Martin Luther King Jr. famously warned that a "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." Yet despite King's caution, we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a disastrous war in Iraq while 37 million Americans are living in poverty and 3 billion people worldwide live on less than $2 a day.
This election season, we can answer Jesus' call to care for the "least of these" by demanding that candidates go on the record with real plans for addressing poverty in the U.S. and around the world.
Send this petition to:
I pledge to make your commitment to overcoming poverty, which I believe is one of the greatest moral and religious imperatives of our time, central to how I cast my ballot in 2008.I want to hear your specific plans for cutting in half over the next 10 years the number of Americans living in poverty and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, thereby delivering hope to the billions of people living in extreme poverty around the globe.In the coming months, I'll be working hard to ensure that you address these critical issues -- and to inform my friends, family, congregation, and community members about how you respond.
Signed by:[Your name] [Your address]
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The mission of Sojourners is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world.
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Would you like to contribute financially to further Sojourners efforts to
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Would you like to contribute financially to further Sojourners efforts to
Now is the time to make your contribution to the progressive faith community's voice in the 2008 election cycle and beyond!
Join Sojourners in our Vote Out Poverty campaign, which will make reducing poverty a central issue in the presidential and congressional races in 2008. Our efforts will not end there; your contribution will help us hold those elected officials accountable through our 2009 National Mobilization.
Timing is of the essence as the general election cycle begins. The earlier we start, the more we can spread the word, and the more our voice will be heard.
Here are some of our plans between now and November:
Voter Education Resources: We are developing a nonpartisan brochure that provides guidance on Christian responsibilities to vote based on a broad issues-based platform that goes beyond the hot-button issues. We will distribute an election action toolkit to you - our online constituency.
Poverty Sundays: We will encourage churches nationwide to host election-focused Poverty Sundays during September 2008 and will provide participants with nonpartisan resources.
National Mobilization 2008: As you read this, 300 of our most dedicated activists are in the midst of three days of intensive advocacy and media training. With some of the nation's best faith-based community organizers, including Dr. James Lawson, serving as facilitators, we are preparing these participants to apply effective tactics to transform their communities.
National Mobilization 2008: As you read this, 300 of our most dedicated activists are in the midst of three days of intensive advocacy and media training. With some of the nation's best faith-based community organizers, including Dr. James Lawson, serving as facilitators, we are preparing these participants to apply effective tactics to transform their communities.
We can feel the energy building, and it shall not be wasted! We will utilize this momentum through our 2009 National Mobilization plan.
In spring 2009, we will organize a major event in Washington that leverages national media attention to the crisis of poverty, mobilizes a national faith constituency around a poverty platform, and demands that elected officials act on poverty. This event will include turning out over 1,000 people in a single day to visit and lobby congressional representatives, and gathering 3,000 to 5,000 people for a rally outside the White House.
Thank you for your support, passion, and will power as we seek to continue our prophetic ministry.
Blessings,
Andrew, Leah, and the rest of the Sojourners team
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