A faithful budget must promote a compassionate and comprehensive vision for the future. As communities of faith, we call on our elected leaders to craft a federal budget that fulfills our shared duty to each other in all segments of society, to those who are struggling to overcome poverty or are especially vulnerable, and to future generations through our collective responsibility as stewards of Creation.

Our message to the nation’s leaders — rooted in our sacred texts — is this: Act with mercy and justice by serving the common good, robustly funding support for poor and vulnerable people throughout our world, reducing reliance on tools of violent conflict, and exercising proper care and keeping of the earth. 

Too often lost in the current political debate is the hopeful vision of a future where all God’s children enjoy the abundance that has been entrusted to our care, and each person is empowered to live a life of dignity free from hunger and poverty. In recent years, the conversation over federal budgets has focused narrowly on how to reduce or eliminate the budget deficit, as if the highest goal of government were merely to achieve a row of zeroes on our nation’s financial ledger. The budget deficit must not be the only barometer of our nation’s well-being.

Instead, the debate over our annual budgets should principally focus on how best to strengthen communities and ensure a sustainable common good, addressing the legacy of failed policies that have led to historic rates of long-term unemployment, unconscionable poverty in a land of immense wealth, and an economy that is failing to generate sufficient jobs at fair wages.

It is simply not true that we must reduce assistance for the poorest among us in order to achieve fiscal recovery. A Faithful Federal Budget can advance fiscal responsibility while increasing support for the poor and vulnerable, by focusing on job creation and economic revitalization, an equitable tax system based on fairness, and true human security over disproportionate military spending. 

We must heed the words of the Prophet Isaiah who assures us:

If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday . . .you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. (58:10-12).

We respond to the call of the Prophet Isaiah, who challenges the nation to know God’s ways and to practice true piety and righteousness — breaking injustice and oppression, feeding the hungry, and sheltering the homeless:

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? . . . . – Isaiah 58

The New Testament Gospels call us to embody in action the just vision of Isaiah’s piety and righteousness:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” – Jesus’ words in Luke 4:18-19

The Qur’an teaches a piety that is inextricably linked with the spending of money for the betterment of those who are struggling:

Never shall you attain to true piety unless you spend on others out of what you cherish yourselves; and whatever you spend – verily, God has full knowledge thereof. – The Holy Qur’an 3:92

Guided by these sacred texts, we lift our voices to speak to the social and ecological challenges we face together under God — as a people, as a nation, and as global citizens.

Ensuring Adequate Resources for Shared Priorities: From the time a federal income tax was first established, the concept of a progressive tax system, where those who have most benefitted in our society also contribute the most in return, has been widely accepted as fair and equitable. Over the last several decades our tax system has grown less progressive, and now frequently places more of a tax burden, as a percentage of income, on the middle class than it does on the wealthiest among us. The tax system was also designed to create financial incentives for individuals to act in ways that are thought to strengthen our social fabric, such as investing and saving for retirement, starting a business, owning a home, getting a college education – even charitable giving. Because of the way tax benefits are structured, however, too often low-wage workers do not earn enough to access those benefits. This results in a system that perpetuates inequality by rewarding behavior that generates financial security for those who already have it, while excluding those who are working hard at low-wage jobs and need help the most. An equitable, moral tax code should reward the efforts of low-income people to work and save at every level. A Faithful Budget will act to correct this imbalance. Investment in the renewal of our nation’s economic well-being and protecting the poor and vulnerable will itself serve to reduce the long-term deficit. Such investment should be financed through an equitable tax system founded on fairness, where those who have reaped extraordinary benefits contribute proportionately to the good of all.

Prioritizing True Human Security: Our nation now allocates well over half its discretionary budget to the Pentagon as a result of sharp military spending increases that began in 1998 and continued for over a decade. At the same time we have invested heavily in more militarized border security and a proliferation of private prisons, similarly expensive tools that fail to address the root causes of violence, migration, and crime. This unbalanced approach has rendered our nation unable to invest in other areas that build true human security. Disproportionate spending on the mechanisms of war and enforcement has left our nation less secure in so many other ways. We believe a faithful budget must reevaluate these priorities and increase investment in the areas of health, education, sustainable livelihoods and community well-being that are essential to true security. Our budget priorities should reflect a more balanced approach to the full spectrum of investments that build meaningful security for individuals, families, and communities, [and increases] with less reliance on military and enforcement spending and greater investment in the building blocks of healthy, resilient, and peaceful societies.

