1. Hope in An Age of Crisis SOUL S TUDENT N ETWORK

2. Where We Are Today: An Age of Crisis

3. A Land Whose Leaders Have Turned Against the Will of God [The land’s] officials … are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. Its prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the L ORD says’—when the L ORD has not spoken. The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice. I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:27-30

4. Economic Crisis: The Poor & Working Class Are Under Attack

5. High Unemployment

6. Cuts to Education & the Safety Net Cuts to Schools: $200 million cut in Illinois in 2012 $400 million cut threatened this year Other cuts: Mental health services, Medicaid, addiction prevention and counseling, youth programs, public transportation

7. Record Corporate Profits

8. Rising Income Inequality Source: http://www.cbpp.org/files/11-28-11pov.pdf

9. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. James 5:4

10. Declining Tax Revenue

11. Environmental Crisis: Endangering Our Planet & Our Communities

12. Where We’re Heading

13. Predicted Impacts  Permanent Dust Bowl conditions over the U.S. Southwest, large parts of Africa, and other populous areas  Massive species loss on land and sea  More extreme weather, more frequently  Large Scale Food Insecurity – Affecting up to 4 billion people by the end of the next century  EXTREME POLITICAL INSTABILITY Source: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/09/28/330109/science-of-global-warming-impacts/http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/09/28/330109/

14. Social Crisis: Structural Racism & Scapegoating

15. Violence & Poverty

16. Mass Incarceration of Black and Latino Men

17. Immigrants

18. Political Crisis: Government Held Hostage

19. Case Study: Illinois SB 282

20. Unequivocal Public Support Source: PPP Poll, Dec. 18-19, 2012

21. Outcome: Killed by Democrats Michael J. ZalewskiFrank J. Mautino Michael Madigan

22. Corporate Control of Elections

23. How does this crisis impact our communities and families?

24. A Brief History: Crisis & Social Change

25. The Great Depression

26. Labor Movement & New Deal

27. Civil Rights Movement

28. IIRON’s Vision:Organizing For a New Movement

29. Getting at the Root Causes

30. Naming Our Crisis Neo-liberalism (Reaganomics)

31. A War of Values IIRON’s Values  Economic Justice  The Common Good  Protect Democracy  Living Wage & Workers’ Rights  Environmental Sustainability Neoliberalism’s Values  Individualism  Structural Greed  Regressive Taxes  Deregulation of Banks & Businesses  Privatization of Public Services

32. Specific Issues  Enact Corporate Tax Disclosure  Close Corporate Loopholes  Protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other Human Services  Force Banks to Reduce Loan Debt for Underwater Homeowners  Stop Corporatization of Schools

33. How Do We Make Systemic Change?

34. Public Meetings

35. Direct Action

36. Organizing Statewide Power

37. Lobbying for the 99%

38. Building Electoral Power

39. A Divine Challenge

40. A Divine Promise If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the L ORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters fail not. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. Isaiah 58:9-12