wfn.org | Jesse Jackson urges religion communicators: 'do bold things'

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

Religious Communication Congress 2000
http://www.rcc2000.org
Dan Gangler, coordinator of news and information
DRG1946@aol.com
Newsroom telephone during Congress 312-595-3151

By Thomas S. McAnally

CHICAGO -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson challenged religious communicators to 
"take light into dark places" and "do bold things" during the opening 
banquet of a once-a-decade event in Chicago March 29.
The preacher, politician and communicator said people of faith must be 
activists, not mere observers. "Your task is to do more than record the 
changing world but be agents that change the world," he declared.
Speaking out of his own faith tradition, Jackson said many praise the 
qualities of Jesus, but added: "To follow is a much more risky challenge 
than to admire."
         The people of Israel didn't get in trouble because they prayed and 
participated in religious activities, Jackson said. "When they challenged 
Pharaoh's public policy, that's when the trouble began."
The same was true of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he added. "There 
was no shortage of eloquent preachers in his time, no shortage of 
professors, no shortage of Baptist preachers. What made him different?  He 
challenged public policy. He applied his faith . . . and he dared to dream."
         That American dream, he said, was a "tent" that included everyone. 
The basic promises of such a "dream tent" are "equal protection under the 
law, equal opportunity, equal access, fair share and the moral imperative 
for taking care of the  'least of these'," he said.
         As an example, he pointed to affirmative action. "We must defend 
inclusion . . . not as a matter of black and white but an issue of our 
faith."
Jackson said he observed there were few blacks and Hispanics at the recent 
anniversary of the Selma (Ala.) March, attended by President Clinton. "The 
right to vote redefined democracy," Jackson said. Without it, he said the 
United States would have had no right to challenge practices in China and 
South Africa or other parts of the world.  Instead of defining issues as 
black and white, he urged a shift to what is "right and wrong."
         Introducing Jackson at the Religion Communication Congress was the 
Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, former staff executive of the National Council of 
the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Both were active in the civil rights 
efforts of the late Dr. King and have worked together on several 
high-profile social justice issues, including a trip to Belgrade where they 
successfully sought the release of three U.S. soldiers. Campbell currently 
directs the Department of Religion of the Chautauqua Institution in 
Chautauqua, N.Y.
         Responding to critics of Jackson, Campbell said: "To say Jesse 
Jackson is motivated by public prominence is to misunderstand this serious 
servant of the Lord . . .  Jesse Jackson thinks deeply and acts boldly," 
she added. "He knows how to care."
         Campbell, who has been deeply involved with NCC officials in 
efforts to return 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to his family in Cuba from 
relatives in Miami, told the communicators there had been a break in the 
case as they were gathering that afternoon.   She reported that a group of 
Cubans, including Gonzalez's father, stepmother, teacher, psychologist, 
grandparents and schoolmates, were coming to Washington. "His father 
expects to be reunited with his child," she said.
         Campbell bemoaned the fact that young Gonzalez had become the 
focus of 41 years of difficult relations between the United States and 
Cuba. "If he had not been Cuban, he would have been back home by now," she 
said.
         "All those who talk about family values are not with us on this," 
she said. "They are not saying children belong with their families."
         She speculated that the Gonzalez affair might prompt a new look at 
the U.S. Cuban embargo.  "Maybe this little boy can teach us a lesson of 
love." Regarding the possible reunion of Elian with his family, Campbell 
would only say "Stay tuned."
         More than 80 religious organizations are sponsoring RCC2000, which 
will continue through Saturday.  The first such event was held in Chicago 
in 1970. The 1980 and 1990 congresses were held in Nashville, Tenn.
         Theme of the event is "Faith Stories in a Changing World." The 
opening dinner event began with projected symbols of religious faiths, 
music, and prayers from representatives of those groups. Under the 
direction of Ken Medema, an internationally acclaimed pianist and composer, 
the communicators repeated a  "thank-you" refrain in their respective 
native languages.
Of the more than 1,150 communicators attending the congress, more than 100 
are from 23 countries outside the United States. Dancers paraded through 
the assembly with long-stemmed flowers. Symbol of the congress is a flower 
with five petals representing the five areas of work for religion 
communicators: artistic, cyberspace, electronic, spoken and written.
END