Meeting Critical Human Needs at Home: The faith community remains committed to serving vulnerable populations – but we cannot begin to address these needs alone. Our nation must implement policies that will reduce poverty and hardship – it is not only the right thing to do, but also critical to our nation’s most pragmatic interests. We fulfill our calling as a people as well as our long term shared interests when we invest in a social safety net that will support the vulnerable in times of hardship such as recession, unemployment, sickness, and old age. Even as the economy has begun to revive, unemployment rates remain remarkably high. Proactive stimulus policies, as well as the elasticity of mandatory safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, are incredibly effective measures that have prevented millions from falling into poverty. Congress has the moral and pragmatic responsibility, even as it pursues long-term deficit reduction, to serve the common good by adequately funding critical human needs, social service and environmental protection.

Meeting Critical Human Needs Abroad: Ending hunger and extreme poverty is within reach, making America’s commitment to our global neighbors more important than ever. While costing less than one percent of the U.S. federal budget, humanitarian and poverty-focused international assistance improves health and nutrition, saves millions of lives, and builds self-reliance among the world’s most vulnerable people. The United States benefits because our security as a people is bound up with the security of all people. Generous, robust and well-targeted foreign assistance is a cost-effective investment that helps prevent conflict, empowers families and communities, and builds for broad-based sustainable development. Congress has the moral and pragmatic responsibility to provide robust funding for humanitarian and poverty-focused international assistance programs, which ensure human security in its broadest sense.

Accepting Intergenerational Responsibility: We cannot leave our children a legacy of debt, but neither must we leave them a legacy of rising poverty and growing inequality. As educational programs, adequate housing, health care, nutrition programs, job training, and other community services all fall victim to pressures to reduce the deficit, economic vulnerability continues to grow and more families find themselves one disaster away from poverty. Our nation’s vital social safety net did not create the deficit, and the vulnerable populations served by the social safety net should not bear the brunt of deficit-reduction measures. A Faithful Budget will seek wise and far-sighted ways to reduce the nation’s long-term deficits while protecting the most vulnerable among us.

Using the Gifts of Creation Sustainably and Responsibly: In the book of Genesis, God called Creation “good.” Because of Creation’s intrinsic worth, the earth and its resources deserve our respect and our consideration. While the earth has been given to us as a home, and while its resources are bountiful and good, we have abused this gift, placing unsustainable burdens on our environment and its resources. As a human community, we owe a debt to our environment, both for its own sake as well as our own. Environmental degradation has substantial, and potentially irreversible, short and long-term impacts, such as rising health care costs from air pollution and resulting respiratory problems; increased premature deaths due to the cumulative impacts of poor air quality; declining water quality in our communities; degradation of public lands; global climate change, which is already affecting some of the most vulnerable populations on earth; and loss of open space. A Faithful Budget must encompass a reverence for our created environment, making choices that protect air, water, and land—the entirety of Creation—gifts from God that must be available to and protected for this generation and those to come.

Providing Access to Health Care for All: Our members, congregations, and institutions have ample direct experience in providing access to health care for all people. All individuals, regardless of their age, income, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, geography, employment status, or health status, deserve equal access to quality, affordable, inclusive and accountable health care. Reducing health care options for some based on any of these factors is profoundly unjust and societally unwise. As we examine the interwoven web of access within the federal budget, there are areas of profound concern for the common good and practices of good stewardship. A Faithful Budget will ensure access to quality health care by investing in wellness and making needed improvements in the health care system.

Recognizing a Robust Role for Government: We are inspired by a common conviction that God has called on all of us – as individuals, as communities of faith, and as a society acting together through our government – to protect the vulnerable and promote the dignity of all people. For this reason the faith community has worked alongside the United States government for decades to protect those struggling to overcome poverty in the U.S. and abroad. People who need help paying rent or feeding their children come to us, frequently as a first and last resort, and we do all we can to provide the aid that compassionate love demands. And yet, faith communities and agencies cannot do it alone. The need is great as many who once gave to our ministries of mercy are now recipients of our charity. We need the government’s continued partnership to combat poverty by providing a truly adequate short-term safety net, and by means of policies that serve to prevent poverty, reduce extreme inequality, restore economic opportunity for all, and rebuild a robust middle class.

