Nuns on the Bus Colorado (mostly by Anna Koop)

Many people know about the Nuns on the Bus movement, but did you know that last November we had our own short tour here in Colorado?

NUNS ON THE BUS

BY ANNA KOOP SL

On June 18, 2012, Sister Simone of NETWORK and a small band of other Sisters boarded a bus in Des Moines, IA and travelled until July 2^nd when they arrived in Washington, D.C. Their message was that Paul Ryan’s budget was not a fair budget. They stopped at various places where nuns are offering important services to disadvantaged people and visited numerous congresspersons offices.

In Denver, CO a small group of people began to plan another Nuns on the Bus event for November, 2012 during which local Sisters and lay people would board two fourteen person buses and do a little tour of Colorado. Our mantra was “reasonable revenue for responsible programs”. Congress had already passed over a billion dollars in cuts to human services programs.

Our first stop was at the Denver airport where we picked up Sr. Simone Campbell. It was wonderful to travel with such a spirited and dedicated person. She divided her ride between the two buses and shared wonderful stories about her adventures.

We were headed for Colorado Springs and the Meadows Park Community Center where a gathering of about 100 people listened to some description of the wonderful services offered there. Everything from child care to senior lunches. The people congregated surely agreed with the notion that the federal government should not be cutting any of these services. Certainly some excesses could be trimmed from some other places in the federal budget and some taxes could be raised for wealthy people who had been enjoying tax shelters for a number of years. But would we really want to have the most vulnerable people in our country suffering more from cuts in the federal budget?

Our next stop was the Boulder Homeless shelter where another 100 people were gathered to say that the work of the elections has not been completed by electing President Obama. There is still much to be done!! We were told that the Boulder Shelter would not exist if it had not been for Sister Donna Ryan who was one of the persons who worked to get it established. One impassioned speaker talked about how we must not forget the children and their needs. This ended our day’s travels.

The next day about 100 people gathered outside of Senator Bennet’s office while a small group of people went in to speak with a staff person about Senator Bennet’s budget positions. It was amazing to experience Sr. Simone’s knowledge and expertise in moving the conversation along.

Since this bus ride we have continued to track what is happening with the federal budget and have had other gatherings to draw attention to what congress is or is not doing to consider those most in need as they make budget decisions.

Nuns on the Bus continue to hold events around the country, and are planning another multi-state tour for this summer.