wfn.org | Religious leaders call for prompt and just rebuilding after storms

[Philip Jenks <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

Interfaith solidarity: religious leaders agree
that justice must prevail in hurricane recovery

New York, September 16, 2008 - More than 100 religious leaders from a wide  range of traditions - including the president and general secretary of the  National Council of Churches and heads of NCC member communions - have crit icized "the slow pace of recovery" from devastating hurricanes and have cal led for a "moral response" to national disasters.

"Three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck and the levees breach ed," said 108 evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim leaders,  "the slow pace of recovery and the new needs caused by Ike and Gustav's de struction have created a moral crisis along the Gulf Coast that demands a p owerful response from people of faith."

In a statement issued Monday in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the  leaders said, "Our God is a God of justice, of humanity and of healing, and  this moral injustice calls each of us to bold action in support of the com mon good.  We must act to justly rebuild communities, restore the Gulf Coas t, and empower families to overcome the devastation they suffered in our na tion's worst natural disasters."

They called upon government officials, including those running for high off ices, to pledge that their moral obligations to all people in the paths of  storms be fulfilled, promptly and justly.

Signers of the statement included Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, president of  the National Council of Churches, and the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC ge neral secretary. Bishop Thomas J. Hoyt, and the Rev. Michael Livingston, Co -Chairs, National Council of Churches Special Commission on the Just Rebuil ding of the Gulf Coast and former NCC Presidents, also signed.

Rev. Richard Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals; Richard Stearns,  President, World Vision; Rabbi Steve Gutow, Jewish Council for Public Affai rs; Dr. Ingrid Matterson, Islamic Society of North America; Fr. Larry Snyde r, Catholic Charities USA; Rev. David Beckmann, Bread for the World; and Re v. Jim Wallis, Sojourners, were among the signers of the interfaith stateme nt calling for not just a charitable response but for justice through long- term human rights-based recovery policy to help Gulf Coast families.

Three years after the current administration's first major speech promising  to rebuild the region devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the slow  pace of recovery, the collapse of local institutions, homelessness, interna l displacement, poverty, abusive labor practices and environmental degradat ion have created a moral crisis in the Gulf Coast. In recent weeks, hurrica nes Gustav and Ike have added to the devastation in the Gulf Coast demandin g a powerful response from people of faith.

The statement urges national leaders to make enacting bi-partisan resident- led federal solutions, including the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act, helping fa milies return and participate in rebuilding their communities, creating liv ing wage jobs, restoring the coastal wetland and ensuring human rights alon g the Gulf Coast a national moral priority.

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Campaign is a nonpartisan partnership of communi ty, faith, environmental, student, and human rights organizations in Alabam a, Louisiana, and Mississippi and their national allies advocating for fede ral legislation based on HR 4048, the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act and urging  national leaders to make creating jobs, rebuilding infrastructure and affo rdable housing, and restoring natural flood protection along the Gulf Coast  a national priority.

>The full text of the statement follows:

Gulf Coast Civic Works Campaign Interfaith Statement

Supporting Human Rights in Gulf Coast Recovery Is a Moral Priority

As Hurricanes Ike and Gustav hit the Gulf Coast, internally displacing over  one million people, we as a nation were reawakened to the needs of the Gul f Coast. Three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck and the levee s breached, the slow pace of recovery and the new needs caused by Ike and G ustav's destruction have created a moral crisis along the Gulf Coast that d emands a powerful response from people of faith.

While the nation has learned to better prepare for this latest hurricane, w hether by inaction or injustice, we have still failed to protect the wellbe ing of Gulf Coast survivors, new residents and their families, especially t he children, the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable through just long term  rebuilding policies which fully support human rights. The collapse of local  institutions, homelessness, internal displacement, poverty, abusive labor  practices and environmental degradation mean they continue to suffer and st ruggle unduly. A spiritual wound remains open across the region, one felt i n God's creation and every community across this country.

Our God is a God of justice, of humanity and of healing, and this moral inj ustice calls each of us to bold action in support of the common good.  We m ust act to justly rebuild communities, restore the Gulf Coast, and empower  families to overcome the devastation they suffered in our nation's worst na tural disasters.

