Progressive United Church of Christ (UCC) Feed by IPC

Liz and I returned a short time ago from a benefit dinner for the Family Bridge Homeless Shelter in Hillsboro, Oregon.  The organizers had kindly invited me to be the guest speaker.  There was a good crowd at the dinner (which included an auction) and the hope was the event would raise $10,000 or more.  The faith community in Washington County are the primary supporters of this critical program.

You can download an audio podcast of my remarks here:  

Download Family Bride Homeless Shelter Benefit Remarks

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...otherwise click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here. 

President Obama and Secretary Clinton both spoke out today at the National Prayer Breakfast against the proposed anti-homosexuality act under consideration in Uganda.  The law calls for the death penalty and jail time for gays and lesbians.  Some of the organizers of the National Prayer Breakfast have had a role in inciting hatred towards gays and lesbians in Uganda.  Harry Knox of the Human Rights Campaign and a member of the White House's Faith Council, along with others (myself included), had reached out to the White House asking the president to use the occasion to denounce the proposed law.  We are fortunate in the United States to have a president of deep faith who is willing to defend human rights.  Americans have seen this in the administration's revival of a robust Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice and in the president's own advocacy on behalf of hate crimes laws.  While many religious leaders across the country have backed the president's policies on these matters and condemned the proposed law in Uganda it remains disheartening that many on the fringes of the religious right in America continue to sow hatred and discord in the name of Jesus Christ.        

Related Post: Photos & Remarks From The Respect Humanity: Uganda March and Rally

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and the Interfaith Project on Homeless Children and Families invite you to a day of activities on Feb. 12 at the Oregon State Capitol to help draw attention to the growing number of homeless families statewide and the growing number of homeless children in our public schools.  Below you can download a flyer with all the information.

Recently the Oregon Dept. of Education announced there were 18,059 homeless children enrolled in Oregon's public schools last year (2008/09). That number was up 14% from the previous year, and it represents an increase of 122% since 2003/04.

The day begins with an Interfaith leadership briefing on opportunities to provide service to homeless children and families — both directly, and through policy advocacy.   Speakers include representatives from key state agencies, non-profit providers, and clergy. 

At noon we gather on the capitol steps for a rally and prayer vigil in support of homeless children and families.  Please join us in making a difference for some of our state’s must vulnerable people during the worst economic crisis of our generation.

Please forward this information to your contacts.  As we search for ways to address the growing crisis of homelessness and homeless students, we need to have a visible presence at the Capitol as the Legislature meets in special session.

So please attend this event and invite your faith community, friends, co-workers, and families to join you by sending out this flyer to your e-mail contacts.

Download UPDATED Feb 12 Interfaith Prayer Vigil Rally Flyer

During his State of the Union address the president said:

“In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education.”

His budget, however, doesn't match his rhetoric as far as homeless students are concerned.

The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth reports:

BACKGROUND: On Monday, February 1st, President Obama unveiled his FY2011 budget proposal. The President’s request includes $65 million for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, which is the same funding level as the past two fiscal years. In light of the recent stimulus dollars, the President’s proposed $65 million represents a cut to the current funding that is available for homeless education. The proposed funding level of $65 million is particularly inadequate in light of the recent surge in family and youth homelessness, and the EHCY program’s unique ability to assist homeless children and youth. The President has requested a historic investment in education - a $3.5 billion increase in funding for the U.S. Department of Education’s discretionary programs. Yet without specific, targeted assistance, homeless children and youth are unlikely to benefit from these reforms. The most promising instructional strategy or academic program will be of little benefit to children and youth who cannot get to school, or who are constantly changing schools due to the instability of their homeless situation. In these times of unprecedented homelessness and limited resources, failure to target federal education dollars to the poorest children and youth is fiscally irresponsible, and sets these students on a path for academic and economic failure. 

NEXT STEPS: The President’s budget request marks only the beginning of the process for determining FY2011 funding; Congress ultimately makes the final budget decisions. There are many opportunities to influence the funding level for the EHCY program, but the best way is for Members of Congress to hear from you. The Congressional appropriations process takes many months to complete. However, many of the most important decisions occur in early spring. Therefore, it is imperative to communicate with Congressional offices soon, and often, throughout the entire process. 

