Yesterday morning the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services launched a major campaign to confront global poverty. Dubbed Catholics Confront Global Poverty, the Campaign aims to mobilize one million U.S. Catholics to advocate to end poverty, hunger and disease around the world.

Bishop Howard Hubbard, Chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace at the USCCB and Bishop of Albany, NY, launched the campaign along with Mr. Ken Hackett, President of Catholic Relief Services. Bishop Fernando Bargallo of Merlo-Moreno Argentina and Ugandan Archbishop John Baptist Odama took part in the event as well. Archbishop Odama closed his message with a charge for “people of good faith and good will to advocate for the promotion and defense of human dignity.”

The launch took place at the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, held on Capitol Hill here in Washington. I attended the event along with hundreds of leaders from across the US. They are in town this week to share, learn, advocate and strategize. It was an exciting moment where local and national leaders joined together “in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the developing world.”

The Catholics Confront Global Poverty initiative is built on the foundation of the earlier Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty that started in 2005. To learn more about the initiative, visit www.usccb.org/globalpoverty and www.crs.org/globalpoverty.

I was able to talk with Bishop Hubbard after the event and he offered his thoughts for you in this video message:

-Adam Phillips

Faith leaders from many traditions are taking up the challenge to preach against global poverty. If you haven’t heard about the ONE Sermon Challenge yet, take some time to check out what we have up so far. So far we have some great Christian, Jewish and Buddhist messages on the site. If you are a preacher or if you haven’t gotten the chance to encourage your local faith leader to deliver a message on the fight against extreme poverty, it’s not too late to do so.

Through mid-April the ONE Sermon Challenge will continue to accept original and inspirational sermons related to global poverty and collect them online at ONE.org. Through the ONE Sermon Challenge, pastors, rabbis, imams and other faith leaders have the chance to share their message to ONE’s millions of members and congregations nationwide, inspiring advocacy and action.

Over at the ONE Sermon Challenge site, you may want to check out Sensei Anthony Stultz’s “Liberating Message of the Dharma,” or take a listen to Rev. Steve Price’s “Springing Up,” or Rabbi Eric Solomon’s call to action, reflecting on the lives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. There’s a lot of great stuff over on the site so make sure to take a moment to visit the Sermon Challenge page.

We encourage you and your local congregation to send us their original and inspirational message with ONE. If you are a youth leader or youth pastor, check out ONE partner Youth Specialties podcast video, hosted by Adam McLane, and take the challenge as well.

-Adam Phillips

In 2009, ONE is engaging faith communities through its ONE Sabbath effort, which gives local congregations and believers opportunities to respond to such global challenges as AIDS, malaria, lack of clean water and children out of school, and informs congregations about the proven solutions that can save lives and transform impoverished communities.

This weekend, Lebanon Valley College and ONE hosted a ONE Sabbath Forum exploring the special role faith communities play in responding to the consequences of global poverty, hunger and preventable diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The forum was moderated by the Rev. Sandra L. Strauss, the director of public advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, and included panelists from various faith traditions: Sensei Tony Stultz from the Buddhist community; the Rev. Dan Donmoyer from the Lutheran Church; Samia Malik, director of communications for the Council of American Islamic Relations; Patrick Walker, regional director for Church World Service; and Rabbi Paula Reimers from the Jewish community.

The panelists were asked how their faith traditions are responding to the issues of poverty and disease on a global and personal level, and how faith communities can work together to respond. The forum was a great success and many were in attendance. All of the panelists agreed that acting together as ONE is critical in the fight against global poverty and disease despite people’s differences in faith traditions.

Comments were also made by some of the panelists speaking out against apathy and the danger that exists when people do not participate in advocacy. At the end of the forum people from the audience were permitted to ask questions and Lancaster, PA ONE Member Fran Gouveia enthusiastically reminded everyone in attendance that ONE members have and continue to be some of the best advocates for people in the developing world!

After the forum concluded, guests stopped to sign the ONE Declaration and picked up information on ONE Sabbath. Many commented on the importance of people working together despite their differences whether it be faith, politics, or occupations and that having the visual of different faith leaders sitting together arriving at similar conclusions was inspiring!

