Voices Organized in Civic Engagement

About VOICE

VOICE (Voices Organized in Civic Engagement) is a coalition of dues-paying congregations, nonprofits, worker associations, and schools that have come together out of a deep sense of mission and concern about the pressures families face in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. We work to better understand those pressures by listening to the experiences of the people in our member institutions. We then engage those impacted in better understanding the issues and learning to work effectively for improvements that benefit all. While we differ on some issues, we focus on the areas in which we find the common ground that allows us to work together. We develop the leadership skills of our own members to work effectively within the democratic process with civic leaders and public officials on issues of concern to families.

Together, we commit to:

• Build relationships of trust among people and institutions across the racial, denominational, economic, and geographic boundaries that divide our city.

• Strengthen congregations and community institutions by developing the skills and capacity of their leaders.

• Create a vehicle for ordinary families to have a powerful voice in the decisions that affect their lives and community, instead of leaving decision-making in the hands of a select few.

• Take action on concrete, winnable issues, that are transforming our community every day.

Member Institutions

• Central Oklahoma Labor Federation

• Disciples Christian Church

• First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City

• Friends of VOICE

• Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church

• Joy Mennonite Church

• Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma (affiliate member)

• Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ

• Mercy Sisters and Mercy Associates

• Mosaic Community Church UCC

• Penn Ave Redemption United Methodist Church

• St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church

• St. Patrick Catholic Church