Believe Together

We are now five days away from the Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer, and we are thrilled to announce an exciting preview of our program.

Our four keynote speakers are: Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK; Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, Executive Director of the Islamic Society of North America; and Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr., President and Founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation of New York and Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church.

In addition to our four main speakers, we have several religious leaders from various faiths who will be leading us in prayer for affordability, accountability, inclusivity, and accessibility of health care. These leaders are: Mr. Narenda Desai and Mrs. Prema Desai (Hindu), Rev. Tom Hay (Presbyterian Church USA), Rev.  Ileana Rosario (United Methodist Church), Bishop Richard Graham (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), Rabbi Michael Feinberg (Jewish-Reconstructionist), Mary Hillebrand (Buddhist Peace Fellowship), Jim Winkler (United Methodist Church), and Rev. Miriam Burnett (African Methodist Episcopal Church).

To add a personal angle to the dire need for health care reform, we will hear testimonials from three people who have experienced the failures of the system: Susan Molina, from Denver, Colorado; Dr. Janelle Goetcheus, from Unity Healthcare and Christ House in Washington, DC; and Jacqueline Dunn-Bell, from Detroit, Michigan.

We are honored that this event has caught the attention of the Obama Administration, and we are looking forward to hearing remarks from Neera Tanden, Senior Advisor at the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Health Reform. We have also extended invitations to all members of Congress to attend the event.

Other program highlights include: musical entertainment from Anointed2Dance, Word of Life Christian Center, and New Prospect Family Praise and Worship Center, a reading of our statement of principles led by Rev. Linda Hanna Walling; and a closing call to action by Rev. Timothy McDonald.

We hope to see you on Freedom Plaza on June 24, starting at 4 PM for our gathering activities and at 5:15 for our Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer.

The Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer formally begins at 5:15 PM, but participants will begin to gather on Freedom Plaza at 4 PM to participate in a health fair and enjoy live entertainment. Various endorsing organizations will have information tables set up about how they are contributing to the fight for health care reform. Our health fair will also include free health screenings provided by Carl Vogel Center’s “Get Healthy DC Program,” including health consultation and literature.

We will also have the pleasure of hearing from two different musical groups. The first is Lilo Gonzalez, a musician, songwriter, and bandleader from El Salvador who has been composing and singing for over 20 years.Our second musical act is the GospelGrass Group of Westmoreland Congregational Church, singing a blend of Gospel and Bluegrass music.

Check back tomorrow for updates on the program for the Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer.

We are just one week away from the Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer for Health Care for All! Here are a few  things you can do to help us get ready for this monumental event:

• Let us know you’re coming! Click on the “register” tab and enter your information.
• Attend an echo event! Click the “local events” tab to find nationwide, statewide, and local initiatives that you can be a part of. Better yet, plan your own event! It’s not too late to start a health care Sabbath, prayer breakfast, or postcard campaign. Register your event today! 
• Become a fan on Facebook! Then click on “suggest to friends” on the left-hand side underneath our logo to tell your friends about it!
• Follow us on Twitter! If you would like to re-tweet anything we write, that’s great! If you have enough characters, add the hashtag #health4all. You can also use one of our pre-done tweets on the “Spread the Word” page.
• Be prepared for June 24! Find out what to bring with you to Freedom Plaza.
• Visit our “Spread the Word” page for blog posts, facebook messages, web stickers, talking points,  and fliers that you can use to tell your friends and your community about the event. This section is constantly updated with new resources, so check back often.

Don’t miss the chance to be part of the mobilization!

The Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer for Health Care for All is only a few days away. If you plan on joining us on Freedom Plaza on June 24, be sure to bring the following things with you:

• A hat
• A bottle of water
• Sunscreen
• An umbrella
• A friend
• Your prayers for health care for all.

Remember to visit the “register” page to let us know you’ll be there on June 24!

Check back tomorrow for exciting program updates as we begin our final preparations for the event.

We’ve added some new features to make it easier to tell your friends about the June 24 Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer! The first is a new page on the site called “Spread The Word,” where we have posted sample language for email and print newsletters. We have also included a blog post that you can use to promote the event on your own site. Be sure to check this page often as we continue to add promotion resources.

