Poverty is not a family valueby Jim Wallis
The following is excerpted from Jim Walls' address at the Sojourners/Call to Renewal Pentecost 2006: Building a Covenant for a New America conference.We are gathering here in the season of Pentecost, as we have done now for 10 years. It is the season when we celebrate the church coming down from that upper room into the streets with the power of the Spirit to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news that he proclaimed in his opening mission statement in the little town of Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor."
To a church whose mission statement hasn't always reflected his, we are here simply to say this: whatever else the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to change about our lives - overcome our sinful habits and addictions, save our marriages and families, make us responsible people - IF the gospel that we preach does not "bring good news to the poor," well then, it is simply not the gospel of Jesus Christ - and it is about time that we said that.
To the political leaders of this capitol city, and from the places you all live across this country, we are here to say something else: the days when you could win the support of the religious community by merely speaking the language of family values and the sacredness of life while ignoring the desperate plight of poor people in this wealthy nation and around the world are over. Because for a growing number of people of faith across the political spectrum, you will now be held accountable for how the leadership you offer and the policies you support impact the lives of those whom Jesus called "the least of these." You see for many of us, poverty is also a life issue and as our bumper sticker says "Poverty is NOT a family value!"
(snip)
We covenant together here, before God and our neighbors, to work and pray for a new America:
An America where everyone able to work is working and able to support a family.
An America where those who are unable to work are compassionately supported.
An America where no child lives in poverty and goes to bed at night hungry.
An America where every person has a roof over their head.
And an America that opens its heart and its budget to our neighbors around the world.
A new America - where all of God's children have the life and dignity they deserve.
Continued @
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=060629#3 
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