Wisconsin Clergy Call for Return to Values Amidst Presidential Election
For Immediate Release
April 4, 2016
Contact:
Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, 202-735-7123
John Gehring, jgehring@faithinpubliclife.org, 410-302-3792
Wisconsin Clergy Call for Return to Values Amidst Presidential Election
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, interfaith leaders call for a “politics of the Golden Rule.”
Madison, WI — As Wisconsin’s presidential primary approaches, prominent faith leaders are equipping their congregations with a non-partisan voter reflection guide. More than 250 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders support the guide, released by Faith in Public Life. Wisconsin clergy join faith leaders across the nation in distributing this guide as part of efforts to educate and register voters.
“Elections should be about more than partisan divisions, the latest poll numbers, Super PACs and billionaire donors,” reads the document, entitled Faith, Values and the 2016 Election: Toward A Politics of the Golden Rule. “Politics as usual is insufficient for the urgent task of addressing the defining moral issues of our time.”
Wisconsin voters have faced a great deal of controversy surrounding issues of labor and economic justice. The guide reads, “Today, an economy of exclusion and inequality rewards the wealthiest few at the expense of many,” and calls this a “political and moral failure.” The guide highlights the need to address this growing economic inequality, as well as climate change, a broken immigration system, mass incarceration, gun violence and confronting terrorism “without abandoning our values” as believers.
Wisconsin voters are highly coveted by presidential candidates, and the state is considered key to the success of any presidential hopeful. The full guide can be found here.
WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: Monday, April 4th, 10:00 AM
WHERE: Grace Episcopal Church, 116 W Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703
WHO:
Pastor Nick Utphall, Wisconsin Council of Churches Peace and Justice Committee, Wisconsin Interfaith Power and Light
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, President, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
Rev. Christian Boyd, Presbytery of Milwaukee
Rev. Cindy Crane, Evangelical Lutheran Conference, Office for Public Policy
Bishop Harold Rayford, Faith Place Church, President of African American Council of Churches
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