WASHINGTON –  A prominent coalition of America’s major national religious organization and leaders today unveiled the “Faithful Budget for FY 2014” an expression of the faith community’s budget priorities that stands in stark contrast to the partisan budget proposals currently under consideration. The document is a set of comprehensive and compassionate budget principles that promotes values shared by diverse faiths: protection of the common good, the value of each individual and lifting the burden on those living at the economic margins of society.

“The Faithful Budget reflects our vision of a responsible fiscal plan that focuses on justice and economic opportunity for all,” said Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby. “While ensuring adequate resources through a fair tax system, it prioritizes human security and care for Creation while it supports measures to address the moral scandal of rising inequality. We call on Congress to adopt its core principles, which exemplify the values and compassion of our faith traditions and nation as a whole.”

Joining with the release of Faithful Budget for FY2014, Sister Simone and Rev. Chuck Currie of the United Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon, published an op-ed in The Hill’s Congress Blog today, detailing why President Obama’s latest budget “…falls short of the moral vision many faith leaders have for this country and the president’s own ideals as he embodied in his second Inaugural Address.”
With the latest release, the faith community calls on Congress and President Obama to atone for their budgets’ more shortfalls by restoring economic opportunity, ensuring adequate resources for shared priorities, meeting critical human needs at home and abroad, accepting intergenerational responsibility, using the gifts of creation sustainably and responsibly, providing access to health care for all, and recognizing a robust role for government.

“The Faithful Budget recognizes that our lives here in America are inextricably bound together with the lives of all others around the world,” said Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO, Church World Service. “God’s abundant provision means that there is enough for all, if we act with justice and compassion. As a people, we can be compassionate neighbors creating security and prosperity for ourselves and for all by helping to end hunger and extreme poverty throughout the world.”

The Faithful Budget for FY 2014 Preamble, which has been endorsed by 44 religious denominations and organizations, calls on Congress and President Obama “to craft a federal budget that fulfills our shared duty to each other in all segments of society, to those who are struggling to overcome poverty or are especially vulnerable, and to future generations through our collective responsibility as stewards of Creation.”

“As the prophets have taught us, our community is like one body, and when one part of it aches, the entire community awakens in a fever,” said Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director, Islamic Society of North America. “Now is the time to awaken to the pain of those who are poor and vulnerable among us, both here in America and around the world. As people of faith, we are committed to ensuring that our nation’s federal budget reflects the moral conscience of the American people by providing protection to those in our community that need it most.”

Faithful Budget for FY 2014 builds on the Faithful Budget for FY 2013 released in March 0f 2012 and the Faithful Budget Campaign, an effort launched by the religious community in May 2011 to lift up faithful voices on behalf of the nation’s most vulnerable in order to encourage the administration and Congress to maintain a robust commitment to domestic and international poverty assistance programs.

“Our Jewish tradition commands us to ‘do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God’ (Micah 6:8),” said Rabbi David Saperstein, Director and Counsel, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. “Is justice a father working full-time who still cannot support his family on a minimum wage salary? Is mercy a mother who is forced to choose between feeding her children and paying for their medicine? Are we walking humbly as we pass thousands sleeping outdoors each night? We can do better. We must do better. This Faithful Budget is a call to recognize the inherent dignity of each and every human being, a call to honor the spark of the divine that is present in every one of us, a call to action.”

Additional details about the Faithful Budget Campaign can be found at www.faithfulbudget.org. The Faithful Budget for FY2014 was spearheaded by some of the nation’s most recognizable Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other faith-based organizations united by shared beliefs to lift up the nation’s most vulnerable and demonstrate that America is a better nation when we follow our faiths’ imperatives to promote the general welfare of all individuals. A full list of the faith-based organizations that endorsed the preamble-principles of the Faithful Budget are listed here.

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Contact: Casey Schoeneberger, 202-569-4254

Download a printed version of this press release.

- November 29, 2012 -

WASHINGTON – Senior religious officials from 16 states joined the heads of some of the nation’s most prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations today to tell the Obama Administration and Congress, “Don’t push the poor and most vulnerable off the ‘fiscal cliff.’”