-Brian Sweeney

(Read rest of Rev. Sandra Strauss’s op-ed below.)

(more…)

ONE member Melissa Sweeney landed a terrific letter to the editor in yesterday’s western Pennsylvania’s Lebanon Daily News. In her letter, Melissa underscores the work of people of faith through efforts like ONE Sabbath, to lift up their voices and take action in the fight against extreme poverty. Check it out, below:

February 12, 2009

Group looking to act as ONE

Editor:

One of the most basic callings of my Christian faith is to serve those in need. Lending a kind hand turns faith into action.

Nearly all faiths share a similar calling of compassion and service. The Torah teaches that we should care for the poor through acts of compassion and loving kindness. Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew that how we treat “the least among us” is the measure of how we treat God. Zakat, serving the suffering of humanity, is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Congregations and believers across Pennsylvania have a unique opportunity to channel their energy into the movement to save lives and combat extreme poverty around the world. An effort called ONE Sabbath aims to raise awareness within communities of faith about the challenges of global poverty and provide resources for congregations to respond meaningfully to these challenges.

ONE Sabbath, an effort by the anti-poverty group ONE, gives local congregations and believers opportunities to respond to such global challenges as AIDS, malaria, lack of clean water and children out of school, and informs congregations about the proven solutions that can save lives and transform impoverished communities.

The ONE Sabbath effort, which includes Jewish and Christian congregations and encompasses ONE Sadaqa in the Muslim community and ONE Seva in the Hindu community, will run through the first 100 days of President Barack Obama’s administration, a critical time when America’s role in the world and our foreign policy and budget priorities will be set.

ONE Sabbath aims to turn our faith into action for the 12,500 people who will lose their lives today from AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis in the poorest parts of the world; action for the 1 billion people who struggle to live without access to clean water; action for the millions of children who, when the sun sets in Africa tonight, will go to bed without a mother or father due to preventable, treatable diseases.

Today we have the technology and the proven, effective solutions to save millions of lives. Malaria can be stopped with something as simple as a $6 bed net. Dehydration, which unbelievably kills 5,000 children each day, can be treated with a hydration tablet that costs pennies.

The solutions have arrived. We’re waiting for the moment we all say, “We will not allow people to die from diseases we can prevent. We will not allow children to die in a world of plenty from a lack of food. No longer.”

Through ONE Sabbath, we have the chance to get hundreds of congregations and thousands of voices speaking out and taking action. Visit ONE.org/ONESabbath to get your congregation engaged.

-Melissa Sweeney, ONE Member, Jonestown

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King saw his role not simply as a Civil Rights leader, but as a preacher – he called it his “first calling and greatest commitment.” History remembers Dr. King’s voice, whether from the church pulpit or in the public arena, as a powerful instrument for social change.

As a preacher myself, I often sweated the challenge of bringing an inspirational message to a congregation to help spur on faithful action. What always encouraged me, however, was seeing colleagues and friends doing the same thing and lifting up their voices in their houses of worship. Seeing preachers speak out and engage their congregations motivated me to do the same. That’s why I invite you and your local faith leaders to join a new effort to speak out to your congregation and help inspire action on behalf of the world’s poor.

The new effort is the ONE Sermon Challenge. Starting today, The ONE Sermon Challenge will accept original and inspirational sermons related to global poverty and collect them online at ONE.org. Through ONE Sermon Challenge, pastors, rabbis, imams and other faith leaders have the chance to share their message to ONE’s millions of members and congregations nationwide.

The challenge is part of ONE Sabbath 2008-09, ONE’s effort to mobilize people of faith to speak out and take action for those struggling against poverty and disease around the world. Preachers from all faith traditions are welcome to make submissions and fully incorporate their own tradition into their messages at:

http://www.one.org/onesabbath/sermonchallenge

Over the next few days as sermons come in, take a look at what others have shared. If you are a preacher, join the effort. If you’re not a preacher, ask your pastor, priest, rabbi or imam to join the ONE Sermon Challenge. We ask that the sermons be recent or are slated to be preached in your congregation over the next two months. If you do, we’ll then ship you a ONE Sabbath Action Pack, with ONE bands, literature, T-shirts and other materials you can use to host your own ONE Sabbath event. If you’ve already held a ONE Sabbath, then the pack will help keep the conversation and anti-poverty work going. If you submit a video of your sermon, we’ll include the book “On The Move,” Bono’s address at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2006.

Visit the ONE Sermon Challenge on the web and then come back often to see what other ONE members of faith are saying. Invite your priest, minister, rabbi, imam, pastor or other faith leaders you know to join the ONE Sermon Challenge and share their preaching on global poverty.

One word, one sermon, one challenging message on what we can each do, can make a significant difference. So whether it’s a sermon in worship, a sermon message at your youth worship, a d’ivrei torah, or a Friday khutba, add your voice and help inspire action in the fight against global poverty.

-Adam Phillips

President Obama yesterday unveiled a new council of religious and secular leaders to help guide America’s faith-based programs, and here at ONE we are excited and encouraged because it’s a group that promises to bring renewed attention and energy to the fight against poverty and disease.

Dubbed the Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the new group will be made up of 25 members, featuring Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives, many of whom have been outspoken leaders in efforts to address global hunger, HIV/AIDS and endemic poverty.

Here at ONE, we are particularly excited and encouraged because it’s a group that includes ONE’s long time allies in the effort of ending extreme poverty and preventable diseases.

A founding board member of ONE, Richard Stearns, who is the president of World Vision, is on the council along with Jim Wallis, president and Executive Director of Sojourners, also a key ally of ONE’s since the start.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, is on the council and has been involved in ONE Sabbath, our faith outreach effort. Here you can hear Rabbi Saperstein talk about ONE Sabbath and the need for America’s faith community to be active in advocacy on behalf of the world’s poor.

During ONE Vote ’08, the ONE Bus stopped outside Orlando, Fla. for an event at Northland, A Church distributed, led by another member of the council, the Rev. Joel Hunter.

Another council member, Eboo Patel, is the founder of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core and has just launched a program with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation that is focused on the Millennium Development Goals. William Shaw, council member and president of the National Baptist Convention, was also the keynote speaker at Bread for the World’s last Interfaith Convocation in 2007.

The Council will work with Joshua Dubois, a young Pentecostal pastor who will head the White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

ONE looks forward to working with the new council and White House office to help maximize the tremendous efforts of the countless congregations, organizations and community groups who are working each day to help those who are most vulnerable to poverty, hunger and disease.

As the president said yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast:

The particular faith that motivates each of us can promote a greater good for all of us. Instead of driving us apart, our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted; to make peace where there is strife and rebuild what has broken; to lift up those who have fallen on hard times. This is not only our call as people of faith, but our duty as citizens of America.

-Mark Brinkmoeller

In 2009, ONE is engaging faith communities through its ONE Sabbath effort, which gives local congregations and believers opportunities to respond to such global challenges as AIDS, malaria, lack of clean water and children out of school, and informs congregations about the proven solutions that can save lives and transform impoverished communities.

The ONE Sabbath effort includes Jewish and Christian congregations and encompasses ONE Sadaqa in the Muslim community and ONE Seva in the Hindu community.

ONE Sabbath provides participants with tools to become advocates within their own faith traditions. Whether through an academic forum, a small study group, a visit to a politician’s office, a sermon, a multimedia worship presentation, a petition, a gift to charity, a community organizing event or a conversation with a neighbor, ONE Sabbath participants will help to educate their communities and inspire healing and hope for those who need it most.

On Sunday, February 15 at 2pm, Lebanon Valley College and ONE will host a forum exploring the special role faith communities play in responding to the consequences of global poverty, hunger and preventable diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The forum will be moderated by the Rev. Sandra L. Strauss, the director of public advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, and will include panelists from various faith traditions: Sensei Tony Stultz from the Buddhist community; the Rev. Dan Donmoyer from the Lutheran Church; Samia Malik, director of communications for the Council of American Islamic Relations; Patrick Walker regional director for Church World Service; and Rabbi Paula Reimers from the Jewish community.

The forum is part of ONE’s ‘ONE Sabbath’ effort, which aims to mobilize people of faith across America to speak out and take action for those struggling against poverty and disease around the world.The panelists will be asked how their faith traditions are responding to the issues of poverty and disease on a global and personal level, and how faith communities can work together to respond. The event will be captured on DVD.

Please register here for this event.

-Brian Sweeney

We all know the inauguration happened this week. We also know that there were many events, galas, balls, service projects and concerts that took place. Do we know there was also prayer?

During these inaugural days three prayers were offered on the National Mall. What struck me about these prayers was that they were not only lifted up for President Barack Obama, his Administration, and his family. That is crucial. But, they each included a summons for me and for all of us to remember the task we share in fighting global poverty, hunger and disease. The prayers called us to act on behalf of our brothers and sister around the world, even while we are focused on our new president.

On Sunday, Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, began his prayer on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with a call for Americans to be “bless[ed] with tears, tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women in many lands are beaten and raped for wanting education, and thousands die a day from malnutrition, malaria and AIDS”:

Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, a ONE Sabbath supporter, gave the invocation Tuesday morning where he asked for forgiveness “when we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve.” He also prayed that Americans would seek “the common good of all” around the world in the years ahead:

Rev. Joseph Lowery, Civil Rights leader an co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, paraphrased the Books of (more…)

Last week the Jewish Standard ran an op-ed penned by Rabbi David Saperstein, ONE supporter and director of the Religious Action Center of the Union for Reform Judaism. Rabbi Saperstein writes elegantly about ONE Sabbath and the important role of faith in meeting the challenges presented by extreme poverty and global disease. Voices like Rabbi Saperstein’s are integral in the fight against poverty.

Excerpts below, full op-ed here

If we remain silent, it will be easy for our leaders to ignore these statistics and the human tragedies behind them. While the realities of global poverty and disease are neither new nor noticeable in our own backyards, they are urgent — every passing day can be a matter of life or death. These injustices should call all Jews to their posts as God’s partners in repairing the world.

In addressing these crises, the Reform movement is partnering with the advocacy group ONE to bring attention to and help assist the world’s poorest people through an initiative called ONE Sabbath. Participating in ONE Sabbath means raising awareness, educating others, and pressing government leaders to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease around the world. Between now and the critical first 100 days of president-elect Obama’s administration, we ask all of our congregations to take the time to focus on global poverty and preventable, treatable diseases.

As we call for greater U.S. leadership and action in ensuring access to basic health care, primary education, clean water, and food in the world’s poorest communities, we represent core values of our sacred Scripture’s mandate to assist those who are most vulnerable — the poor, the elderly, the child, the widowed, the stranger, and the hungry. In the Talmud, our rabbis taught that, if all the sufferings and pain in the world were gathered on one side of a scale and poverty were on the other side, poverty would outweigh them all. (Exodus Rabbah 31:14) We are taught that a society is measured by the way it treats the most vulnerable among its citizens, and we are reminded that, created in the Divine image, every living being is sacred.

-Chris Scott

Last week, ONE members and faith leaders from across the country got together for a conference call on ONE Sabbath, which along with companion programs ONE Seva and ONE Sadaqa is rallying believers of all faiths, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and others, to learn and take action on behalf of people living in extreme poverty and dying from preventable diseases.

We’ve got full audio from the call online here and I hope you’ll take a few minutes to listen.

On the call, we talked about successful ONE Sabbath events that have already happened and how ONE members can host their own ONE Sabbath events within their faith communities. We were joined by a great group of faith leaders, Kim Steitz, Director for International Policy at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Rick Pelay, from the Jubilee Community Church in Miami, FL, Herley Jim Bowling, a member of the Church in Ocean Park, Santa Monica, California, and Pastor Michael Hidalgo of Denver Community Church.

This call was focused on our Christian ONE Sabbath supporters, but we’re looking forward to launching similar efforts through the Jewish ONE Sabbath, ONE Seva and ONE Sadaqa programs, soon.

If you’re interested in getting your faith community involved in ONE Sabbath, make sure to check out the call, and sign-up to receive more information:

Listen to the call here.

Learn more about ONE Sabbath here.

-Adam Phillips, ONE Faith Relations Manager