You’ve got your Mainline Protestants, your African-Americans, your Catholics, your Jews, your Muslims, your Hindu women. But nary a representative of a mainstream white or Latino evangelical body–be it the National Association of Evangelicals or the Southern Baptist Convention or the Assemblies of God or the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. The total evangelical presence consists of dyed-in-the-wool centrist outliers Jim Wallis of Sojourners and Melissa Rogers of Wake Forest. What does that tell you? (Press release after the jump.)
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Tomorrow
(Tuesday/7th) a group of 25 interfaith leaders representing national
religious denominations and advocacy groups will meet with congressional and
administration officials to discuss the religious imperative for healthcare
reform. These leaders represent millions of faithful Americans who are actively
engaged in the fight for healthcare reform. Leaders will hold a press
conference in the US Capitol Building from 1:15 – 2:00 pm. During the
interfaith healthcare summit religious leaders will work to identify common
ground and expectations for healthcare reform legislation.
Details
below along with a list of participating faith leaders.
Top Religious Leaders
to Meet With Administration, Members of Congress at Faith Leader Summit on Health Care
Nearly
30 of the country’s top religious leaders will join in Washington, D.C.
on Tuesday, July 7 for a Faith Leader Summit on Health Care to explore
best practices, identify common ground and share hopes and expectations for
health care reform legislation. Participants will meet with officials in the
Obama administration and Congress to voice their concern for the status of
health care reform and to speak in a unified moral voice in support of
comprehensive reform. The Summit is sponsored by
The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the United Methodist
Church – General Board of
Church and Society, in collaboration with Families USA and the National
Coalition on Health Care.
Officials
meeting with Summit participants throughout the day include the Secretary of
Health & Human Services, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sen. Dick Durbin
(D-IL), Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) and others, along with Joshua DuBois, Special
Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the White House Office of
Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
As
the debate over health care reform quickly heats up in Congress, the religious
community has the opportunity to play a lead role shaping the debates over this
vital issue by elevating the moral voice in public discourse, informing and
mobilizing the people in the pews, and lifting up communal responsibility to
care for society’s most vulnerable.
Participating religious leaders (listed below) will be available to speak
with members of the press from 1:15pm -2:00pm about the importance of
health care reform.
WHAT:
Faith Leader Summit on Health Care
WHEN:
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Press event, 1:15pm -2:00 pm
WHO:
Heads of denominations
and other top religious leaders (list of participants below)
·
With
special addresses by Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action
Center of Reform Judaism, James Winkler, General Secretary, United
Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society, and Rev. Jim Wallis
WHERE:
U.S.
Capitol Building, Room HC-6
A
number of Summit
participants have signed on to a faith statement of support for comprehensive
health care reform that will be shared with members of the administration and
Congress. That statement is attached.
Participants
in the day’s event will include:
–
Anju Bhargava, Founder, Asian Indian Women of America
–
Rev. Dr. Miriam J. Burnett, Medical Director,
Health Commission, African Methodist Episcopal Church
–
Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director, NETWORK – A
National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
–
Mr. John Carr, Executive Director, Department of Justice,
Peace & Human Development, U.S.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference
–
Dr. Arturo Chavez, President & CEO, Mexican American
Catholic College
–
Rev. Peg Chemberlin, President-Elect, National Council of
Churches
–
Rev. Jessica Crist, Bishop of the Montana
Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America
–
Nathan Diament, Director of Public Policy, Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
–
Rabbi Steve Gutow, Executive Director, Jewish Council for
Public Affairs
–
Rev. Linda Jaramillo, Executive Minister, United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries
–
Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary, National Council
of Churches
–
Rev. Gradye Parsons, General Assembly Stated Clerk,
Presbyterian Church (USA)
–
Rev. Dr. Tyrone Pitts, General Secretary, Progressive
National Baptist Convention
–
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Founder & CEO, American Society
for Muslim Advancement
–
Nancy Ratzan, President, National Council of Jewish Women
–
Melissa Rogers, Director, Wake
Forest School
of Divinity Center for Religion and Public Affairs
–
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action
Center of Reform Judaism
–
Rev. William Shaw, President, National Baptist Convention, USA
–
Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director, Office of Interfaith
& Community Alliances, Islamic Society of North
America
–
Rev. Jim Wallis, President & Executive Director,
Sojourners
–
Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ)
–
Mr. Jim Winkler, General Secretary, United Methodist
Church-General Board of Church and Society
–
Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlberg, President, Rabbinical Assembly
Jason Gedeik
Press Secretary
Sojourners
Office: (202) 745-4633
Cell: (202) 230-2555
3333 14th St. NW, Suite
200
Washington, DC 20010
www.sojo.net
____________________________________________________________________
The mission of Sojourners is to articulate the biblical call to social justice,
inspiring hope and
building
a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world.