In meetings with congressional leaders and budget negotiators today, the religious officials reminded lawmakers that the deficit was caused as a result of inadequate revenue, an unnecessary level of military spending and a recession that has pushed even more people into poverty. They warned that significant cuts in any budget deal to vital humanitarian and poverty-focused assistance programs such as International Development, Disaster Assistance and Food Aid programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program, low-income housing assistance, Head Start, and other initiatives, could result in increased poverty. In addition, the religious leaders asked legislators not to make cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security that place an additional burden on vulnerable Americans or those living in poverty or that cause more people to fall into poverty.

Members of the faith community organized today’s meetings as part of a multi-denominational and interreligious effort to “speak the truth” about the deficit and to ensure congressional leaders do not preserve tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while pushing more people into poverty.

Religious officials from Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia as well as the District of Columbia attended.

At a media briefing discussing their efforts, the religious leaders noted that the needs of the nation’s most vulnerable individuals and families have been lost in the public debate, which is pitting the nation’s middle class against the country’s wealthiest. The religious leaders said they are speaking up now to ensure that the needs of those who did the least to create the country’s deficit problems, but who may suffer the most because of it, are not ignored.

The faith community is working through a number of national campaigns, including the Faithful Budget Campaign, Nuns on the Bus, African American Voices for Africa, and the Circle of Protection, to lift-up the nation’s moral obligation to protect the poor and vulnerable, and to ask Congress and the Administration to follow the religious imperative to promote the general welfare of all individuals in the United States and around the world.

Statements from some of the participants in the faith-based effort to stop deep cuts to programs that help the most vulnerable:

Rev. Joiquim Barnes, Board Secretary, South Carolina Christian Action Council, and Pastor, New Hope CME Church in Lexington, South Carolina:

“Our elected leaders have an awesome responsibility to put their political differences aside and make a decision as to whether or not they will remember those who are in dire need of help. This is not a time to play politics as usual with folks’ lives. We are guided by the spirit that we are to help the least of these and it is the government’s responsibility to live up to that expectation.”

Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ, Cleveland, Ohio:

“The truth is that this deficit is the result of inadequate revenue, rising military spending, and a recession that has pushed more people into poverty. Families struggling at the economic margins should not pay the price for solving a deficit they did not create. They have suffered enough. We must act in the best tradition of religious values and American compassion by seeking a solution that does not push the poor and vulnerable over the fiscal cliff! We will keep this Congress in our prayers throughout the season of Advent.”

Dr. Marian McClure Taylor, Executive Director, Kentucky Council of Churches, Lexington, Kentucky:

“Churches and other faith groups value the close mission relationships we enjoy all over the world, where we see US foreign development aid saving lives, making friends and helping people build peace. We pray we won’t have to tell these far-flung friends in need that our government ceased to match our private generosity.”

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Washington, D.C.:

“It is simply not acceptable that deficit reduction might increase the burden on those struggling the most in our communities. It is intolerable that debt reduction should come on the backs of the poorest among us, that it increases poverty or inequality.”

Rev. Dr. Earl D. Trent, Jr., Board Chair, Church World Service and Senior Pastor, Florida Avenue Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.:

“Our concern is that Congress and the President in their focus on the fiscal cliff do not become deaf to the cries of those in need, but that they faithfully protect the defenseless, the vulnerable and the powerless here in the U.S. and abroad.”

Sister Deb Troillett, RSM, Leadership Team, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Little Rock, Arkansas:

“We don’t have a budget crisis in this country. There’s plenty of money. We have a values crisis, a priorities crisis. If Congress cuts back on even the tiny portion–less than 1% of our budget–that we give for humanitarian and poverty programs, this would be a terrible message to give. We as religious, call on our country’s leaders to not push the most marginalized peoples off the “fiscal cliff,” but rather to uphold the values that are at the heart of our national strength: compassion, fairness, and treating every life on this precious earth of ours with dignity and reverence. Unnecessary military spending, as one example, can be shifted to enable resources to address the crying needs in our world.”

Below are provided six documents with links, ideas, and other resources to help you be an effective advocate for a Faithful Budget locally and nationally.

In addition to local advocacy efforts, please make sure to join those who have signed the preamble of the Faithful Budget and download the budget document to read and share today!