As people of faith and as Americans we believe in transcendent human dignit y and place our trust in basic human rights. Many of the survivors of these  disasters lack the resources to return to their communities to reunite wit h their families. Many families still have not recovered and have not been  able to resume their lives with the dignity and safety that are their right .  New residents who came to work in the recovery face hardships and abuses .

Gulf Coast communities continue to suffer from toxic trailers; closed schoo ls, police stations, and hospitals; a shortage of affordable housing; crumb ling roads and water systems; and workplace abuse.

As we have seen during Hurricane Gustav, an inadequate flood protection sys tem and accelerating erosion of the wetlands left residents vulnerable to t his and future disasters. Through years of improper stewardship, preventabl e coastal erosion has destroyed billions of dollars worth of natural flood  protection and threatens the homes, places of worship, schools, and busines ses of those who live along the Gulf Coast. This also threatens the securit y of the majority of our nation's energy infrastructure, parts of which wer e once built above land and now reside below salt water. The result is an A merican human rights and national security crisis that requires the attenti on all Americans, regardless of where they live, their faith, or their poli tical party.

Together Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and Gustav killed more than 2,000 pe ople. They destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, and places of worship,  causing over $150 billion in damages and displacing hundreds of thousands  of families. Members of diverse faith communions have responded generously,  volunteering thousands of hours to rebuild lives across Alabama, Louisiana , Mississippi and Texas and giving millions in charitable donations. Faith  groups have formed powerful new partnerships with local community leaders,  non-profits, and other denominations, to lead some of the most successful e fforts in the recovery.

We have learned that acts of faith and mercy alone, no matter how profound,  cannot provide everything needed for a sustainable recovery. Gulf Coast fa milies deserve a federal government that recognizes their needs by rebuildi ng their communities, supporting basic human rights of all communities, add ressing poverty and displacement, and confronting coastal erosion. The gove rnment must empower local communities to take the lead in rebuilding their  neighborhoods, renewing their lives, and restoring God's creation. We belie ve it is a moral obligation for the federal government to fulfill its promi ses for Gulf Coast recovery:  empowering residents to return and participat e in equitably rebuilding their communities.

Now we are joining community and faith leaders across Alabama, Louisiana, M ississippi and Texas and calling on people of faith to form a new partnersh ip for a renewed and just federal Gulf Coast recovery policy to put all Gul f Coast communities, regardless of race, ethnicity or income, on the path t o an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable recovery.

We ask national leaders of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, as they  discuss the future of our nation, to honor the third anniversary of Hurric anes Katrina and Rita and the survivors of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav by ple dging to fulfill these obligations in the next Administration and Congress,  including:

.        Passing policy based on the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act for a resid ent-led partnership to rebuild vital public infrastructure, restore the env ironment, and create good jobs and economic opportunities for residents and  returning displaced families to help create stronger, safer, and more equi table communities; 
.        Increasing funding for federal, state, and local partnerships in t he Gulf Coast to create more affordable housing and promote home-ownership  for returning families, workers, and residents moving out of unsafe FEMA tr ailers; and
.        Supporting federal funding to restore the coastal wetlands and bar rier islands that form the Gulf Coast's natural barriers to flooding and to  build improved levee systems to create a comprehensive flood control syste m which could protect all Gulf Coast communities from another Category 5 st orm.  

>Signed,

Rev. Richard Cizik, Vice President, National Association of Evangelicals,

Rabbi Steve Gutow, Executive Director, Jewish Council for Public Affairs

Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary, National Council of Churches

Dr.  Ingrid Mattson, President, The Islamic Society of North America

Fr. Larry Snyder, President, Catholic Charities, USA

Rev. David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World

>Richard Stearns, President, World Vision

>Rev. Jim Wallis, President, Sojourners

The Rt. Rev. Wayne Burkette, President, The Moravian Church, Southern Provi nce

The Rt. Rev. David L. Wickmann, President, The Moravian Church, Northern Pr ovince