FUNDING LEVEL REQUESTED: Congress should appropriate at least $140 million in EHCY funding for FY2011. A funding level of $140 million would include the program’s fully authorized amount of $70 million, plus the ARRA homeless education funding of $70 million. The need for this funding level is more than justified given the increases in homelessness due the recession, and pre-recession needs. 

ACTION NEEDED: 

1. Please write and/or visit your U.S. Senators and ask them to urge Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) to include at least $140 million for the McKinney-Vento homeless education program in the FY2011 education appropriations bill. Contact information for U.S. Senators may be found at http://www.senate.gov. A sample letter is attached.

Download Fy2011alert0202

2. Please write and/or visit your U.S. Representative and ask him or her to urge Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Obey (D-7th/WI) to include at least $140 million for the McKinney-Vento homeless education program in the FY2011 education appropriations bill. Contact information for U.S. Representatives may be found at http://www.house.gov. A sample letter is attached.

Download Fy2011alert0202

3. Please distribute this alert to as many partner organizations as possible, and urge them to join this effort 

4. If you are a school district homeless liaison, please fill out NAEHCY’s online survey about funding needs at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Jan2010LocalLiaisonARRA This information will help us make the case for more funding for FY2011. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Barbara Duffield, 202.364.7392, bduffield@naehcy.org 

Here in Oregon, for example, our public school system saw over 18,000 homeless children last year.  That is a 122% from the 2003/04 school year.

The president committed during the 2008 campaign to cutting poverty in half within 10 years.  Shortchanging programs for homeless kids won't help to achieve that goal.

As the faith community in Oregon and nationally tries to respond to this growing crisis, we need the president and Congress to be allies in the fight.

Thankfully, some other homeless-related programs will be receiving budget increases.  Tomorrow the National Coalition for the Homeless will have updated information on that and I'll be sure to share it here.

I've thought a lot about issues of war since I was a teen. I'm not a pacifist, but I do believe that this country has gotten into too many unnecessary wars. Like most people my age, my views on war were heavily influenced by the Vietnam War, seeing how it affected the older generation and the Vietnam veterans.

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Yesterday a group of Oregon religious leaders met in Wilsonville to continue planning for the upcoming Oregon Interfaith Summit on Homeless Children and Families.

The summit is being designed to help the faith community respond to the growing number of homeless children in public schools and the increase in family homelessness.

One part of our advocacy campaign is to promote federal legislation that would help local school districts better provide educational opportunities for homeless students and foster kids.

Religious leaders reached out to U.S. Ron Wyden and  U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley.  We asked them to co-sponsor two pieces of related legislation:   

The "Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2009," S. 2800, amends the McKinney-Vento Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and other related titles of the ESEA. S. 2800 makes a strong law even stronger by reinforcing and expanding its key provisions, including school stability, enrollment, and support for academic achievement. S. 2800 also expands authorized funding to meet transportation needs. 

The "Fostering Success in Education Act of 2009," S. 2801, establishes a new education program to ensure that all children and youth in foster care have school stability, immediate school access, and support for academic success. S. 2801 encourages collaboration across education and child welfare agencies to cover the cost of transportation to enable foster youth to continue in their school of origin when it is in their best interest, with ultimate responsibility for the cost of transportation on child welfare agencies when necessary. S. 2801 requires school districts to collaborate with child welfare agencies to facilitate transportation in a cost-effective manner.

During our meeting on Friday we received a call from Senator Merkley's office letting us know that he has agreed to co-sponsor the legislation.  Senator Wyden had already committed to doing the same.

I know I speak for many when I say how proud leaders of Oregon's faith community are that Oregon's two senators are co-sponsoring these critical pieces of legislation.  

I'm not sure how I got on their email list, but over the past couple of months I've been receiving emails from MoveOn, a progressive Democratic web organization that was started by Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs

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Recently the Oregon Dept. of Education announced there were 18,059 homeless children enrolled in Oregon's public schools last year (2008/09).   

That number was up 14% from the previous year, and it represents an increase of 122% since 2003/04.  It is only one of many indicators that childhood and family homelessness are increasing in Oregon and nationwide.  