Faithful Budget Election Year Resources

This document provides some important links and resources relating to advocacy success and awareness-raising about how nonprofit organizations and churches can advocate for policy without jeopoardizing their IRS status.

Summary of “Asks” for In-District Meetings

This document is a distilled summary of the other documents below, providing pithy presentations of the key areas for advocacy in the Campaign. The key asks are for foreign assistance and domestic poverty programs. However, you may be asked how the country can pay for maintaining these vital lifelines for the poor. The talking points on increasing revenue and reducing some military spending provide talking points for responding to the affordability question.

Talking Points: Domestic Poverty Ask

Urge your Member of Congress to protect and preserve funding that allows vulnerable members of our communities to live in dignity. Urge that Congress adhere to the bipartisan principle established 25 years ago that deficit reduction should not increase poverty. People who are impoverished, hungry, homeless, disabled and elderly, should not be made to sacrifice what little they have.

Talking Points: Foreign Assistance Ask

Urge your Senator or Representative to support the Senate’s FY 2013 appropriations funding levels for relief and development programs. Ask that Congress preserve robust funding for international and domestic poverty assistance in any decisions replacing the automatic cuts scheduled to begin in January 2013 under the Budget Control Act.

Talking Points: Revenue Ask

Urge your Member of Congress to act in the best tradition of religious values and American compassion by raising sufficient revenue to fund vital lifelines for families in need.

Talking Points: Military Ask

Urge your Member of Congress to adopt an equitable plan for fiscal health that includes additional tax revenues, reduces unnecessary military spending, and protects programs for hungry and poor people from cuts.

WASHINGTON – In an interview released Tuesday by the Christian Broadcasting Network, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) told CBN’s David Brody that his Catholic faith played a large role in the drafting of his budget proposal that passed the House by a party line vote last month. Congressman Ryan is the latest member of Congress, including Democratic Reps. James Clyburn and Jan Schakowsky, to claim a faith-based/moral responsibility or lack thereof in supporting or opposing the budget.

As members of Congress from both parties are drawing a connection between the House-passed budget and faith, the Faithful Budget Campaign, a coalition comprising the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish, Christian and Muslim denominations as well as other faith-based institutions is continuing its efforts to encourage the adoption of the “Faithful Budget,” a set of comprehensive and compassionate budget priorities that makes balanced investments into the country’s needs and priorities. The Faithful Budget can be read in its entirety here.

In response to the increase in religious comments surrounding the budget/deficit debate, the Faithful Budget campaign released the following statement:

“As communities of faith we have long believed that the budget is a moral document and we judge each proposal not by the arbitrary fiscal support it provides, but rather by the human impact it holds. A Faithful Budget protects the common good, values every individual and lifts the burden on the poor. In light of all the religious comments around the budget debate, we hope members of Congress will look at the Faithful Budget and make an honest effort to build a more just society and a healthier world.”

Additional details about the Faithful Budget Campaign can be found at http://faithfulbudget.org.

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Christian, Jewish and Muslim institutions and other faith-based organizations united by shared beliefs to lift up the nation’s most vulnerable are mobilizing across the country to impact the national budget dialogue by demonstrating that America is a better nation when we follow our faiths’ imperatives to promote the general welfare of all individuals.

Click here to download a printable copy of this press release.

WASHINGTON— On Thursday, March 22 at 11 a.m. outside of the United Methodist Building (100 Maryland Avenue, NE), the presiding religious officials representing some of the nation’s most prominent Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faith traditions will present for congressional consideration, “A Faithful Budget.” Media are invited to the Faithful Budget announcement and coverage is welcomed. Photo and video opportunities will be available.

The Faithful Budget promotes comprehensive and compassionate budget principles that will “protect the common good, values each individual and his or her livelihood, and helps lift the burden on the poor, rather than increasing it while shielding the wealthiest from any additional sacrifice.” The Faithful Budget lays out ideas for restoring economic opportunity, ensuring adequate resources for the country’s fiscal needs, fostering true security, reducing poverty and hardship, taking responsibility for future generations, caring for the environment, improving access to health care and recognizing the robust role of government in combating poverty.

Following the media conference, the religious officials will meet with congressional leadership to present the Faithful Budget in-person. The congressional meetings are closed to press.

