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[UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 043-Bishops share concerns with U.S. lawmakers


From NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>
Date Tue, 30 Jan 2007 16:32:09 -0600

Bishops share concerns with U.S. lawmakers

Jan. 30, 2007

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Two United Methodist bishops spent a day in the halls of Congress, talking about issues important to the church and forming bridges between the faith community and lawmakers.

Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, Houston Area, and Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, Iowa Area - president and president-designate of the Council of Bishops - met with senators and representatives before a reception for United Methodist members of Congress, hosted Jan. 25 by the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. The reception was held at the United Methodist Building on the National Mall, adjacent to the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court.

The bishops met with Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C. and majority whip; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.; and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. The religious leaders also met with staff from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office and Stephen Higgins, general counsel to Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

"The highlight of the day for me was discovering how many of our elected representatives on both the Senate side and House side really are interested in some of the concerns virtually all United Methodists are concerned with, particularly around children and care for the poor," Huie said.

Clyburn, and Cleaver, a United Methodist pastor, are part of a faith working group assembled by Pelosi.

"There seems to be some disconnect between us (Democrats) and faith voters," Clyburn told the bishops. "Faith is second nature to our members; it is who we are and what we are."

New members of Congress need members of the faith community to educate them, said Acacia Salatti, a member of Clyburn's staff and a graduate of Emory University's Candler School of Theology, a United Methodist seminary.

"I was just tremendously impressed with the personal faith of the congresspersons that we met this day," said Palmer. The lawmakers were open to people of faith and they understand that nothing will move forward in this nation "without meaningful collaboration with people that differ ideologically, politically and theologically."

Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church Society, sat in on the meetings with other board staff members and told lawmakers about the agency's six 2007 legislative priorities.

The priorities include:

* Supporting comprehensive immigration reform. * Expanding funding for family planning. * Ending the war in Iraq. * Increasing the minimum wage. * Reducing global warming pollution. * Providing access to primary health care for all.

Faith foundation

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., a member of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, took the podium at the reception to introduce his pastor, the Rev. Kent Millard. The pastor announced his congregation has pledged to raise $50,000 for Nothing but Nets, an anti-malaria campaign, and $50,000 for the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund. (See "Congressional reception spotlights Nothing But Nets," 1/26/07.)

Afterward, Lugar said The United Methodist Church "has been the foundation of my faith."

Both Clinton and Lugar made it a point to visit the reception between votes on the floor of Congress.

"I am a Methodist and have remained a Methodist because I find it satisfies both my personal need - my own faith journey - as well as my responsibilities and obligations to the larger community," Clinton said.

She congratulated the church for its fight against malaria and HIV/AIDS as well as its commitment to mentoring and reaching out to children.

"I wish all of you well," she said. "It is a great privilege to me to be part of this wonderful church and all that it has meant to me and meant to so many others."

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org

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