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By Kathy L. Gilbert*
5:00 P.M. EDT July 28, 2011
Two United Methodist faith leaders were among a group of 11 arrested
July 28 in the U.S. Capitol as they refused to stop public prayers
asking the Obama administration and Congress not to balance the budget
on the backs of the poor.
Jim Winkler, top executive for the United Methodist Board of Church
and Society, the denomination’s social action agency, and the Rev. Bob
Edgar, a United Methodist elder and president of Common Cause, a
national advocacy group, were arrested in the Capitol rotunda during a
“faithful act of civil disobedience.”
Edgar, who served as a Pennsylvania congressman from 1975-87,
organized the protest and invited leaders in the faith and civil rights
community to join him in a rally and prayers inside the rotunda.
“Following a rally on Capitol Hill, we will enter the rotunda of the
U.S. Capitol and kneel to pray for Congress to do the right thing:
fulfill America’s promise to care for those who cannot care for
themselves, to offer a hand up and a fair shake to those willing to work
to improve themselves and their communities,” Edgar wrote in a blog.
Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and
Society, was among the 11 arrested. A UMNS photo by Jewel DeGuzman.
View in Photo Gallery
The religious leaders were arrested about 1 p.m. and charged with demonstrating within a U.S. Capitol building.
“Congress is paralyzed by toxic partisan politics while people
suffer,” said the Rev. Michael Livingston, director of the National
Council of Churches' poverty initiative. “Our elected officials are
protecting corporations and wealthy individuals while shredding the
safety net for millions of the most vulnerable people in our nation and
abroad. Our faith won't allow us to passively watch this travesty
unfold. We’ve written letters, talked with and prayed for our elected
officials, and prayed together daily in interreligious community. Today,
we ‘offer our bodies as a living sacrifice’ to say to
Congress ‘Raise revenue, protect the vulnerable and those living in
poverty.’”
Jordan Blevins, director of peace witness for the Church of the
Brethren and the NCC, added that the protesters consider themselves
“citizens first and foremost of the realm of God.”
“Sometimes living into that reality puts us at odds with what is
happening in our country. This is one of those times — when steps
Congress is taking contradicts our call as followers of Jesus Christ, we
must take action.”
Winkler, who works inside the United Methodist Building on Capitol
Hill, and other members of the Washington Interreligious Staff Community
have been holding daily prayer vigils on the lawn of the building since
July 11 to pray for a “faithful budget.”
The Rev. Bob Edgar (center) walks to the U.S. Capitol for the protest. A web-only photo courtesy of Common Cause.
Winkler said the vigils were an interreligious effort to raise the
voice of people of faith on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable
among us.
“We are sending a visible signal to those in power that we do not
believe the negotiations over the debt ceiling and budget can be
resolved on the backs of poor people.”
Others arrested include Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Shalom Center in
Philadelphia; the Rev. Jennifer Butler, executive director, Faith in
Public Life; the Rev. Paul Sherry, director of the Washington office,
Interfaith Worker Justice; the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, director of
public witness, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); the Rev. Sandy Sorenson,
director of Washington office, United Church of Christ, and Martin
Shupack, director of advocacy, Church World Service.
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., 615-742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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