Among the religious officials expected to present the Faithful Budget are:

• Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ;
• Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church USA;
• Bishop Neil Irons, Executive Secretary of the United Methodist Church Council of Bishops;
• Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director, NETWORK;
• Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the Islamic Society of North America;
• Rev. Michael Livingston, Past President of the National Council of Churches as well as the former Executive Director of the International Council of Community Churches;
• Rev. Peg Chemberlin, Executive Director of Minnesota Council of Churches and the immediate Past President of the National Council of Churches;
• Rabbi David Saperstein, Executive Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism;
• Rev. David Beckman, President of the Bread for the World; and
• Douglas Grace, Director of Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice.

The Faithful Budget was spearheaded by a coalition of leading Christian, Jewish and Muslim and other faith-based organizations affiliated with many of the major religious denominational movements, including, among others, the Church of the Brethren; Church World Service; Franciscan Action Network; Islamic Society of North America; Unitarian Universalists Association of Congregations; National Council of Churches; NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Presbyterian Church (USA); United Church of Christ; and the United Methodist Church.

The Faithful Budget is a continuation of the Faithful Budget Campaign, an effort launched by the religious community in July to lift up faithful voices on behalf of the nation’s most vulnerable in order to encourage the administration and Congress to maintain a robust commitment to domestic and international poverty assistance programs.

In July, the campaign organized high-level meetings with policymakers, a Washington fly-in of top religious leaders, daily prayer vigils near the U.S. Capitol Building and culminated with the arrest of 11 faith leaders while praying in the Capitol Rotunda just days before Congress passed the debt ceiling compromise. In November, the Faithful Budget Campaign also held a prayer vigil outside of the White House and around the country calling on members of the so-called, but failed Congressional Super Committee to not reduce the deficit by placing an undue burden on the poor while shielding the wealthiest from additional sacrifice.

Details about the Faithful Budget Campaign can be found at www.FaithfulBudget.org.

Who:
Among the religious officials expected to present the Faithful Budget are:

• Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ;
• Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church USA;
• Bishop Neil Irons, Executive Secretary of the United Methodist Church Council of Bishops;
• Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director, NETWORK;
• Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the Islamic Society of North America;
• Rev. Michael Livingston, Past President of the National Council of Churches as well as the former Executive Director of the International Council of Community Churches;
• Rev. Peg Chemberlin, Executive Director of Minnesota Council of Churches and the immediate Past President of the National Council of Churches;
• Rabbi David Saperstein, Executive Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism;
• Rev. David Beckman, President of the Bread for the World; and
• Douglas G. Grace, Director of Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice.

What:
The presiding religious officials representing some of the nation’s largest Christian, Jewish and Muslim denominations will present for congressional consideration, “A Faithful Budget.”

Where:
Across from the US Capitol Building and Supreme Court Outside of the United Methodist Building
100 Maryland Avenue, NE
Washington, D.C.

When:
Thursday, March 22, 2012
11:00 a.m.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim institutions and faith-based organizations united by shared beliefs to lift up the nation’s most vulnerable, are mobilizing across the country to impact the national budget dialogue by demonstrating that America is a better nation when we follow our faiths’ imperative to promote the general welfare of all individuals.

-END-

Download a printable copy of this press release here.

WASHINGTON – Religious Americans sent a clear message to members of the so-called Congressional Super Committee this weekend, and to all members of Congress and the Administration, that cuts to programs that assist the most at-risk families and children in the United States and abroad will not be tolerated on their watch.

Throughout the weekend, thousands of Americans of all faiths united in prayer for a “Super Vigil” at public rallies in Washington, D.C. and across the country calling on members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to not reduce the deficit by placing an undue burden on the poor while shielding the wealthiest from additional sacrifice.

“All across our country, people of faith are raising their moral voice for justice concerning the global economy, livelihood and our national priorities. These issues are not yet settled and people of faith will continue to pray and mobilize so that Congress and the Administration hear our call to preserve goverment programs that serve people living in poverty and protect our environment — and as we prepare to bring 1,000 Christian activists to Capitol Hill, March 23-26, 2012 for EAD’s 10th Anniversary conference, ‘Is THIS the Fast I Seek?,’” said Douglas G. Grace, M.Div., S.T.M., Director of Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice.

In D.C., the prayer rally was held across the street from the White House at Lafayette Park. A large crowd was on hand to hear numerous national religious figures from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths impart their moral perspective on protecting the most vulnerable among us.

