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TITLE:EPISCOPALIANS JOIN OTHER RELIGIOUS 
June 26, 1996
Episcopal News Service
James Solheim, Director
(212) 922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

96-1497
EPISCOPALIANS JOIN OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS AT STAND FOR CHILDREN MARCH

BY MARIE PANTON
           (ENS) Episcopalians joined thousands of children, parents and
grandparents who marched in Washington D.C. June 1 for the
rights of America's young.
           Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund,
was a prime mover of the event, which brought an estimated
200,000 supporters to the Lincoln Memorial for the non-partisan Stand for
Children rally sponsored by 3,500 organizations, many of them
religious.
           With a dry heat and a clear blue sky suggesting the on-rushing
summer, supporters sported T-shirts denoting their religious
denominations or local organizations. A sea of color, they waved flags, raised
banners, and signed petitions as they flooded acres of the
park between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
           Participants from as far away as California and as near as Maryland
said that they came to reaffirm their commitment to children
and to support the vision of a safety net for America's future leaders.

`LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND'
           "We stand today at the Lincoln Memorial as American families and as
an American community to commit ourselves to putting
our children first," Edelman told the throng. "We commit ourselves to building
a just America that leaves no child behind, and we commit
ourselves to insuring all our children have a healthy and a safe passage to
adulthood."
           As Edelman spoke, 50 religious leaders, each with a child from his
or her congregation, sat behind her, symbolizing a mosaic of
faiths and races, and their commitment to children.
           "When you here the stats over and over--one can't help believe
something is drastically wrong," said Jeannette Brown of
Connecticut, commenting on Edelman's litany of statistics about the suffering
of children. Brown, who is bishop's deputy for mission for
her diocese, represented the Children's Advocacy Network of Province I.
           Other countries are amazed when they hear about the lack of health
care for children in the United States, and the violence and
poverty that they face, she said. "Europe sees us as sliding out of the first
world into the third world."
           While many marchers represented particular groups, the devotion to
children transcended any alliance.
           "As adults we have to represent the children," said Angie Martinez
from All Saints, Pasadena, parent of two teenage daughters,
who marched with her husband, Eugene. "We are here more as parents than as
members of any particular group."
           So was Inez Haynie Dodson, a member of the Standing Committee for
the Diocese of Maryland and St. Bartholomew's Church
in Baltimore. "I am here as a mother of four children, a grandmother, a
mother-in-law and an advocate for the family," said Dodson.
"Children are the most important resource that we have and we have to take a
stand on what's happening to them."

WORSHIP INTEGRAL TO EVENT
           The rally's religious overtones were evident from the interfaith
service that kicked off Saturday's rally at the Lincoln Memorial
with participants from the Christian, Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim
and Sikh faiths. 
           On Friday, the eve of the march, an ecumenical service at the
Washington National Cathedral was jointly sponsored by the
Children's Ministries Office and the cathedral. Episcopalians also gathered at
the Church of the Epiphany for a Eucharist service with nearly
1,000 worshipers before stepping off in the march Saturday morning.
           "I feel special, especially with the prayers that the lady gave for
us," said Dondi Petty, 14, from Pasadena, California, referring
to a minister in the interfaith service.
           The worship services were held as "positive steps leading into the
procession," according to Bishop Arthur E. Walmsley, retired
bishop of Connecticut, who has long been associated with the Children's
Defense Fund. 
           In a stirring sermon at the Eucharist Saturday morning, Bishop
Charlie F. McNutt Jr., chief operating officer at the Episcopal
Church Center, represented the presiding bishop. "No more!" he said. "This
madness must end. Children are a heritage from God to be
protected, cared for, blessed and nurtured. The fruit of the womb is the
precious gift of God."
           After the service, Walmsley added, "The situation of all children
in this country is precarious. We are creating a nation that
throws away children and that's a deeply religious issue that must be dealt
with."
           Diane Porter, the Episcopal Church's senior executive for program,
McNutt, Walmsley and Howard Williams, national
coordinator of children's ministries, marched with the Episcopal delegation.
The children of St. James Episcopal Church, Baltimore, led the
delegation in the march carrying a green-and-white banner featuring the
Episcopal shield and the Stand For Children logo, a child in the
arms of an adult.
           All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, brought a
220-strong contingent to the rally, including 150 parishioners,
plus city and school representatives, and children from the church's tutoring
program, "Night Basketball and Books," who earned money
throughout the year to attend. The church contingent displayed a banner more
than 300 feet long with hand prints of the children who were
not able to be there.

