November 3, 2009

NEW YORK – In almost every news cycle, religious fundamentalists can be heard raising their voices on a range of social issues.

It's time for the other side to be heard.

That's the purpose of the Faith and Public Policy Roundtable, a newly formed coalition of mainstream religious clergy and academics from houses of worship, seminaries and universities, and ecclesiastical organizations throughout New York City.

Their goal: to provide a non-fundamentalist voice of faith in the American public square.

"It has been a long time since prophetic voices in the tradition of Heschel and Niebuhr have been heard in American civic life," said Rabbi Abraham Unger, pastor of Staten Island's Congregation Ahavath Israel and chaplain at Wagner College.

"We want to serve as a think tank that joins the concerns of faith to the concerns of society," added Pastor Gary Mills, Assistant to the Bishop for Global and Multicultural Administration in the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "It is high time for mainstream, non-fundamentalist religious leadership and scholars to re-emerge in the American conversation on issues like the economy, education, war and peace, and health care, to name just a few."

Unger and Mills, founding co-chairmen of the Faith and Public Policy Roundtable, spoke on the release of their group's first white paper, "Statement on the Economy" (see below), which addresses the moral dimension of economic justice. The paper emphasizes several points, including the following:

• The economic crisis is a moral issue. Poverty persists and deepens because of a disengagement of the financial sector from civil society.

• Our civic and public institutions have weakened as checks on institutional gluttony.

• Our personal and collective responsibilities to each other – locally, nationally and globally – are rooted in our belief in the sacredness of human life.

• The public message of faith today calls on every American to become more profoundly engaged in our nation's civic life through service and advocacy, to demand deeper accountability of our public and private institutions.

The Faith and Public Policy Roundtable's white paper, "Statement on the Economy," has been signed to date by 33 clergy, scholars and ecclesiastical officials ranging from the Roman Catholic community to the Lutheran community and the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jewish movements.

"This economy has opened up a window for discussion of the common values and texts that bind us together as Americans and as members of the human family," said Father Patrick Ryan, S.J., the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University and a founding steering committee member of the Faith and Public Policy Roundtable. "Our task is to articulate those values and provide thinking on their civic and spiritual dimensions."

To follow up on the release of their white paper on the economy, the Roundtable has organized a Call to Action Weekend involving over 200 New York City area houses of worship for Nov. 20-22, the weekend before Thanksgiving, which will feature:

• Thematically coordinated sermons at the hundreds of New York City houses of worship represented by the Roundtable's members;

• Charitable advocacy that calls on religious leaders to encourage parishioners to seek out charitable organizations and other means by which those persons in need are offered sustainable aid.

• A lifting up of community-based service programs already in place, and story-telling within our communities relating to social and economic justice.

FAITH AND PUBLIC POLICY ROUNDTABLE
STATEMENT ON THE ECONOMY – NOVEMBER 2009

In the fall of 2008, amidst the financial and political turmoil enveloping America and the world, a group of religious leaders came together in New York City to consider the role of non-fundamentalist religious voices in the American public space. Meeting regularly, this group developed consensus for approaching public policy issues. Our immediate concern is the economy in both its domestic and global dimensions.

The economic crisis is a moral issue. Therefore, our response to it must be framed in moral terms. As our President has said, if our country is to recover its prosperity – not simply for our own good, but for the good of our interdependent world – then we must reinvest in society, not only with money but with a renewed sense of shared civic responsibility.

Millions of people, here in America and around the world, are suffering from severe economic distress. Unemployment and bankruptcy are increasing. Foreclosure and fraud have multiplied. Poverty persists and deepens. This has occurred, in many cases, because of a disengagement of the financial sector from civil society and neglect of their responsibilities within it.

Neither is government or the citizenry exempt from responsibility. Our civic and public institutions have clearly weakened as checks on institutional gluttony. There is a feeling on Main Street that our largest institutions, whether public or private, are far removed from the disempowered voices of America. Decisions are being made at a distance from those among us most affected by this economic crisis.

Our personal and collective responsibilities to each other – locally, nationally, and globally – are rooted in our belief in the sacredness of human life. We believe that every human being has been created in God's image and ought to be treated accordingly. This conviction suggests criteria for evaluating policy.

At all times, but especially during this time of recession, these criteria or values are: reinvestment in families and strong communities, protection of basic human rights, consideration of the common good, a weighted concern for the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable in society, stewardship of the natural world, and most importantly, a renewed sense of interconnectedness across the breadth of the human family, crossing ethnic, religious, racial, economic and ideological lines.

We call for the unequivocal accountability of corporate America to America. The corporation has the same responsibilities as any other citizen of civil society. Economic profit should not exclude moral purpose.

We call on government to listen more closely to America.