Inspired by a common spiritual conviction that God has called on all Americans to protect the vulnerable and promote the dignity of all individuals, the religious community has worked beside the U.S. government for decades to protect those struggling to overcome poverty. Without a sustained federal commitment to these programs, the religious community fears that Houses of Worship will be unable to solely support the country’s most vulnerable in their time of need.

The Super Vigil is part of an ongoing Faithful Budget Campaign to urge the Deficit Super Committee, Congress and the Administration to exempt programs that assist at-risk families and children in the United States and abroad from budget cuts. Through the campaign, people of faith are urging political leaders to look with fairness at potential avenues toward fiscal health, with a focus on job creation, revenue increases, and reducing unnecessary and duplicative military spending, and not at the expense of those who can least afford additional cuts to their life necessities.

In addition to the D.C. prayer rally, religious Americans gathered this weekend for prayer demonstrations and other acts of religious activism in Richmond, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; Harrisburg, PA; and Philadelphia, PA as well as in Dallas, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Cincinnati, OH, and Sarasota, FL. Prayer vigils were also held in Midland, TX and Seattle, WA.

Also, in Los Angeles, CA, the Sisters of Social Service are celebrating their 85th anniversary as a congregation and are holding a Super Vigil as part of their basic mission to respond to the social needs of our society and in keeping with Catholic Social Teaching. In Juneau, AK, the faithful who serve their homeless neighbors each day are coming together this week to pray that federal cuts do not drastically impact their ability to serve all those in need. In Ft. Benning, GA, nearly 10,000 religious activits participating in the SOA Watch also joined in prayer for a fair, compassionate and just outcome to the ongoing federal budget/deficit reduction debate.

The prayer rallies in D.C. and across the country are a continuation of the Faithful Budget Campaign, an effort launched by the religious community in July to lift up faithful voices on behalf of the nation’s most vulnerable in order to encourage the administration and Congress to maintain a robust commitment to domestic and international poverty assistance programs.

In July, the campaign organized high-level meetings with policymakers, a Washington fly-in of top religious leaders, daily prayer vigils near the U.S. Capitol Building and culminated with the arrest of 11 faith leaders in the Capitol Rotunda for refusing to stop praying for the nation’s most vulnerable just days before Congress passed the debt ceiling compromise.

Over the past six weeks, the Faithful Budget Campaign has tapped into its network of religious worshipers – flooding congressional offices with telephone calls and letters encouraging them to support the nation’s most vulnerable.
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Statements from religious figures participating in the D.C. Super Vigil prayer rally on Sunday, November 20th at Lafayette Park, Washington, DC

“The 37 denominations that make up the National Council of Churches agree on a simple message for this nation’s political leaders: Do not try to solve America’s budget problems by taking away from those who have least to give. That’s why we are part of the Faithful Budget Campaign, and why we are taking part in Sunday’s interfaith “Super Vigil”, asking God to move the hearts of policy makers in order that fairness and compassion will guide their decisions,” said Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

“We are witnessing through the Faithful Budget Campaign, growing numbers of persons of faith who declare that our Creator has something to say about political leaders using people in poverty as political pawns in their fight over the federal budget. I am glad to witness people of faith across this country pray, write, email, call, visit district offices and even come to Capitol Hill in order to visit their Congress persons while declaring that God’s truth will not be silenced in this federal budget debate,” said Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, Director of Public Witness for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

“When the Torah tells us that “the poor will never cease from the land,” we are not to read those words as an excuse for neglect. Throughout the history of the Jews, whether in their own land or on distant shores, the commandment to lift our neighbors from a life of want to a place of security has animated our engagement with government and community,” said Rabbi Jack Moline, Director of Public Policy, The Rabbinical Assembly.

“I know what it’s like to be fired and out on the street. It happened to me in 2008. And it’s a tough place to be. But it’s made all the worse by members of Congress who give their ear and votes to wealthy contributors. They’re listening to the top 1 percent of Americans who take home 25 percent of all household income. They’re listening to Wall Street bankers and the Tea Party, bankrolled by billionaires, who want their tax cuts. Like Old Testament prophets, we stand here today to say that any political leader or system that pursues profits and power at the expense of the common good stands under divine judgment. God will not be mocked. Greed will not go unpunished. Justice for the common man is our cry. So, let’s fund not tax cuts for the wealthy but our nation’s future competitiveness. That means funding programs that build skills and productivity. That’s called investing in people. It’s called being smart and being moral. If we do this we can be optimistic we’re doing the right thing, by God and man. So God help us in this hour to do exactly that,” said Rev. Richard Cizik, President, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good.