In response to the rapid rise in childhood and family homelessness, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is convening a new interfaith project on childhood homelessness.  Planning is underway for a statewide Interfaith Summit on Homeless Children, Youth and Families, to be held in May or June of this year, and there will be other activities before and after the Summit. 

At the summit we plan to bring together people of many faiths with representatives of non-profit and government agencies who have expertise on childhood and family homelessenss.  Our primary goal is to focus attention on this problem and generate a new level of action and advocacy in response to it. 

Many of Oregon's congregations and people of faith are already deeply involved in responding to homelessness.  Our aims are to spread that involvement more broadly and to provide an opportunity for coordinated statewide advocacy on behalf of homeless children and families. 

More details follow below.  Here are some ways to become involved:  

• Might your congregation or other organization be willing to co-sponsor theInterfaith Summit on Homeless Children, Youth and Families?  If so, let us know and we'll send you a sponsorship form and informational flyer.  (Though we are encouraging sponsors to make a donation in support of this effort, no donation is required -- what we really want is your good name and your participation in helping to get the word out about this project and the Summit.)  

• Do you want to be kept informed of other upcoming meetings and events related to this project?  Again, just let us know in an email at kfinney@emoregon.org or give Kevin Finney a call at 503-221-1054.   

• Is your congregation or organization already providing services or engaged in advocacy for homeless families?  Please tell us what you are doing -- We are beginning to put together a statewide directory of what churches, synagogues, temples and mosques are already doing to help homeless individuals and families.    

• Do you have comments on what is most needed, in your community, or statewide, to help homeless children and families, or suggestions for what a legisative agenda should focus on -- please send those as well, along with any other comments you think may be helpful. 

• Do you know individuals or organizations that we should be in touch with?  Please send those names! 

Project Focus

We are focusing on three goals:

• Prevention of childhood, youth, and family homelessness. 

• Rapid Re-housing, shelter, and services - Getting currently homeless families off the streets and into housing with the supportive services they need to stay housed, and providing them with food, shelter and other basic services while they remain homeless.  

• Education of homeless children and youth - Improving the education of homeless children and youth, by making sure public schools have adequate funding for outreach programs and supportive services.  

Project Scope

This project and the planned Summit are designed to:

• increase public awareness and concern about homeless children and families, 

• deepen the engagement of Oregon's religious communitiesin providing services and in advocacy for homeless children and families, and provide members of the faith community with the knowledge and tools they need to be effective in this work,and, 

• develop and support a legislative agenda for homeless children and families for the 2011 session of the Oregon legislature (as well as support efforts in Congress to increase funding and improve policies related to homeless families and children). 

We hope you will join us in this work, and that you will feel free to call or email with any questions or suggestions you may have.

(Note: As a member of the public policy committee for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, I am happy to answer any questions about this project and to help you connect with staff.  I can be reached rev@chuckcurrie.com or 971-322-7920. - Rev. Chuck Currie)

As a minister in the United Church of Christ deeply concerned about poverty and homelessness, I watched the president’s State of the Union address with great interest as poverty and homelessness grow both in Oregon and nationally. The president noted tonight that over the course of the last year: “For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder.” 

During the 2008 campaign the president pledged to reduce poverty by 50% over a ten year period. This January, I wrote the president and the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and asked that the president re-affirm that commitment and to outline proposals during the State of the Union address. He didn’t specifically do that and I’m disappointed.

Letter to President Obama on the State of the Union Address and Poverty 

But it is clear poverty is on the president’s mind. He talked about the need to put people back to work and urged the Senate to pass a “jobs” bill similar to the one recently passed by the House and urged increases in education funding noting that: “In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education.” I agree. 

Yet America still needs and deserves a comprehensive anti-poverty plan that includes measurable goals. 

This week I joined a conference call with White House staff and my understanding is that anti-poverty programs will be increased in the budget being released by the president on Monday. Already, the Recovery Act, proposed by the president and passed by the Congress last year, kept “6 million Americans out of poverty and (reduced) the severity of poverty for 33 million more,” according to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

I remain hopeful that the budget will help reduce poverty in the United States. 

The president also reaffirmed his commitment to health care reform and called on Congress to pass the legislation they now have in front of them. Religious leaders – including the National Council of Churches – have fought for decades for such reform. It is needed and is a moral imperative. 

