wfn.org | Labor Sunday message features call for workers' rights

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 7, 2000 News media contact: Joretta Purdue ·(202) 546-8722·Washington
10-21-71B{362}

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - A call for workers' rights dominates United Methodist
bishops' Labor Day message for Sept. 3.

"Workers' rights are human rights," according to the document, signed by
William B. Oden, president of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist
Church, and Albert Frederick Mutti, chairman of the denomination's Concern
for Workers Task Force. "In a global economy, we can no longer think in
terms of 'we' and 'them,' but we must define values and rights in terms of
'us.'"

The message, part of a worship resource prepared for churches to use, notes
that on an average day in the United States, 150 workers lose their lives
and another 16,000 are injured.

"We cannot continue to support industries that exploit child labor and women
in sweatshops; we cannot allow economic gain and wealth for the few [to]
destroy the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and profit
sharing," the message says.

"The Bible," say the bishops, "upholds the dignity of human life and the
rights of every individual to find fulfillment in God's creation."

The other worship resources for the day include a litany in which the
refrain is "Jesus, worker and carpenter from Nazareth, hear our prayer."
Special prayers for confession and the dedication of the offering are also
included. 

The bishops' message and the prayers are available at www.umc-gbcs.org on
the Board of Church and Society Web site, and the litany, a repeat of one
introduced a few years ago, is in the Christian Social Action magazine. A
mailing is being sent to about 700 church people identified with labor and
justice issues. Additional inquiries may be addressed to the board's Mark
Harrison at (202) 488-5645 or mharrison@umc-gbcs.org.

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United Methodist News Service
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