Action Alert: Banners Across America

Dear Friends,

We are writing to make certain that you and your congregation know about our newest effort to raise the visibility of a religious opposition to torture in communities all across the country.

NRCAT is making June 2008 the month for "Banners Across America"! We are asking congregations of all sizes, from every state and all faiths, to join in a public witness against torture by displaying a banner outside their place of worship during Torture Awareness Month (June).

Click here for complete information about the project and to place an order.  You can choose from two sizes and two designs, as well as an option to customize your banner to include the name of your congregation.  The cost ranges from $100 to $175, including shipping.

You can also purchase a banner from another source or use one you already have.  Just tell John Humphries (see below) that your congregation will display a banner in June, so we know that your congregation and your state will be participating.

Your congregation's participation will help to raise the visibility of our national campaign in at least 3 ways:

• It will provide an opportunity for members of your congregation to talk together about the continuing shame of torture as government policy and about the role of religious people in speaking out on this moral issue.
• It will put your congregation on record as opposing torture, in a very public way, and can encourage other local congregations to join you in a collective witness in your community.
• It will help NRCAT document a nationwide religious resolve to end torture through a coordinated media effort to draw attention to specific communities with significant numbers of banners, as well as the breadth of participation across the entire country.

At the end of the project, we want to produce a poster with photos of banners hung on a variety of houses of worship. We would deliver a copy of the poster to every member of Congress and the President, and we will make it available for purchase.

You can help us achieve these ambitious goals by:

1. Visiting the Banners Across America webpage (accessible via one of the red boxes in the center of the NRCAT homepage, www.tortureisamoralissue.org) to get the complete information;
2. Encourage your congregation to purchase a banner and display it during June 2008;
3. Send us a digital photograph of the banner hanging outside your house of worship so we can post it on the website and possibly use it for a national poster.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact NRCAT's Director for Program Coordination, John Humphries, at 860-216-7972 or jhumphries@nrcat.org.

Sincerely,

Linda Gustitus, President, NRCAT
Richard Killmer, Executive Director, NRCAT

National Religious Campaign Against Torture
316 F Street NE, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20002