| Colbeth fights for social justice by Erik Alsgaard
UMConnection Staff  Carol Colbeth sits in a cramped office she shares with two other people, across the circle from the Statehouse in Annapolis. She smiles as she sighs.
This year is just nuts, she says. Shes referring to the legislative agenda for 2003, focusing on everything from slot machines to the death penalty. As legislative advocate for the Baltimore-Washington Conference, Colbeth is the voice and presence of United Methodists in Annapolis. United Methodists can make the difference on slots, she noted. This is winnable; the church has the resources to do this. Colbeth is talking about Gov. Robert Ehrlichs plan to bring slot machines into the state to help balance the budget. The state is currently experiencing about a $1.7 billion budget deficit. More than 10,000 slot machines are projected to be installed in race tracks in Maryland. The machines are expected to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to the state, starting this year. It is important that people call their legislators now, Colbeth said. Make that phone call, state your position. Colbeth, a lawyer by training, has been serving the conference since 2002. She started legislative advocacy work when she was 14, helping to organize farm workers in Connecticut. This, to me, is where the action is, she said. This is where you can make a difference. The legislative advocate position is part of the ministry provided by the Board of Christian Presence in Gods World, which pays a small stipend to Colbeth for her work. According to Sandy Ferguson, associate council director and staff liaison to the board, the legislative advocate is the presence of the church in Annapolis, coordinating United Methodist efforts during the 90-day legislative session. This is the third year the conference has had an advocate in the capital. According to Colbeth, there are many ways United Methodists need to be involved, especially on the issue of slots. The United Methodist Churchs official position against gambling is what drives Colbeth in her work on this issue, she said. I encourage people to take their cell phones to the coffee hours at church, she said. Call their legislators phone number, state their position, hang up and pass the phone to the next person and ask them to do the same thing. She also urged people to bring their laptop computers to church and do something similar. Go to www.mdarchives.state.md.us, she said, and look up your legislators. Then write an e-mail with the subject line, Constituent against slots or something similar. Legislators may not read every e-mail, but they keep count of all the e-mails they receive. And during meetings in hearing rooms, Colbeth said, it is not uncommon to see lawmakers scrolling through their e-mails. Be an activist, she urged. You dont have to be a church of 900 members to make a difference.  Colbeth provides testimony several times a week in Annapolis. She has become quite familiar with the United Methodist Churchs Book of Resolutions and the churchs Social Principles, copies of which sit prominently on her desk. She also walks the halls where hearings and meetings are held, talking with any one who will listen about what the church says on the issues of the day.
It isnt always easy. Yesterday, I thought we were losing on slots, she says. Today, I think were winning. Who knows what itll be tonight. As she walks up the steps to the Statehouse, on her way to yet another meeting,
again stresses the urgent need for United Methodists to make their voice heard on the issue of slot machines. We cant win this without the peoples involvement, she said. Were out there, we have a presence on the Hill, were working with coalitions. But if were going to win this thing, we have to hear from people now. | 
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