Faith Leaders Call for Bipartisan Cooperation to Reopen the Government

Circle of Protection leaders are urging the President and Congress to come to a bipartisan agreement that would end the government shutdown. They stressed the ways that the shutdown is hurting poor and vulnerable people.

Today’s Circle letter reaffirms the churches’ support for “efforts to make food and health care available and affordable for all Americans.” A bipartisan appropriations process would include reconsideration of the deep cutbacks to food assistance and health insurance that have been made this year. 

The Circle letter shares with the leaders of our divided country what St. Paul said to the divided church in Corinth.  Paul wrote, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable (I Corinthians 12)."

Read the entire letter here.

Interfaith Rally and Vigil for Health Justice

Speaker Hakim Jeffries and an impressive line-up of other House Democrats joined together with faith groups on Friday in an Interfaith Rally and Vigil on Health Justice.  A provision of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that the Circle of Protection opposed is now starting to go into effect. As of January 1, it will take health insurance away from 4 million people and dramatically increase insurance premiums for another 22 million. These are disproportionately  low-income people. 

President Trump and congressional Republicans have been able to make huge changes this year, always acting on their own. But Senate rules require some Democratic votes on decisions about appropriations for the new fiscal year. Congressional Democrats are unwilling to approve Republican legislation on appropriations without putting a stop to the health-care crisis that is now unfolding. The President and congressional Republicans have so far refused to negotiate.  

I was struck by the passion and determination of the Democratic members of Congress who came to the interfaith event on Friday. This photo includes some of the members of Congress and faith leaders at the event:  Shafiq Ahmed, American Muslim Health Professionals; Rev. David Beckmann, Circle of Protection; Rep. Steven Horsford (NV); Rev. Lesley-Copeland Tune, National Council of Churches; Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT); Rev. Camille Henderson-Edwards, United Methodist Church; Rep. Kathleen Clark, House Minority Whip; Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emeritus.

StoryCorps: Poverty, Faith, and Stick-to-ativity

Sandra Joireman, an eminent political scientist and a former board chair of Bread for the World, interviewed me for StoryCorps.  The interview sums up my life story and insights from my forthcoming book on strategies to push back against MAGA and get progress against poverty back on track.

I very much hope you will listen to the entire interview. It’s 24 minutes.

If you don’t have time for that, I think you’ll enjoy the brief exchange that followed a question about what I’m most proud of.

Here’s the clip: