wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 289-Faith leaders call for end to U.S. 'poverty train'

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Faith leaders call for end to U.S. 'poverty train'

Jul. 10, 2008    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*   Nashville {289}

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

>By Jose Carlo de Pano*

WASHINGTON (UMNS)--Faith leaders say it is time to stop the "poverty  train" in the United States and rescue its 37 million citizens living  below the poverty line.

The Democratic Faith Working Group (DFWG) and the Out-of-Poverty Caucus  (OPC) held a panel discussion June 12 aimed at bringing awareness to the  worsening problem of U.S. poverty, as well as exploring solutions. Faith  leaders from eight denominations and organizations participated in the  discussion held in the Sam Rayburn House of Representatives office  building.

Poverty is a "lifelong dilemma" that needs to be addressed now, said the  Rev. Jim Wallis, president and chief executive officer of Sojourners.  "The poverty train should stop by 2009," he said.

According to OPC, 37 million U.S. citizens live in poverty and the  number increases every year. Since 2000, an additional 5 million people  have fallen below the poverty line--defined as anyone with an annual  income of $10,400 or less. OPC says a disproportionate number of those  people are minorities and children.

>Three evils

Poverty, racism and war are preventing the United States from moving  forward, said the Rev. Kip Banks, director of Progressive National  Baptist Convention. He said those three evils were first identified by  the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

>"Poverty leads to violence," Banks said.

Poverty involves human dignity, making it not just a moral but a  political issue, said Candy Hill, senior vice president for social  policy and government affairs for Catholic Charities U.S.A. She pointed  out that inequality by race, class and gender, which are at the roots of  poverty, starts at birth.

Andrew Genszler, director of advocacy and the Washington office for the  Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said religious faith must lead  everybody to public life with a common purpose to end poverty. Some  solutions, he said, include promoting local agriculture, transitioning  to a new green economy and increasing road funds.

Along with the problem of poverty is the issue of immigration, said the  Rev. Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian  Leadership Conference. Rodriguez said that millions of undocumented  individuals are suffering from indigence. Both immigration and education  reform are needed to alleviate poverty, he said.

Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public  Affairs, emphasized the importance of faith and social involvement in  the complete abolition of poverty.

># # #

*De Pano, of the Philippines, is one of the 12 young adults from around  the world participating in the United Methodist Board of Church and  Society's summer intern program. The interns, from the five ethnic  caucuses of the denomination, are working in social justice placements  in Washington, D.C.

>********************

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

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