Unleashing a new moral enegy

Sojourners, May/Jun 2000 by Shank, Duane

You'd have to go back a long way to find this much church unity-maybe not to the first Pentecost, but a long way, to be sure. Churches in this country, it seems, have been known more for what has divided them than for what brings them together.

But there's evidence that's changing. Christian leaders representing 60 Catholic, evangelical, mainline Protestant, and African-American churches-along with major churchbased organizations-gathered on the East steps of the U.S. Capitol in February around a commitment and promise: ending poverty in America.

With the launch of Call to Renewal's Covenant and Campaign to Overcome Poverty, American church leaders are saying that poverty is no longer a bipartisan political tool but a top-priority nonpartisan issue. "The story today is very simple," observed Sojourners editor Jim Wallis, convener of Call to Renewal. "In a time of record prosperity, the poor are being left behind, but the churches are being drawn together. Today we are launching a Covenant that can change our lives and a Campaign that can change this country."

The Covenant begins with a confession: "The persistence of widespread poverty in our midst is morally unacceptable. Just as some of our religious forebears decided to no longer accept slavery or segregation, we decide to no longer accept poverty and its disproportionate impact on people of color."

Joining Wallis on the Capitol steps were John Carr, representing the U.S. Catholic Conference; Rich Cizik, of the National Association of Evangelicals; syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington; Rev. Wallace Charles Smith, representing the Progressive National Baptist Convention; Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Sharon Daly, representing Catholic Charities USA; Mark Publow, of World Vision; and David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.

The Covenant launch at the Capitol comes after five years of Call to Renewal's work to bring Christian leaders together on the issue of overcoming poverty. In December 1995, 55 religious leaders were arrested while praying in the Capitol rotunda during the votes on welfare reform. They called on Congress to view the budget as a "moral document" and to make just legislation for America's poor. This signaled a new Christian voice in the media landscape-an alternative to what some considered the "uncompassionate conservative" message of the Christian Coalition.

In 1997 Call to Renewal convened a "Christian roundtable" to build trust among churches and organizations that had not historically worked together-such as the National Council of Churches and the Family Research Council. Church leaders met, shared their views on practices and policies, and prayed together. While they were aware of differences in other areas, a common conviction emerged around the church's special obligation to those in poverty.

Call to Renewal has continued to invigorate the work of grassroots organizations in working with the poor and to put poverty on the agenda of some organizations missing it before. For example, the Christian Legal Society-a conservative evangelical legal aid agency-after working with Call to Renewal now provides pro bono legal service for poor people and has developed a training manual for its attorneys.

All of Call to Renewal's previous work has set the stage for the February launch of the Covenant document that overcome poverty. Our faith calls us to care for the widow and orphan, to welcome the stranger, and to act in justice and compassion for those Jesus called `the least of these' who are members of my family."

Signers pledge to mobilize and focus the moral energy of their own faith communities and organizations to lead a movement to overcome poverty. They will promote goals that a good society should achieve and that every sector of society can work to accomplish:

. a living family income for all who responsibly work

. affordable, quality health care for all, regardless of income

. schools that work for all our children

. safe, affordable housing

. safe and secure neighborhoods

. family-friendly policies and programs in every sector of society

. full participation by people of all races

The Covenant states, "Each of these goals is a moral priority for us. How we achieve them should be a subject of a new dialogue among every sector of society. We are not committed to any particular ideological method or partisan agenda to achieve these goals, only that they be achieved."

BUT CALL TO RENEWAL recognizes that while churches must do their part, they can not do it alone. The Covenant also calls for a movement that is interfaith and includes active engagement from all sectors of society-government, business, labor, the nonprofit sector, and philanthropy. It is through these crossover creative partnerships that a comprehensive vision, concrete actions, and effective policies can be put in place.

The February 16 rally followed Call to Renewal's fourth annual national summit (see "Poor No More," p. 46), at which more than 500 people from churches and faithbased organizations around the country gathered to strategize how to take the churches' work on poverty to a new level-in particular, how the lessons learned on the ground can be translated into policy initiatives.