wfn.org | Meeting Gives Participants Sense Of History

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CONTACT: 	Thomas S. McAnally
(10-21-71B){192}
		Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470	 March 31, 1998

NOTE: This story is a sidebar to UMNS #191.

Meeting carries sense of history for religious leaders

by Woody Woodrick*

CARBONDALE, Ill. (UMNS) -- Calling religious leaders together to address
poverty, former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon said such a diverse gathering had
not been held since the 1960s, when the issue was civil rights.
Representatives of more than 20 faiths gathered at Great City State Park
to issue a statement calling for action to fight poverty. The event was
sponsored by the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois
University-Carbondale. Simon is director of the institute.
Virtually every mainline faith group in the nation was represented,
covering the range from Islam to Judaism to Christianity.
As they hammered out the statement, participants expressed amazement
that people of such diverse backgrounds could work quickly and with
little dissension. The sense of history and accomplishment nearly
overshadowed the meeting's outcome.
Bishop Jack Meadors of the United Methodist Church's Mississippi Annual
(regional) Conference noted the significance of the event.
"I think it was a historic event to gather together such a diverse
group," he said. "It covered such a broad spectrum."
Rabbi Jacob Rubenstein of New York City agreed.
"It is important to know how historic this is," said Rubenstein,
president of the Rabbinical Council of America. "The fact that all these
individuals were able to come together and rise above their differences
tells you millions of people will hear the message."
"We heard the word 'historic' several times," Simon said following the
meeting. "It was a really impressive meeting of people with divergent
backgrounds. That alone makes it a success, but I hope we can do more
than that."
While the comparison to the civil rights meeting was common, Meadors
pointed out a key difference in the gathering in Illinois. "That meeting
was held in reaction to a crisis," he said. "This was held in an attempt
to prevent one."
				# # #
*Woodrick is editor of the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate, the
newspaper of the Mississippi Conference.

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