A Call to Progressive Clergy and Lay Activists!

Remembering Dr. King: Reclaiming the Beloved Community
Advancing a Progressive Religious Agenda

April 4-6, 2001
Washington, D.C.

An interracial, interfaith coalition of religious leaders invites you to join with us to create a powerful prophetic voice on the signal justice issues of our times. Please join us in Washington, D.C., on April 4-6 to put before the new administration, Congress, and the nation a progressive vision of justice and morality grounded in the prophetic message. Help build a new collaborative movement that will bring progressive religious voices more powerfully into the national dialogue on politics and morality. We will learn from each other's struggles and successes and together build new strategies for effective action.

Now and in the coming months and years it will be especially important to strengthen the progressive religious voice on issues of economic, racial and sexual justice, religious liberty, and more. We urgently need to work together.

Among the leaders who have come together to help launch this effort are: Rev. James Lawson, Rabbi Leonard Beerman, Rev. George Regas, Sr. Joan Chittister, Sr. Maureen Fiedler, Rev. Jimmy Creech of Soulforce, Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center, Rev. John Buehrens of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev. Welton Gaddy of The Interfaith Alliance, Rev. Steven Baines of Equal Partners in Faith; Rev. Carlton Veazy of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Rev. David Dyson of the People of Faith Network, Rev. Timothy McDonald of the African American Ministers Leadership Conference, Rev. William Rankin of Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance, Rabbi Arthur Waskow of Shalom Center, Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Rev. Joe Hough of Union Theological Seminary, Al Sharp of Protestants for the Common Good, Rev. James Adams of Center for Progressive Christianity, Rabbi Steve Jacobs of Los Angeles, Ralph Neas of People for the American Way, and more.

We are committed to being equally outspoken on issues of sexual justice as on issues of economic and racial justice. Among the conference sessions will be "supporting all of God's families," "cultivating spirituality in resistance to the dominant culture," and "reclaiming the beloved community." Issues to be addressed will include Charitable Choice, sweatshops and the right to organize, the death penalty, voter disenfranchisement and election integrity, and much more. We'll share case studies of progressive religious organizing from many activists and organizations.

Please help us by spreading the word among progressive religious leaders and activists, and plan to attend. The conference will begin Wednesday evening, April 4, at Metropolitan AME Church with a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and work on the anniversary of his assassination.

The work of the PRP is supported by People For the American Way Foundation and the Regas Institute. To receive more information about the conference and registration materials, please call 202-467-2313 or send a message to prp@pfaw.org.

Progressive Religious Partnership

The Progressive Religious Partnership is a network of people and congregations working in and through communities of faith to bring about a nation and world that more reflects the 'beloved community.'

We seek to articulate and pursue a prophetic vision rooted in our faith traditions and thoroughly informed by the noblest civil visions of the preambles to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. In word and practice, our movement will lift an inclusive, prophetic agenda before the people of America.

We believe that the majority of people want a society that provides access to opportunity to every girl and boy in every place. In response to those who manipulate the deep divisions in our culture, we will challenge racism and sexism as we struggle for opportunity and economic justice for all, and promote a healing human sexuality.

We live in a time when powerful economic forces are able to shape many circumstances of everyday life with little democratic check or accountability. We need governments of the people, by the people, and for the people, which are strong and effective enough to pursue and protect the common good.

Only a full and passionate commitment to genuine justice and peace will enable the nation to gain the character and strength it needs for the 21st century. We believe progressive clergy and lay leaders sense the need and the opportunity to play a more powerful prophetic role in our national dialogue about morality and politics.

Together we will help each of us and all of us to be more effective advocates for justice.