We Believe Ohio Clergy Call for Civility in Budget Process, Announce Day of Prayer in Action
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
(Columbus, OH and Cleveland, OH) – Just two days before the release of Governor Strickland’s proposed budget, Columbus and Cleveland clergy leaders of We Believe Ohio today called on both the administration and the State Assembly to maintain civility in the budget negotiation process, and to keep the focus on the poor. In a teleconference with reporters, We Believe Ohio also announced plans for the “We Believe Ohio Day of Prayer in Action,” on May 3, 2007, the National Day of Prayer.
“Today we are speaking out, on the one year anniversary of our launch in 2006, because We Believe our state budget is a moral document. The values of all Ohioans will not be reflected in this budget if the process is sidetracked by partisan gamesmanship,” We Believe Ohio co-founder Rev. Tim Ahrens, Senior Pastor, First Congregational Church, Columbus said. “We saw terrible incivility in the 2006 campaign season and we have seen the gridlock that happens when partisanship consumes the legislative process. With a Democrat in the Governor’s mansion and a Republican-led State assembly, it is more important than ever to maintain a civil process.”
Rev. Felix Carrion, Senior Pastor of Euclid Avenue Congregational Church in Cleveland spoke of We Believe’s vision of prosperity for all people, especially the “least of these.” “We are not sentimental about poverty. Instead, we are outraged by its force to disintegrate community, the social bounds of covenant. Working together we can shine; together we can make a better life for all our people and secure a lasting promise of well-being for our state.”
In announcing the “We Believe Ohio Day of Prayer in Action” -- when clergy and lay leaders from across the state will descend on Columbus to lobby the administration and the legislature -- We Believe Ohio co-founder Cantor Jack Chomsky of Tifereth Israel in Columbus said, “We Believe that God is watching. We Believe that Moses, Jesus and Muhammed have taught us what to do. We will be watching. We will be listening. And we will not remain silent.”
Clergy leaders of We Believe Ohio also specifically called on the administration and State Assembly to work together to expand health care coverage for the more and one million uninsured Ohioans and to comply with the Supreme Court’s mandates on public education. “People before things, and people before pork,” Rev. Eric Brown, Senior Pastor of Woodland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Columbus, proclaimed.
“The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled four times that the school-funding setup violates the state constitution. But so far, Ohio’s public officials have failed our children—and local taxpayers—by refusing to set aside partisan differences and find a funding solution for our public education system,” The Very Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland and Convener of We Believe Ohio in Greater Cleveland, said. “We call Governor Strickland and state legislators from both parties to work cooperatively together to find a solution for public education funding. The future of our children, and our state, depend on it.”
We Believe Ohio is a coalition of hundreds of diverse clergy and lay religious voices united to achieve social justice. We Believe Ohio provides a positive voice of faith in Ohio that respects and reflects the diverse religious traditions across the great State of Ohio. We Believe is committed to acting and speaking in public ways on behalf of the poor, the voiceless, and the unrepresented.
www.webelieveohio.org
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.
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Faith in Public Life is a communications and organizing resource center for faith leaders sharing a call to pursue justice and the common good. Faith in Public Life is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization.
CONTACT: Katie Barge, kbarge@faithinpubliclife.org 202-481-8147