“As a pastor I cannot stand idly by as more and more families struggle to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. And I cannot remain silent as misguided politicians push an immoral agenda that punishes these people to pay for massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans,” said Rev. Jennifer Butler, Executive Director of Faith in Public Life.

“God in His infinite mercy has given us stewardship of His worldly resources, and we pray that He may guide our leaders to make the right choices with those resources. The federal budget reflects the moral conscience of the American people and so it must reflect our moral commitment to protect those who are poor and vulnerable here in America and around the world,” said Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director, Interfaith & Community Alliances, Islamic Society of North America.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim institutions and faith-based organizations united by shared beliefs to lift up the nation’s most vulnerable, are mobilizing across the country to impact the national budget dialogue by demonstrating that America is a better nation when we follow our faiths’ imperative to promote the general welfare of all individuals.

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A Litany for a Faithful National Budget
(Prepared by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns)

Leader I:           Let us pray…

All:                   Blessed be our God.

Leader I: Twenty percent of all children in the United States live in poverty. We cannot leave our children a legacy of rising debt, nor can we leave them a legacy of rising poverty.

All: We pray for a just and compassionate budget that protects all our children from hunger and homelessness, from inadequate education and healthcare, from poverty. Our God hears the cry of the children who are poor. Blessed be our God.

Leader I: Many older adults in the United States live near or below the poverty line. Social Security and Medicare are their lifelines. We cannot neglect the very real needs of our senior citizens.

All: We pray for a just and compassionate budget that protects our elders from poverty, financial insecurity and inadequate healthcare. Our God hears the cry of our seniors who are poor or vulnerable. Blessed be our God.

Leader II: Women in the United States are disproportionately served by the social safety net. Women rely on many of the programs facing drastic cuts – from Medicare and Medicaid to SNAP and TANF, from SSI and Pell grants to domestic violence prevention to nutrition and child care. We cannot ignore the real needs of women in our society or fail to address the systemic injustice that perpetuates their vulnerability.

All: We pray for a just and compassionate budget that protects women from poverty, financial insecurity, inadequate healthcare and physical danger. Our God hears the cry of the women. Blessed be our God.

Leader II: With an official unemployment rate over nine percent, millions of U.S. Americans are struggling to meet their most basic needs. Yet an unjust federal budget could reduce or eliminate assistance for unemployed families.

All: We pray for a just and compassionate budget that responds to the needs of those who are unemployed, protecting them and their dependents as much as possible from the overwhelming anxiety of financial insecurity and lost self‐esteem. Our God hears the cry of those who are unemployed. Blessed be our God.

Leader III: We live in a world that is intensely interconnected. Loving our neighbors requires that we promote the global common good. Yet, programs that respond to HIV and AIDS, extreme poverty, food insecurity, overwhelming debt, violence against women, natural disasters and other urgent needs are likely to be severely cut.

All: We pray for a just and compassionate budget that responds to the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world. Our God hears the cry of those who live on the margins of our world. Blessed be our God.

Leader III: God’s good creation continues to suffer from our use and abuse of its precious gifts. The enforcement of laws that protect the integrity of creation could be severely compromised by unjust budgetary decisions.

All: We pray for a just and compassionate budget that respects and protects the integrity of creation. Our God hears the cry of Earth. Blessed be our God.

Leader IV: For the gift of vision to see a way forward that is just and compassionate.

All: Give us your vision.

Leader IV: For the gift of conviction to work with vigor for a just solution to the crises we face.

All: Give us your courage.

Leader IV: Spirit of God, renew the hearts of all of us who are gathered here. Inspire Congress and the administration to act justly and to protect our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, here and around the world. Reinvigorate our nation’s vision of the common good.

All: May God, our Creator and parent, breathe into us new life and new meaning. May the Wisdom of God breathe into us new hope and a new awareness. May the Spirit of God breathe into us a new spirit and a new understanding of the world in which we live.   AMEN.