A State of the Union address is a chance for a president to set out a philosophy for governing. The details will come in the budget the president releases next week. Budgets are moral documents, we like to say in the faith community, and I’ll be watching with eagerness to see the president’s budget priorities. 

In the end, I was impressed with the president’s speech tonight.  He spoke on a number of issues that have been of importance to the faith community for years:  the economy, health care, the spread of HIV / AIDS, ending the war in Iraq, hate crimes legislation, civil rights, and the reduction of nuclear weapons.  President Obama deserves to be applauded for his efforts.  

Now I’ll wait for the details in the budget.

Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History" and numerous other works, died today.  His accomplishments as an historian left our nation better informed about our past and better equipped to face the future.  "A People's History" is now required reading in many high school and college U.S. history courses - as it should be.  He was a great American.  

The press is busy doing their “winners and losers” columns in the wake of the popular vote in favor of Oregon’s Measures 66 and 67. One group that keeps getting forgotten is Oregon’s religious community. The Archdiocese of Portland was joined by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, the statewide association of Roman Catholic, Mainline and Orthodox Christians, in supporting the measures. Also working for passage of 66 and 67 was the evangelical Oregon Center for Christian Values. The Oregon Board of Rabbis joined the campaign and so did hundreds of individual clergy and other religious leaders, along with a number of individual congregations. Statements of support also came from denominational bodies, such as the Justice and Witness Ministries of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ. In short, religious groups that sometimes disagree on important issues like abortion and gay marriage pulled together in this election for the common good of our Oregon. We did so because we know that budgets are moral documents and that well funded education, public safety and social service programs are essential for a society to be both moral and just.  The religious community isn't a "winner" in the election because our political clout has grown, of course.  We win when people are taken care of and last night the people of Oregon voted to try and take care of their own.  I'm proud that Oregon's religious community played such a significant role.    

I booker for The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson show called yesterday afternoon and asked if I would be a guest on the program this week to talk about my pro-choice views (views consistent with official positions taken by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, most mainline Christian denominations and many other Christian Americans, including Roman Catholics).  

I'd never heard of Rev. Peterson before and the booker was vague when I asked about Rev. Peterson's views but finally offered that he would likely disagree with my stance but that he was a fair and honest radio talk show host who liked to hear various points of view.  I agreed to be on the show.

That was until I looked up his record.

"Barack Obama hates white people – especially white men." - Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson

It turns out that Rev. Peterson is a radical religious extremist.

"I was born a Democrat but I had no values; it was anything goes, whatever you want to do, and that came from the black leadership, but I finally started to examine it for myself and I realized the Democratic platform was an anti-God, anti-values, anti-American platform."

He views go way beyond offensive.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, and President Bush failed to get aid to New Orleans quickly, Rev. Peterson said:

"I stated that if whites were to just leave the United States and let blacks run the country, they would turn America into a ghetto within ten years … I gave blacks too much credit. It took a mere three days for blacks to turn the Superdome and the convention center into ghettos, rampant with theft, rape and murder.”

Rev. Peterson is himself African-American.  What he is not is a speaker of the truth.

This morning I wrote Rev. Peterson's booker and producer and told them:  

Thank you for the invitation. Before you called I had not heard of The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson. However, after reviewing his record last night it is clear that he is a radical extremist and that my appearance on his show could only serve to offer him legitimacy. His hate-filled rhetoric toward people of different faiths and political views are irresponsible and should have no place in American discourse. Therefore, I decline the interview request. I certainly have no problem appearing on conservative religious programs – I did so just this week to discuss economic issues – but Rev. Peterson is no conservative. His record of promoting hate and division is far outside the bonds of common decency.

Rev. Peterson shouldn't even be on the air.  No surprise, however, to find that he has been a regular on FOX News.

I'll also mention that nowhere in his bio does it mention which denomination Rev. Peterson is ordained in or where he earned his theological degree.  The omission leaves one to question his credentials.

WHEN: February 22, 2010, 6:30 P.M.
WHERE: SUNY Albany Ballroom, Campus Center BIdg. Albany NY
WHAT: An evening of theater, comedy, poetry, dance
WHO: Produced by Hillel and the Muslim Student Assn.

