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The Apostolic Catholic Church |
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Church News 
This report comes from a priest of exceptional courage who carries the very marks of the Gospel on his body. I am proud that
the same is true of several other Apostolic Catholic priests. It is so very great an honor to be the bishop for priests who
so fully image Jesus with their lives.
Bishop Chuck Leigh, President of the Florida Council of Churches met with Governor Charlie Crist. Chuck stated that "We were
able to get a committment from the governor to reinstate funding for children's health that had been removed from the medicaide
budget. He also committed to back summer nutrition funding for poor children." Just One Church, an ecumenical faith community, meets at the Coronado Golf and Beach Resort each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. All
are invited to participate.
Bishop Chuck and Florida
Governor Charlie Crist National Council of Churches
Meeting
We Churches
of the United States have a message of hope for a fearful
time. Just as the churches responded to the harshness
of early 20th Century industrialization with a prophetic “Social Creed” in 1908, so in our era of globalization
we offer a vision of a society that shares more and consumes less, seeks compassion over suspicion and equality over domination,
and finds security in joined hands rather than massed arms. In faith, responding to our Creator, we celebrate
the full humanity of each woman, man, and child, all created in the divine image as individuals of infinite worth, by working
for: · Full civil, political and economic rights for women and men of all races. ·
Abolition of forced labor, human trafficking, and
the exploitation of children. ·
Employment for all, at a family-sustaining living
wage, with equal pay for comparable work. ·
The rights of workers to organize, and to share in
workplace decisions and productivity growth. ·
Protection from dangerous working conditions, with
time and benefits to enable full family life. ·
A system of criminal rehabilitation, based on restorative
justice and an end to the death penalty. In the love incarnate in Jesus, despite the
world’s sufferings and evils, we honor the deep connections within our human family and seek to awaken a new spirit
of community, by working for: ·
Abatement of hunger and poverty, and enactment of
policies benefiting the most vulnerable. ·
High quality public education for all and universal,
affordable and accessible healthcare. ·
An effective program of social security during sickness,
disability and old age. · Tax and budget policies that reduce disparities between rich and poor, strengthen
democracy, and provide greater opportunity for everyone within the common good. · Just immigration policies that protect family unity, safeguard workers’
rights, require employer accountability, and foster international cooperation. · Sustainable communities marked by affordable housing, access to good jobs, and
public safety. · Public service as a high vocation, with real limits on the power of private
interests in politics. In hope sustained by the Holy Spirit, we pledge
to be peacemakers in the world and stewards of God’s good creation, by working for: · Adoption of simpler lifestyles for those who have enough; grace over greed in
economic life. · Access for all to clean air and water and healthy food, through wise care of
land and technology. · Sustainable use of earth’s resources, promoting alternative energy sources
and public transportation with binding covenants to reduce global warming and protect populations most affected. · Equitable global trade and aid that protects local economies, cultures and livelihoods.
· Peacemaking through multilateral diplomacy rather than unilateral force, the
abolition of torture, and a strengthening of the United Nations and the rule of international law. · Nuclear disarmament and redirection of military spending to more peaceful and
productive uses. · Cooperation and dialogue for peace and environmental justice among the world’s
religions. We—individual Christians and churches—commit
ourselves to a culture of peace and freedom that embraces non-violence, nurtures character, treasures the environment, and
builds community, rooted in a spirituality of inner growth with outward action. We make this commitment together—as
members of Christ’s body, led by the one Spirit—trusting in the God who makes all things new. |
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7813 N. Nebraska Avenue Tampa, FL 33604 (813) 238-6060 |
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Mr. Reggie Brown came to the offices
of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers on Tuesday, November 17, 2010, to represent members of the Florida Tomato Growers
Exchange in the new relationship. Claiming it to be "a watershed moment in the history of Florida agriculture,"
Lucas Benitez of the CIW said, "With this agreement, the Florida tomato industry - workers and growers alike - is coming
together in partnership to turn the page on the conflict and stagnation of the past and instead forge a new and stronger
industry." The Good here is that two opposing parties, growers and
workers, have discovered that both of their futures depend upon mutually assured dignity. The marketplace works best for
all when all receive dignity, respect and fairness in it. The agreement includes
providing for a third party auditor to verify that the terms of the labor arrangement are being maintained. Already farmworkers
are being educated about their rights, which include the availability of shade and water in the fields, freedom from sexual
harassment and physical coercion, and an end to over-topping buckets. Over-topping has often been reported in the fields;
it occurs when a worker is required to overfill their bucket in order for it to be received by the hauler. The practice
often reduced wages by a third. Farm workers will also receive the extra penny per pound of picked tomatoes that retailers
are beginning to pay. According to Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida, the religious
auxiliary of CIW, "Starting immediately, participating FTGE members will pass on the penny-per-pound from retailers
to farmworkers and cooperate with a financial audit of the penny-per-pound. They will also adopt the Fair Food Code of Conduct
- including a worker-to-worker education process, a cooperative complaint resolution system, and a participatory health
and safety program - with a goal of full implementation by the 2011-2012 season. "
The Florida Council of Churches has supported the farm workers and CIW for several years. It joined the student boycotts
that led McDonalds, Yum Brand, and Burger King to sign agreements with CIW. Last year, working with the Campaign for 
Fair Food, it helped organized a
letter-writing campaign to Florida Governor Charlie Crist to gain his support. Governor Crist issued a letter of strong
support for the farmworkers. This Thanksgiving season, the Florida Council of Churches working with member churches has organized
the "Farmworkers in the Fields are Family, too!" effort. The campaign educates consumers about working and wage
conditions in the fields and elicits consumer participation in a market action. Consumers are asked to collect pennies,
one per day for a month, and present them to their local Publix grocery store manager as a "forward payment" for
the day the grocer also joins the growers in labor agreements with the farm workers. This
latest action is the latest of a wave of agreements. Earlier this year Whole Foods and Sodexo Foods entered into agreements
with CIW. Over the Jewish High Holy Days, the owners of Pacific Tomato Growers entered into a public relationship with the
farmworkers to improve working conditions. Soon thereafter, Six L Farms signed a similar agreement. Previously East Coast
Farms and other small farms had joined agreements. 