Rev. Jacob Jang, General Secretary, Korean Presbyterian Church in America

The Most Reverend Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop, The Epis copal Church

Stanley Noffsinger, General Secretary, Church of the Brethren

Rev. Dr. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of C hrist

Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church ( Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Jim Winkler, General Secretary, The United Methodist Church General Bo ard of Church and Society

Dr. Robert C. Andringa, President Emeritus, Council for Christian Colleges  and Universities

Roberta  Avila, Executive Director, Mississippi Coast Interfaith Disaster T ask Force

His Eminence Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, President, National Council of Chu rches

Dr. David R. Black, President, Eastern University*

Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, Coordinator, Disciples Center for Public Wel lness, Church of Christ

Rev. Jennifer Butler, Director, Faith in Public Life

Sr. Simone  Campbell, Director, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice  Lobby

Dr. Tony Campolo, Eastern University, St. David's, PA*

Dr. Iva  Carruthers, General Secretary, Samuel Dewitt Proctor Convention

Rev. Alfred Carter, President, Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing

Rev. Noel Castellanos, CEO, Christian Community Development Association

Charles  Clements, President and CEO, Unitarian Universalist Service Commit tee  

Dr. Luis Cortes, Executive Director, Nueva Esperanza

Dr. Paul Corts, President, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities*

Sr. Anne  Curtis, RSM, Leadership Team, Institute of the Sisters of Mercy o f the Americas

Marie  Dennis, Co-President, Pax Christi International and Director, Marykn oll Office for Global Concerns

Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, President, Common Cause, Former General Secretary of th e National Council of Churches

Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein, Executive Vice-President, United Synagogue of Cons ervative Judaism

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Director, Commission on Social Action of Reform Jud aism

Mary Fontenot, Executive Director, All Congregations Together

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President, Interfaith Alliance

Sharon Gauthe, Executive Director, Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organi zing

Sr. Donna Graham, OSF, Franciscan Justice and Peace Office and OFM for Prov ince of St. John the Baptist

Dr. David Gushee, Presidents, Evangelicals for Human Rights*

Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Treasurer, Senior Pastor, World Relief, Nineteen  Street Baptist Church*

Rev. Dr. Leo Hartshorn, Minister of Peace and Justice, Mennonite Mission Ne twork, U.S. Ministries

Dr.  Frederick Haynes, III, Senior Pastor, Friendship West Baptist Church,   Dallas, Texas

Dr.  Obery  Hendricks, Professor of Biblical Interpretation, New York Theol ogical Seminary, Author of "The Politics of Jesus"*

Bishop Thomas J.  Hoyt, Co-Chair, National Council of Churches Special Comm ission on the Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast

Dr. John  Huffman, Senior Pastor, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church*

Dr. George  Hunsinger, Professor, Princeton Theological Seminary, Founder,  National Religious Campaign Against Torture

Dr. Joel C. Hunter, Senior Pastor, Northland, A Distributed Church*

Dr. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Professor of Christian Ethics and Theology, Drew  University, Madison, NJ*

Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo, Justice and Witness Ministry, United Church of Chr ist

David E. Jehnsen, Chair of the Board, Every Church a Peace Church

Ven. Michael S. Kendall, President, Episcopal Network for Economic Justice

Hon. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Author of "Failing America's Faithful", for mer Lt. Gov. of Maryland and Board Member, RFK Memorial

Rabbi Asher Knight, , Temple Emanu-El, Dallas Texas

Chris Kromm, Executive Director, Institute for Southern Studies, Author of  "Faith in the Gulf"

Rabbi Irwin Kula, President, The Center for Leadership and Learning

Dr. Peter Kuzmic, Distinguished Professor, Gordon Cornwell Theological Semi nary

Rabbi Michael Lerner, Founder, TIKKUN and Network of Spiritual Progressives

Rev. Michael E. Livingston, Co-Chair, National Council of Churches Special  Commission on the Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast

Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, Founder and CEO, World Hope International

Renaye Manley, Organizaing Director, Interfaith Worker Justice

Bishop A.C. "Chip" Marble Jr., Assisting Bishop, Diocese of North Carolina,  Greensboro Office*

