NCCW Meets in Jacksonville, Elects New Officers

2.         Educate all Catholics about their moral responsibility as faithful citizens to be involved in the political process.

3.         If the state has a Catholic Conference, join any activities they may sponsor such as a day at the state capitol or legislative action alert network.

4          Build an e-mail network in each parish to respond to requests for immediate action when a vote on an issue of importance is imminent.  Develop a telephone tree for those who do not use e-mail.

5.         Maintain a current list of the names, addresses, phone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses of your state and national legislators.  Mailed letters take at least two weeks to arrive in Washington, DC because of security precautions, so it is not the best option for contact when urgent action is requested.

6.         Meet with your legislators when they are in their district offices.  They want to know what their constituents think about issues.  Write a “thank you” note after the meeting.

7.         Maintain a list of resources such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that can be utilized to learn what the Catholic Church teaching is on issues of importance.

8.         Conduct voter registration drives in parishes.  Contact your supervisor of elections for information.

9.         In election years, sponsor a candidate forum.  Guidelines on how to conduct a forum can be found on the USCCB website: www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship.

10.       Pass on information received through the National Council of Catholic Women such as Catholic Woman magazine, the commission resource packet and Legislative Update.