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WHEN: January 30, 2010 1:00
WHERE: WAMC Auditorium
WHAT: Progressives and Libertarian Public Dialogue on Climate Change

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Measures 66 and 67 - backed by a broad coalition of small businesses, educators, public safety advocates, unions, and religious groups - have passed, according to The Oregonian (a paper which campaigned vigorously and unethically against the measures in league with big banks and other defenders of the status quo).  Other media outlets are also calling the race in favor of the measures.  This is a victory for Oregon!  We've shown the nation tonight that progressive policies that benefit small business, schools, public safety and social services can earn the respect and the votes of the people!  The White House and Congress should take note.

I just finished participating in a White House conference call briefing on the proposed three-year domestic spending freeze that the president is scheduled to propose during the State of the Union address.  As a minister in the United Church of Christ and as an advocate for those living in poverty, I want to hear the president make promises during the State of the Union that the reduction of poverty remains a top goal of his administration.

Like most Americans, I am concerned with the size of the federal deficit and agree with what Robert Greenstein, the executive director of the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Congress yesterday:

"If the budget is not put on a sustainable path, it is likely that low- and moderate-income Americans will suffer the most from the inevitable erosion of the average standard of living in this country. And, if rising debt does trigger a financial crisis, programs that are crucial to the well-being of less-well-off Americans are likely to bear the brunt of draconian steps taken in that crisis atmosphere to reduce deficits and debt and reassure financial markets. No one with particular concerns about the well-being of low- and moderate-income Americans can afford to ignore the long-term budget problem.”

In early January, I wrote the president and the White House Office on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and urged the President to re-affirm his election promise to reduce poverty by 50% over the next ten years.

Letter to President Obama on the State of the Union Address and Poverty

Any budget reductions must protect those living in poverty in America.  “The nation’s official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. There were 39.8 million people in poverty in 2008, up from 37.3 million in 2007,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This president inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, two wars and a global climate change crisis.  He continues to have a difficult task ahead of him.

My understanding is that the president retains his commitment to reduce poverty by 50% over the next ten years and that the budget that will be released next Monday will include further increases in anti-poverty programs (the stimulus package adopted last year has already been credited with helping at least 6 million Americans from falling into poverty).  However, I have been given no specifics by the White House or any other source.

I will be listening tomorrow night for specifics and for further details in the president’s proposed budget that will be released on Monday.  

The Oregonian finally gets around to telling readers what most of us have known for months:  religious leaders are backing Measures 66 and 67:

Some Catholic parish bulletins in recent weeks published portions of a newsletter by the Archdiocese of Portand's Office of Peace and Justice/Respect Life, endorsing a yes vote on Measures 66 and 67. 

Matt Cato,  director of the office,  wrote in the January newsletter that the proposed tax increases "will prevent cuts to public education, health care, human services, and public safety, services which the poor and middle class rely on ... Catholic social teaching challenges us to meet the basic moral test of our society and put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first." 

The Most Rev. John G. Vlazny,  archbishop of Portland, previewed and supported Cato's letter before the newsletter was sent to pastors and other parish ministers, said Bud Bunce, an archdiocesan spokesman. The archdiocese did not ask parishes to reprint the endorsement, but individuals within some parishes did so, Bunce said. 

A number of Oregon religious leaders -- including the Oregon Board of Rabbis, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and Oregon's Religious Leaders for Tax Fairness -- have endorsed the measures. 

Ballots are due tomorrow (Tuesday) by 8 pm.  It is way too late to mail in your ballot.  Drop it off at one of these locations:

http://www.sos.state.or.us/dropbox/

And if you want to know why religious leaders are coming out so strongly in favor of these measures click here.

Lt. Governor Bauer:

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed....You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply...They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.”  

Jesus: 

35...I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”40And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,* you did it to me.” 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” 44Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” 45Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

Progressives seem to be running for cover one year after the inauguration of Barack Obama. “I’m pretty close to giving up on Mr. Obama, who seems determined to confirm every doubt I and others ever had about whether he was ready to fight for what his supporters believed in,” wrote Paul Krugman in The New York Times.  Mr. Krugman is clearly not alone. 

However, after a difficult year I’m not ready to give up on this president. As I’ve said before, “This president inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, two wars and a global climate change crisis. On all fronts, the president has made progress (though progressives often wish for quicker action and are frustrated at the slow legislative pace and the obstacles set in place by the GOP, the same folks who created much of the mess the president is trying to clean up).” 