Dr. Molly T. Marshall, President and Professor of Theology and Spiritual Fo rmation, Central Baptist Theological Seminary

Rev. Timothy  McDonald III, President, African American Ministers in Action

Dr. Brian D. McLaren, best-selling Author, Pastor and intellectual leader o f "emerging church,"*

Rev. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, Program Coordinator, Baptist Peace Fellowship  of North America

Fr. T. Michael McNulty, SJ, Justice and Peace Director, Conference of Major  Superiors of Men

Rev. Gail E. Mengel, Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer, Community of Christ

Rabbi Jack Moline, Chair of the Board, Interfaith Alliance and Senior Rabbi , Agudas Achim Congregation

Rev. Jethroe Moore, II, President, San Jose NAACP

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, Chair, Council of the Islamic Organizations of Gr eater Chicago

Dr. Pamela Nath, , Listening & Discernment, Mennonite Central Committee

Sr. Ann Oestreich, IHM, Congressional Coordinator, Congregation Justice Com mittee, Sisters of the Holy Cross

Vicky Partin, Lay Missioner, Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministry

Dr. Ron Patterson, Executive Director, Christian Disaster Response

Sara Pottschmidt Lisherness, Director, Compassion, Peace, and Justice Minis tries, Presbyterian Church USA

r. Claire Regan, Office of Justice and Peace, Sisters of Charity of New Yor k

Rev. Carl W. Rehling, Director, Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, Diocesan Lia ison for Justice and Peace

Sr. Jane Remson, O.Carm. Main Representative to UN, Carmelite NGO Congregat ion of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Dr. Meg Riley, Director of Advocacy and Witness, Unitarian Universalist Ass ociation Congregation

Bill Robinson, President, Whitworth University*

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Co nference

Robert S. Runkle, Chair, Social Justice and Outreach Ministries Commission,  Episcopal Diocese of Spokane

Dr. Andrew Ryskamp, Director, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee

Rev. Gabriel Salguero, Director, Hispanic/Latino Leadership Program, Prince ton Theological Seminary*

Rev. Dr. Virginia Samuel, Interim Dean of Campus Life and Student Affairs,  Drew University, Madison, NJ*

Sr. Marylin K. Scheib, Regional Administrative Office, Sisters of Mercy of  the Regional Community of St. Louis

Rev. Bill Schulz, Chairman, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Board  of Directors

Rev. Dr. Ronald J. Sider, President, Evangelicals for Social Action

Dr. Ann E. Smith, President, Gamaliel Foundation

Rev.Dr. Cory Sparks, Chair, Commission on Stewardship of the Environment, L ouisiana Interchurch Conference

Dr. Glen Harold Stassen, Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics, Ful ler Seminary*

Rev. Ron Stief, Organizing Director, Faith in Public Life

Russ Testa, Executive Director, Franciscan Action Network

Rabbi Uri  Topolosky, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel, A Community S ynagogue in New Orleans

Rev. Romal  Tune, President, Clergy Strategic Alliances

Sr. Mari  Turgi, CSC, Director, Holy Cross International Office

Rabbi Stewart Vogel, President, Southern California Board of Rabbis

Rabbi Brian Walt, Executive Director, Rabbis for Human Rights

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Executive Director, Shalom Center

Alix Webb, Program Manager, The Poverty Initiative, Union Theological Semin ary

Rev.Dr. C. David Williams, President, Union of Black Episcopalians

Dr. Lauren Winner, Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality, Duke Divi nity School, Duke University*

Rabbi David Wolpe, Senior Rabbi, Sinai Temple*

Dr. Aidsand Wright-Riggins III, Executive Director, National Ministries, Am erican Baptist Church, USA

Dr. Amos Yong, Professor of Theology, Regent University School of Divinity*

Susan Youmans, Executive Director, Environmental Partnership

* Organization is listed for identification purposes only

CONTACT: Jeffrey Buchanan, 202-463-7575 ext 241, Charles Jackson, 504-943-0 044 communications@acorn.org

NCC News Contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228, NCCNews@ncccusa.org

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