US faith groups continue pressure for health care
-20/05/06
Nearly 46 million American
US faith groups continue pressure for health care
-20/05/06
Nearly 46 million Americans – including more than 8 million children – are living without health coverage, say US churches campaigning against poverty and exclusion in the richest country on earth.
From the perspective of the Gospel and Christian compassion, as well as basic human decency, this is a scandal, they declare.
Last week the Protestant Anglican, Orthodox and Black Church members of the National Council of Churches USA joined with other lobbyists in a major initiative called Cover the Uninsured Week.
But the campaign does not stop there, they say. The goal of the week’s National Interfaith Advisory Board remains the same: to convince the United States Congress that health coverage for all people must be their top priority.
The board, chaired by NCC Deputy General Secretary Eileen W. Lindner, is urging Christian congregations across the USA to make it a goal every week to bring the issue to the public’s attention.
“A problem of this magnitude underscores the moral and ethical dimensions of this growing problem and the need to respond,” she explained.
The National Council of Churches is also planning back-to-back delegations to put a faith-based spotlight on rebuilding and recovery efforts in the New Orleans area, ranging from housing and the environment to economic and racial justice.
Next week, the NCCUSA Governing Board will hold its quarterly meeting there so members can get a first hand look at hurricane relief and rebuilding efforts.
[Also on Ekklesia: Christians say a fair global economy still a great moral challenge; Bush budget ‘in opposition to biblical values’; Churches join US rallies to support justice for migrants; Christians asked to stand up for economic and ecological justice; God’s Politics by Jim Wallis straight in to NY Times bestseller list; Jim Wallis warns against religious right in Australia; Senior US church leaders to meet UK Archbishop and Chancellor; Jim Wallis to outline progressive Christian view of politics; Neglect of poor in US budget bill immoral, says leading evangelical; US evangelical argues for radical Democrat agenda;US activists arrested for Christmas campaign against the Grinch; US church leaders lament George Bush’s ‘messianic complex’]
US faith groups continue pressure for health care
-20/05/06
Nearly 46 million Americans – including more than 8 million children – are living without health coverage, say US churches campaigning against poverty and exclusion in the richest country on earth.
From the perspective of the Gospel and Christian compassion, as well as basic human decency, this is a scandal, they declare.
Last week the Protestant Anglican, Orthodox and Black Church members of the National Council of Churches USA joined with other lobbyists in a major initiative called Cover the Uninsured Week.
But the campaign does not stop there, they say. The goal of the week’s National Interfaith Advisory Board remains the same: to convince the United States Congress that health coverage for all people must be their top priority.
The board, chaired by NCC Deputy General Secretary Eileen W. Lindner, is urging Christian congregations across the USA to make it a goal every week to bring the issue to the public’s attention.
“A problem of this magnitude underscores the moral and ethical dimensions of this growing problem and the need to respond,” she explained.
The National Council of Churches is also planning back-to-back delegations to put a faith-based spotlight on rebuilding and recovery efforts in the New Orleans area, ranging from housing and the environment to economic and racial justice.
Next week, the NCCUSA Governing Board will hold its quarterly meeting there so members can get a first hand look at hurricane relief and rebuilding efforts.
[Also on Ekklesia: Christians say a fair global economy still a great moral challenge; Bush budget ‘in opposition to biblical values’; Churches join US rallies to support justice for migrants; Christians asked to stand up for economic and ecological justice; God’s Politics by Jim Wallis straight in to NY Times bestseller list; Jim Wallis warns against religious right in Australia; Senior US church leaders to meet UK Archbishop and Chancellor; Jim Wallis to outline progressive Christian view of politics; Neglect of poor in US budget bill immoral, says leading evangelical; US evangelical argues for radical Democrat agenda;US activists arrested for Christmas campaign against the Grinch; US church leaders lament George Bush’s ‘messianic complex’]