Today, the narrative of Exodus and redemption from oppression calls every person of faith to action – to be God's hands in freeing God's creatures from the oppression and moral corruption to which we all bear witness. But the Exodus was not only about freedom from oppression – it was also about the forging of a just society.

The words of the prophets call on us – whether as individual people of faith, as members of religious communities, or as religious leaders – to organize and work for social change. We must reinvest in our society on civic and religious grounds lest its healing be impaired.

The public message of faith today calls on every American to become more profoundly engaged in our nation's civic life through service and advocacy, to demand deeper accountability of our public and private institutions.

May the prayers of our lips, the work of our hands, and the spirit of our hearts come together to bring about a new era infused with justice, suffused with dignity, committed to the vision of a more perfect union.

For more information and to become involved, e-mail the Faith and Public Policy Roundtable at faithandpublicpolicyroundtable@gmail.com

FAITH AND PUBLIC POLICY ROUNDTABLE
STEERING COMMITTEE (in alphabetical order)

• Noah Arnow, senior student, Jewish Theological Seminary

• Rabbi David Lincoln, Rabbi Emeritus, Park Avenue Synagogue, New York, NY

• The Rev. Dr. Gary Mills, Co-Chair, Assistant to the Bishop for Global and Multicultural Administration, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

• Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, National Education Director, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps

• The Rev. Patrick J. Ryan, S.J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University

• Dr. Henry Schwalbenberg, Director, Graduate Program in International Political Economy and Development, Fordham University

• The Rev. Jared R. Stahler, Associate Pastor, St. Peter's Church, New York, NY

• Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger, Co-Chair, Assistant Professor and Director of Urban Programs, Department of Government and Politics, and Campus Rabbi, Wagner College; and Rabbi, Congregation Ahavath Israel, Staten Island, NY

SIGNATORIES TO THE FAITH AND PUBLIC POLICY ROUNDTABLE
STATEMENT ON THE ECONOMY (in alphabetical order)

• Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Founder and Director, Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals

• The Rev. Eduardo Arias, Pastor, Iglesia Luterana Sion, New York, NY

• Noah Arnow, senior student, Jewish Theological Seminary

• The Rev. J. Elise Brown, Pastor, Advent Lutheran Church, New York, NY

• The Rev. Perucy Butiko, Pastor, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Hollis, NY

• The Rev. Amandus J. Derr, Senior Pastor, Saint Peter's Church, New York, NY

• Rabbi Dr. David Ellenson, President, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

• The Rev. Sarah Geddada, Pastor, Floral Park, NY

• Rabbi Jason Herman, Executive Director, International Rabbinic Fellowship

• Dr. Serene Jones, President, Union Theological Seminary

• The Rev. Kathleen Koran, Assistant to the Bishop, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, New York, NY

• The Rev. Barrie Lawless, Pastor, Our Saviour's Atonement Lutheran Church, New York, NY

• The Rev. N. J. L'Heureux, Jr., Executive Director, Queens Federation of Churches, Richmond Hill, NY

• Rabbi David Lincoln, Rabbi Emeritus, Park Avenue Synagogue, New York, NY

• The Rev. Jonathan Linman, Assistant to the Bishop, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, New York, NY

• Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh HaYeshiva, and Dean, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School

• The Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President, Fordham University

• The Rev. Christopher Mietlowski, Pastor, Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, New York, NY

• The Rev. Dr. Gary Mills, Assistant to the Bishop for Global and Multicultural Administration, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

• Rabbi Jack Moline, Director of Public Policy, the Rabbinical Assembly

• The Rev. Daniel Peter Penumaka, Pastor, St. Paul's International Lutheran Church, Floral Park, NY

• The Very Reverend Robert Rimbo, Bishop, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, New York, NY

• The Rev. David Rommereim, Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, NY

• Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, National Education Director, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps

• The Rev. Patrick J. Ryan, S.J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University

• The Rev. Giovanny Sanchez, Pastor, Espiritu Santo Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, NY

• Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, Executive Vice President, the Rabbinical Assembly

• Dr. Henry Schwalbenberg, Director, Graduate Program in International Political Economy and Development (IPED), Fordham University

• The Rev. Kaji R. Spellman, Associate Pastor, Saint Peter's Church, New York, NY

• The Rev. Jared R. Stahler, Associate Pastor, St. Peter's Church, New York, NY

• The Rev. Donald Stiger, Senior Vice President for Mission and Spiritual Care, Lutheran Health Care, Brooklyn, NY

• Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger, Assistant Professor and Director of Urban Programs, Department of Government and Politics, and Campus Rabbi, Wagner College; and Rabbi, Congregation Ahavath Israel, Staten Island, NY

• Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President, Emeritus, Orthodox Union

• Rabbi Teffrey Wohlberg, President, The Rabbinical Assembly

Institutional affiliations cited for identification purposes only.

Wagner College Communications Office