We Believe Ohio Meets with Ted Strickland; Ken Blackwell Declines Invitation
Thursday, August 17, 2006
(Columbus, Ohio) – This morning, We Believe leadership pastors met with Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland to share our faithful hopes and concerns for the state of Ohio. With a growing number of children and adults falling into poverty, needing health care, housing and higher wages, with education dollars drying up, We Believe it is our obligation as people of faith to bring these moral issues to the forefront of the public agenda. And We Believe it is the duty of candidates to address these critical issues in their bids for higher office.
We had a robust conversation with Representative Strickland in the hour of our meeting. We Believe that it is important to speak to and listen to our political candidates on these issues of crucial public interest relating to the common good.
We Believe also invited Republican gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Blackwell to meet with us. Unfortunately, this week he declined our invitation.
In March, the Associated Press reported that Blackwell had met Pastors Russell Johnson and Rod Parsley or their churches 27 times since January 2004. We Believe includes hundreds of clergy from across the state. We hope that Mr. Blackwell reconsiders our invitation.
We Believe unites diverse religious voices to achieve social justice. We Believe we must end the narrow view of politics, which focuses on a few divisive issues and expand our vision and public policy to heal the world. After all, that is why God has placed us here.
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We are called as people of faith and loyal Americans to be united in dialogue and action to say: YES to justice for all; NO to prosperity for only a few; YES to diverse religious expression; NO to self-righteous certainty; YES to the common good; NO to discrimination against any of God’s people; YES to the voice of religious traditions informing public policy; NO to crossing the lines that separate the institutions of Religion and Government.
CONTACT: Eric McFadden (614) 551-8907
