Watch
____________________________________________________
An occasional newsletter for Assistant Committees on Publication in New York State
“It shall be the duty of the Committee on Publication to correct in a Christian manner
impositions on the public in regard to Christian Science,
injustices done Mrs. Eddy or members of this Church
by the daily press, by periodicals or circulated literature of any sort.”
(Article XXXIII, Section 2, of the Church Manual)
May 2012
Legislation
This past January began the second half year of the New York legislative session which extends over two years, during which the Committee has been primarily focused on correcting impositions in regard to Health care reform and Christian Science nursing practice. To this end, the Committee office has been tracking legislation and meeting with Legislators on Bills that require amendment specific to these legislative priorities. We are meeting with State Legislators consistent with the Federal Office initiatives with Federal regulators to include Christian Science practice at both the Federal and State by:
- Requesting that the federal and state governments include coverage of Christian Science practitioner and nursing services in the benefits that will be offered by health insurance plans through the state insurance exchanges. This would be consistent with the long history of government accommodations for Christian Science health services in Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs.
The following meetings were held to discuss the New York State Health Plan and the inclusion of a spiritual health care choice inclusive of Christian Science:
- Justin Wilcox, Legislative Director; Josh Ringel, Legislative Intern, Office of Assemblyman Morelle
- Mischa Sogut, Legislative and Media Assistant, Office of Senator Thomas Duane
- Alison Cooper, Legislative Director, Office of Senator James L. Seward
- Liz Hamlin, Legislative Associate, Office of Assemblyman Gottfried. We were advised that spiritual care would be included on precedent.
The Federal Office is currently pursuing several approaches regarding the 2010 health care law — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that have been well-received. The request with Congressional members is for:
- Seeking a legislative solution with Congress that would allow anyone with a “sincerely held religious belief” against purchasing the mandated health insurance to be exempted from the requirement. The current religious exemption in PPACA gives preference to a few select faiths—allowing the Amish, the Mennonites, and Health Care Sharing Ministries to opt out—without respecting the rights of all faiths.
Further information on current developments with Health Care Legislation can also be found on the Committee on Publication Federal office website in the “Health Care Reform” section. The URL address is:
http://members.christianscience.com/committee-on-publication/federal-legislative-affairs/health-care-reform/
The New York Office participated recently with the Federal office in the following meetings with New York Congressional members. The meetings included local church members who are constituents in the districts:
- Congressman Bishop
- Minna Elias, Chief of Staff, Office of Carolyn Maloney
- Robert Gottheim, District Director, Office of Congressman Nadler
- Jason Hilliard, Executive Assistant to Congressman Meeks, Office of Congressman Meeks
- Molly Ahearn, Health Legislative Assistant and Beth Schoenbach, Scheduler, Office of Congressman Israel
Media
The Committee plans to re-activate its web site blog over the next few months with participation from members throughout the state.
New York meetings
- Violet Snow, Journalist, Woodstock Times and Energy Times
RCC Meetings
The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is an interfaith association of religion communicators. We attended the following meetings:
- Tony Carnes, Editor and Publisher, "A Journey Through NYC Religions"
- Rev. Eric C. Shafer, Senior Vice President for Odyssey Networks
Thank you for your support
The Committee Office is grateful for the monthly pro-rata payments and for member and church contributions, essential to our mission.
The New York Committee Office is appreciative to all Assistant Committees, church members, and to those who have been active in these initiatives, especially for all your prayers in this work together.
Our Office
Congratulations to Adam Scherr who was dividing his time as National Media Coordinator for the Manager’s media group in Boston and as NY State media with our office.
Adam is now full time National Media Circulator for Committee on Publication, Boston. Go Adam!
A Watch
We have titled this periodic member update “Watch” and recently the attached article by Mary Baker Eddy was shared with me by a member and courtesy of The Mary Baker Eddy Library. The subject is a lesson on watching and I thought it appropriate to all Christian Science church members in our mission together. The article follows: Testimony_MBE Library 1
With Love,
Paul Hannesson
Committee on Publication for New York State