A Call to Action to the Progressive Faith Community

At many points in our nation's history, from the struggle for the abolition of slavery, to civil rights, to the effort to fight poverty, the progressive faith community has come together as a movement to offer our nation a message of hope.

Our nation needs us again. We are sacrificing our sacred values to the narrow and ideological agenda of a few - values of truth at all times, justice for all people, and community among all nations and faiths. In the midst of the most important election in a generation, some vocal religious groups are trying to convince America that our faith calls us to vote only on a narrow set of issues and values. Our message to America is: Vote ALL Your Values!

Time is short, and we have begun a 40 day period of prayer, fasting and work. We ask all people of faith to join us in this plan of action:

A.) National Day of Action, October 16th - From Sacred Places to Civic Spaces. We ask our movement to come together in a National Day of Action on Saturday, October 16th. Through coordinated events across America and a Clergy and Lay persons' march in Philadelphia, we hope to make sure the country hears our message. We call upon people of faith to move from sacred places to civic spaces, organizing our faith communities in marches and vigils in front of public offices. If you can't organize a vigil, hold a 'hungering for justice' fast for the day and meet up with friends in a potluck dinner, to strategize your get out the vote campaign (see below). Start organizing your event now, and advertise your event on an electronic map of America at www.voteALLyourvalues.org.

B.) Vote ALL Your Values Campaign - We call for a mobilization of our community in a non-partisan voter mobilization effort called 'Vote ALL Your Values'. Together, we will call and visit millions of low income and minority voters before the election. Encouraging these citizens to have a voice in democracy could play a decisive role in the country's future, and research shows that contact by a 'trusted source', such as a member of a faith community, is most effective in persuading people to vote. You can be a part of it by organizing your own get out the vote team in your faith community, or even just by calling voters from your own home. We'll help you every step of the way.

If you are called to act, the next step is to go to www.voteALLyourvalues.org to join the effort. If you find the internet difficult to use, call us toll free at 1-866-456-VOTE. And don't forget to pray, or perhaps fast for a day to ask God's guidance in this momentous time. So much is at stake, our faith calls us to action.

Dave Robinson, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
John Podesta, President, and Melody Barnes, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Maureen Fenlon, OP, National Coordinator, NETWORK Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Rev. Chloe Breyer, St. Mary's Manhattanville Church
Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA
Rev. Dr. James. A. Forbes Jr., Senior Minister, The Riverside Church
Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President, The Interfaith Alliance
Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs, Kol Tikvah Temple
Rev. Dr. Paul Sherry, Coordinator, Let Justice Roll Coalition
Rev. Steven Baines, People for the American Way
Rev. Dr. William Sloane Coffin, Honorary Chair, FaithfulAmerica.org
Rev. Peter Laarman, Director, Progressive Christians Uniting
Adam Taylor, Director, Global Justice
Rev. Jim Wallis, Editor, Sojourners Magazine

RE: Pax Christi USA. I did a quick google search:

www.tysknews.com/Depts/gov_philosophy/socialists.htm FrontPage magazine.com :: Fifth Column Bishop by Michael Tremoglie ... in his 2002 speech to the Pax Christi USA National Assembly ... are non-nuclear nations and are parties to the ... that could be characterized as Communists for Christ ...

NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby.
Socialism in America Socialism in America ... progressive movements for social change while establishing ... people develop the social bonds that render ... National Priorities Project. NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby ...

www.tysknews.com/Depts/gov_philosophy/socialists.htm FrontPage magazine.com :: Fifth Column Bishop by Michael Tremoglie ... in his 2002 speech to the Pax Christi USA National Assembly ... are non-nuclear nations and are parties to the ... that could be characterized as Communists for Christ ...
\
www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=6177 - 50k - Cached - Similar pages Bishop Thomas Gumbleton is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and the founder of a Catholic peace organization called Pax Christi USA. Workers Daily Internet Edition Year 2002 No. 150 Christian Declaration on Legality and Morality of War with Iraq Yesterday, August 6, Pax Christi UK presented the first 2,500 signatures to the Declaration to Downing Street. They are continuing to gather signatures and will send them in batches to Downing Street. In a press notice of August 2, Pax Christi says: "Since its public launch in mid-July, the Christian Declaration questioning the morality and legality of war against Iraq has gained widespread support. The initial 100 signatories included Archbishop Rowan Williams, Anglican Bishops John Perry and Peter Price, Roman Catholic Bishops Malcolm McMahon, Thomas McMahon and Edwin Regan and academics and theologians from around the country. A further 2500 signatures * of support have been received from churches based groups, academics and individuals. Pax Christi, the organisers of the Declaration report that they have received much encouragement for the initiative. Many people said that had been looking for an alternative voice to that being offered by our political leaders and hope that the Declaration will generate serious reflection among decision makers. The Declaration appears to have captured the energy of convents, parishes, religious communities and families. It states: ‘It is deplorable that the world's most powerful nations continue to regard war and the threat of war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy, in violation of the ethos of both the United Nations and Christian moral teaching. The way to peace does not lie through war but through the transformation of structures of injustice and of the politics of exclusion, and that is the cause to which the West should be devoting its technological, diplomatic and economic resources.’" The Declaration was presented on the anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima in 1945. The organisers believe there is a strong link between the two. Forty-three years on the British government still holds and threatens to use its nuclear weapons. Dr Tina Beattie, a member of the delegation presenting the Declaration, said, "When our elected leaders are considering fighting a war in our name, funded by our taxes, there is no morally neutral position. Christians have a responsibility to affirm certain fundamental principles of justice, and for those who consider that a military attack on Iraq would violate those principles, then there is a duty to speak out publicly. The response to this declaration suggests that many welcome an opportunity to do so, adding our voices to the growing number expressing disquiet in military and political circles as George W. Bush and Tony Blair prepare for a war that could further destabilise one of the world's most volatile and violent regions, with devastating consequences for all the people of the Middle East." * Includes: Rt Rev Michael Hare Duke, Bishop of Beverley, Bishop of Chichester (Anglican), Bishop of Galloway, Bishop of Northampton (Roman Catholic), Gerard Hughes SJ, Kathy Galloway, Leader, Iona Community, Wilfred McGreal O.Carm, Prior of Aylesford Priory Kent; Provincial leaders of the following religious orders: Daughters of Wisdom, Passionists, Carmelites, Comboni Sisters, Xaverian Missionary Society, Srs of St Joseph of Peace, Religious of the Assumption; Churches Together in Loughborough, Kings Lynn, Stockport, Highgate, Falnmouth, Wales, Manchester; General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Wales; The Iona Community Meeting in Plenary; Academics from Universities in Oxford, Birmingham, Lancaster, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Zambia; Religious communities in Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Italy and concerned individuals from Australia, USA, Canada, Japan, India, Switzerland and Italy. Article Index

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