A DAY CROWNED AS SUCCESS
           On the way to the Lincoln Memorial, the Rev. Robin Szoke, Christian
education director in the Diocese of Pennsylvania, who
attended with her 19-year-old daughter, Christina, called the rally a success.
           "There is a sense of community spirit and the church living out its
vision to honor and respect every human being and to support
each child in their life with Christ," said Szoke. "There is a new energy
moving here with everyone unified in their care for children."
           "I enjoyed it," said Franklin Onuoha, 14, from Boston. "I enjoyed
especially Dr. Edelman. She had a positive message for
everyone."           
           "This is fun," said Jenny Longerbeam, 8, from Charles Town,
Virginia, as she marched in the crowd. "We have been walking a
lot and seeing a lot of people and I have met two friends."
           As the day progressed and parents pushed children in strollers,
carried them or held their children's hands through the crowd,
Nancy Longerbeam, Jenny's mother, felt her presence was a good sign to "the
people who have the clout."
           "They need to wake up to what's happening with children," said
Longerbeam. "The negativity and bitterness I've experienced
with some children are astounding. We should not ignore what's going on with
them."

RALLY DRAWS CRITICISM
           The event was not without criticism. Even before it began,
conservative groups called it a misguided effort to rally support for
failed big-government programs. Kenneth Weinstein, director of the Government
Reform Project for the Heritage Foundation in
Washington, said the rally "should actually be called `the march of the social
services administrators'" because many of the marchers deliver
social services--some government-funded--to the young.
           In her speech, however, Edelman dismissed the critics. "We do not
stand here advocating big government," she said. "We stand
here advocating just government, a government that does not give more to those
who have and less to those who have not."
           "There have been some nasty articles which concentrated on the
negatives and even said the Children's Defense Fund is
outdated," observed Clara Tammany of Maine, Province I representative for the
Religious Educators Network. "What horrible comments.
She's (Edelman) pushing the right buttons or nobody would get mad."
           Szoke, noted that although people have a right to criticize, "this
event is a stand with each child in their own spiritual
development and there are no issues here except for God's vision and how we
live that out with a passion in the context of the love of
God."
           While politicians were urged to attend, none was invited to speak
to prevent the rally from becoming a partisan platform.

PLANS TO ADDRESS CHILDREN'S NEEDS
           Porter said the Episcopal Church must seriously consider what it
will do for children.
           "We have to start making children real parts of our community and
build on the momentum, and not let them just be `little,'" she
said. "We have to get the message to our city halls and state capitols that
children are important in our lives."
           According to Williams, 12 Episcopal dioceses created a Children's
Charter in 1994 as the heart of what the church seeks to do
with and for children.
           "Stand for Children was clearly the advocacy effort from the
charter," he said. "Even though advocacy is crucial, the church
cannot do only advocacy, but has to do the other things, like the nurture of
children, and accept the ministries of children in order to have a
balance."
           Williams' office will invite each diocese to hold a Stand for
Children rally before the 1997 General Convention. The hope, said
Williams, is for the church to take leadership and invite other denominations
and concerned groups to make visible the concerns of children
and then to address these issues.
           "Our Lord did not call a world conference," said Williams.
"Everything he did was in a local context with the people in the
villages and towns, so they have to do the same thing locally."

--MARIE PANTON IS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT FOR EPISCOPAL LIFE, THE NATIONAL
NEWSPAPER OF THE EPISCOPAL
CHURCH. ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ARTICLE WERE RELIGION NEWS SERVICE AND SARAH
MOORE, DIRECTOR OF
CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.