Governor Dunleavy;

I want to honor you for being a man of faith and I know seeing all life as sacred is close to your heart. I’m not Catholic, but as a Lutheran pastor, my Catholic colleagues are some of my closest in appreciating the centrality of the eucharist and the community of faith.

There is a Bible verse that keeps popping in my head as I toss and turn thinking about the proposed budget cuts:

Romans 15:1-2   We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.

The image of building up the neighbor is central to living out my faith in Christ and central to creating a community where life can be affirmed and encouraged.

I spend large amounts of time with those of my neighbors who carry heavy burdens, some are Native Alaskans who fear getting cut off from their land and village, some are families who are homeless, some are those weighed down by addictions, health issues, and hunger. I also spend time with those who work in resource extraction, those who serve as police, and those who rely on PFDs. 

These relationships make me realize there aren’t easy answers to solve the fiscal challenges in Alaska, but there are destructive choices that do not build up our neighbor. 

Cuts to education, Medicare, senior services, criminal justice, Department of Law, access to transportation and energy for rural Alaska, public assistance, and veterans lead to greater burdens on those who are already weighed down heavily.

I realize you are probably getting all kinds of comments regarding the budget, but as a person of faith I have been thinking some about your statement in an interview where you said, "I’m a small-government guy and I’m an individual — I believe in the individual.” I too believe in the worth of every person and the uniqueness of our gifts, but the communion of God is the core of my faith. We are called to use our worth and our gifts for the building up of the neighbor. We are the body and blood of Christ alive in this world and this budget does not reflect that life.

Peace,

Rev. Tari Stage-Harvey