In this issue:

·  Across My Desk...

·  South Carolina Ranks in the Bottom 4 States in Child Well-Being

·  Save these dates! Brown Bag Series

·  Vigil Schedule and Death Penalty Update

·  Community News and Events

·  Comings and Goings

South Carolina Ranks in the Bottom 4 States in Child Well-Being

South Carolina ranks of 47th among the 50 states in child well being (1=best; 50=worst) according to the 2006 national Kids Count Databook. The ten Kids Count Databook indicators point out many areas preventing our children from achieving their highest potential. These risks impact children starting from birth.

Just before the 2006 Legislative session, Judge Cooper ruled in the Abbeville law suit that "...the constitutional requirement of adequate funding is not met by the Defendants as a result of their failure to adequately fund early childhood intervention programs..." The importance of early childhood development is supported by a large body of research showing that early learning directly affects brain structure and positive development.

South Carolina Kids Count Project Director Baron Holmes observes: "In order for young children to reach their potential, their health, family, economics, and safety would have to improve by at least 20% on the Kids Count indicators."

The required reduction to reach the national average would be: * Low Birthweight by 22%; * Infant Mortality by 17%; * Single-Parent Families by 22%; * Births to Teens by 18%; * Poverty by 22%; * Child Deaths by 16%.

Dr. Holmes summarizes the troubling picture from the 2006 Kids Count Databook, the 2002 South Carolina Childcare Survey, and the 2003 NSCH (SC sample): "Despite our best efforts over past decades, South Carolina still is not competitive with the nation in our economic, social, health, and educational well-being. Judge Cooper listened to 102 days of testimony from 112 witnesses. On the basis of that evidence he correctly concluded that the best way for South Carolina to become truly competitive is to prepare our youngest children to be successful in school and life. I believe that his early childhood remedy, starting in the first years of life and through at least grade three, is the strategic path to our state's competitiveness."

The complete analysis of the 2006 Kids Count Databook, 2002 South Carolina Childcare Survey and the 2003 NSCH can be found on the South Carolina Kids Count website.

Click here for the document, "Kids Count Reflects on Judge Cooper's Ruling."

Read the Full 2006 Press Release

Save these dates! Brown Bag Series

The Advocacy Work Group of SC Christian Action Council is pleased to announce its Autumn Brown-Bag Lunch Series.

The Council is continually reviewing the issues facing South Carolina to discern how we, as the state-wide, collective Christian voice can weigh in on matters of faith, prophetic witness and social justice.

In recent months you've seen highlighted here some of the issues we've focused on this year: promoting education equity, curbing predatory lending practices, opposing the death penalty and preparing for pandemic among others.

And there are others. We'd like to discuss them with you.

Please join us for this issues series. Put on your thinking cap, bring a lunch and a friend, and join us for stimulating conversation. We will have an announced theme, a facilitator to brief us on the topic and guide the discussion, and a timekeeper to make sure you make your next appointment!

Each forum will be held at Shandon Presbyterian Church, 607 Woodrow Street, Columbia. We will begin promptly at noon and adjourn at 1:00 p.m.

So save these dates:
September 19: Restorative Justice, facilitated by Viginia Barr, SC Department of Juvenile Justice.

October 17: Immigration, faciliated by Mark Cerniglia, Lutheran Family Services of the Carolinas.

November 21: TBA. Have an idea or a speaker? Please email Julia Sibley-Jones at juliasj@bellsouth.net

Looking forward to lunch with you this Fall!

Vigil Schedule and Death Penalty Update

On July 14th South Carolina will hold its 36th execution since re-instating the Death Penalty. William Downs has forfeited his appeals and can choose to die by electrocution or lethal injection.

Legalized killing by the state is destructive of the goals of a civilized and humane society. We grieve that every citizen of South Carolina participates in this killing. When an executioner acts he does it in the name of “the people”. He does it for all of us.

Here is a list of vigils.

Columbia: July 13th Thursday Evening at Thomas Moore Center near USC campus.

Columbia: July 14th 6PM--Broad River Road-SC Dept Corrections, Vigil in front of Department of Corrections on 4444 Broad River Road.

Conway: July 14th 5pm, St. James Catholic Church, 1071 Academy Drive Conway.

Even as support for the death penalty and the number of death sentences continue to decline across the country, legislators in South Carolina Carolina recently passed a law authorizing the death penalty for defendants convicted twice for raping a child younger than eleven. The statute does not require that the rape be forcible.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’s Death Penalty Counsel, Colin Garrett, thinks that the law is likely unconstitutional and predicts that the first prosecution will quickly result in a constitutional attack. "And at this time, even with two new conservative justices, the U.S. Supreme Court would very likely find that such a law violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment" he writes.

For a copy of the entire article, contact Colin Garrett at cgarrett@schr.org or request one from us at sccac@bellsouth.net.

Community News and Events

July 11-12: SC Wesleyan District Conference at Table Rock. For more infomation click here.

July 13 and 14: Vigils in Columbia and Conway. See article above for more information.

October 20-22: 2006 National Weekend of Faith and Action on the Death Penalty. NWFA is an opportunity for faith communities, interfaith groups, human rights activists, and others to examine the death penalty from a faith-based or values-based perspective. Register on-line or request more information from khoule@aiusa.org.

Have other South Carolina community news? Let us know at sccac@bellsouth.net.

We include information on community events as space and time allow; and, only in accordance with the mission and policies of SC Christian Action Council. We do not accept unsolicited articles.

Comings and Goings

Here's a sampling of April activities for the staff of SC Christian Action Council.

July 7:TASC. (Brenda)

July 8-10: National Association of Ecumenical and Interreligious Staff, Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Julia)

July 11: Interfaith Restorative Justice Network. (Brenda)

July 27: UMC Advanced Specials Ministry. (Doris)

Across My Desk...

The Body of Christ. Hunger. Children. Civil rights. Family. Marriage. Discrimination. Homelessness.

Poverty. Education. Global warming. Restorative justice. Predatory Lending. Immigration. The Household of Faith.

These are some of this year's topics of conversations around the table of the South Carolina Christian Action Council.

Living and working as the Body of Christ, the member bodies, congregations and individuals of the Council move from prayer and conversation to action.

Although with theological underpinnings (faith) and practices of faith (order) which are often dissimilar, each has a place at the Council's large and diverse table. We listen to and learn from each other. We seek to understand one another.

Desire for reunion ground within the Christian family fuels our work of listening and understanding. Passion for social justice invigorates our shared ministry.

In a time when individualism is strong and seductive, the common table of the Council is to be treasured.

In a time when some withdraw from those with whom they disagree, the reunion ground of the Body of Christ is to be desired.

In a time when half-truths and private agendas create distrust in the Church as well as in government, the hard work of seeking ways to work together for the common good is priceless.

So we'll keep on inviting you to be a part. We'll keep on praying over and talking about hard issues. We'll keep on working together in areas where we can agree and trust Holy Spirit to lead.

Give us a call. We'd love to hear from you. You're always welcome.

...and that's the view across my desk.

Brenda Lynn Kneece Executive Minister