That isn’t to say that I’m not frustrated. The insistence on the part of the president to be “bi-partisan” despite every indication that the GOP had no interest in working on an bi-partisan agenda helped set the stage for the near disaster that health care reform has become. 

Democrats in Congress, including the House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader, have shown that even with strong majorities they cannot govern. What we are witnessing is a lack of leadership at all levels of politics and the American people are right to be frustrated. 

Some are telling the president now is the time to run to the political center (ala Bill Clinton circa 1994) but I supported Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton because I wanted a return to principled politics. A move to Clinton-style politics would, of course, mean an end to the promise of the Obama presidency. We expect better from him. 

President Obama has on many issues moved the debate in the right direction over the last year. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (that the President passed with little Republican support) included broad investments to alleviate the poverty made worse by the economic crisis. 

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities notes that millions of more Americans would have fallen into poverty if it wasn’t for the president’s stimulus package. 

At the same time, I wish the stimulus package had been stronger (in the ways that Mr. Krugman articulated at the time). 

We have also begun the withdrawal from Iraq. And while I have concerns about the mission in Afghanistan, I also agree that the U.S. has long-term humanitarian obligations to that nation and that a strong military presence is needed to keep the Taliban from retaining power. 

When I offered my personal endorsement of Barack Obama back in 2007 – when he was 30+ points down in the polls – it wasn’t ever with an understanding that I would agree with his every decision.  

I endorsed Barack Obama because I believed in his character and in the policies that he was advocating. Has he lived up to every promise? No. Do I want to him to be more aggressive in defining and defending a progressive agenda for the nation? Yes.

For example, I want very much for the president to re-affirm the commitment he made during the 2008 election to reduce poverty in America by 50% in ten years.  

I want him to take a stronger role in defending the right of women to make their own reproductive health care decisions and to be more active in defending the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans.  Rhetoric is not enough.

But I still believe in his character and ability to govern effectively. Barack Obama is an extraordinary individual who deeply loves his country and who understands the difficulties faced by the American people. 

During the course of the next three years I will continue to work with other faith leaders across the country to push this administration when it needs to be pushed and I'm not afraid to criticize the president when warranted. It is certainly the job of the church to speak truth to power. 

I’ll also not be afraid to stand with the president when he is right regardless of what the polls say. 

In the end, this isn’t about Barack Obama. It is about the American people. The president has to work with Congress, the courts, and an array of well funded special interest groups trying to overcome his plans to expand health care, to fight global warming and to overhaul the banking system. 

The president needs our help as much as we need his.

Press Release From Faith In Public Life

National call-in day Monday to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people of faith

January 22, 2010

CALL CONGRESS AT 202-224-3121

After a week of political twists and turns in Washington, people of faith across the country are stepping up with a massive effort to remind Congress that the urgent need for reform has not abated for suffering families. In the face of uncertainty, they are telling their elected representatives that the millions of Americans who cannot afford health care need leaders to fight for them, not fold.

Numerous religious groups are mounting a national call-in day on Monday, January 25, to tell Congress that we need strong, courageous leadership to ensure that the lives and livelihoods of Americans no longer fall victim to insurance companies' greed. Partners in this effort to mobilize hundreds of thousands of contacts to Congress include: Faithful America; PICO National Network; Faithful Reform in Health Care; National Council of Churches; African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME); Sojourners; United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society; Gamaliel Foundation; Interfaith Worker Justice; NETWORK - A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office; Union of Reform Judaism; Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office; United Church of Christ; Jewish Reconstructionist Federation; Islamic Medical Association of North America; and Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition.

In addition to the these call-ins, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is bringing hundreds of high school student advocates for health reform to Capitol Hill for visits with Members of Congress.

"One election half-way across the country has done nothing to change the desperate need of children and families in our community for affordable health care," says Rev. Rayfield Burns, a PICO leader from Communities Creating Opportunity in Kansas City, MO.

Faith leaders across the country who have worked hard for reform all year are keeping up the fight for desperately needed legislation and demanding that their political leaders do the same. We cannot quit now - there are too many lives at stake.