The second thing we’ve added is a great tool to instantly share this site all over the web. On the bottom of every post and every page is a small rectangular button that says “Share/Save.” Want to post one of our blog posts on your Facebook? Want to email your friends with a link to our speakers page? Need to bookmark the site so you won’t forget to visit it again? The “Share/Save” lets you do all of that in a few clicks. Hover your mouse over the button and you can choose from a wide variety of social networking sites and email services that you can use to promote the event.

The Interfaith Week of Prayer for Health Care is almost here, so continue to register for the June 24 event and to tell us about your echo events!

Our plans for the June 24 Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer get more exciting every day! Here’s a brief preview of our program so far, with more information to come as we continue to prepare for this monumental event:

At 4 PM, we will begin to gather at Freedom Plaza. There will be faith “health booths” set up from different organizations about health care, and we will have the pleasure of listening to the GospelGrass Group of Westmoreland Congregational Church, singing a blend of Gospel and Bluegrass music. Our health fair will also include free health screenings provided by Carl Vogel Center’s “Get Healthy DC Program,” including health consultation and literature.

At 5:15, we will begin our service. Highlights include keynote speakers: Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. of The Healing of the Nations Foundation, Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Dr. Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America. You can read more about our speakers by clicking on the “speakers” tab on the home page. Also included in our program is a presentation of interfaith health care values to Members of Congress, as well as a call to action by Rev. Tim McDonald from the First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Don’t miss this chance to be part of the largest faith-inspired health care mobilization that America has ever seen! Register on our website today to let us know that you’ll be at Freedom Plaza on June 24 to support health care reform.

Kathie McClure, also known as “The Purple Bus Lady,” drives a purple bus around the country collecting stories about the broken health care system.  On June 24^th, she will drive her purple bus into Washington D.C. for the Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer following a journey of several days across country. The purple bus lady is requesting that vehicles join her along her route (Wyoming to Washington). This is a unique opportunity to get new perspectives on the need for health care reform and a fun way to get to D.C. for the Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer!  If your group has vehicles or buses that could join in this caravan, please contact: Purplebuslady@votehealthcare.org

The largest faith mobilization EVER for health care reform has begun!  Final plans are moving into place for the June 24th Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer in Washington DC, and local Echo Events are beginning all across the country.  If there were ever a time for people of faith to raise their vision and voices for a health care future that includes all of us, IT IS NOW! 

We’re having weekly conference calls to share our creativity and strategies.  Join us by calling in on Wednesday afternoons at 2 pm EDT, 1-309-946-5000, access code 24680.  Everyone is welcome to join us! (Your usual long distance phone charges will apply to this call.)

Consider the variety of opportunities listed below and find the action which works for you and your community of faith.  Below you will find information about:

• The Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer in Washington, DC on June 24th
• A “Faith-Inspired Vision of Health Care” sign-on
• FREE Advocacy Training via conference call Tuesdays at 3 pm eastern – June 2, 9, 16
• Information about Echo Events across the country
• Sale price for “Seeking Justice in Health Care” Guide thru May 31

Worship and witness: An Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer will be held in Washington, DC on June 24, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, at Freedom Plaza in view of our nation’s Capitol.  Together we will call for health care legislation that embraces our values of compassion, common good, shared responsibility, stewarship of resources, and concern for those who are most vulnerable.  All are welcome!  Let us know you will be there. 

Vision Statement: In preparation for the event, A Faith-Inspired Vision of Health Care is circulating through our communities of faith for signatures. This Vision Statement and the thousands of signatures will be delivered to every member of Congress.  In addition, an abridged statement will be presented to government leaders during the June 24th Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer.  Individuals and organizations are urged to sign the statement today, and to invite others to do so as well. 

Training:  Advocacy Training is being offered on Tuesdays via conference call throughout the mobilization.  RESULTS, an  organization with gifted organizing and advocacy skills, will provide the training.  Anyone interested in improving their advocacy skills is invited to call in Tuesdays, at 3 pm eastern, June 9 and 16 at 1-309-946-5000, access code 24680.  (Your usual long distance charges will apply to this call.)

Echo Events: People of faith are deeply involved in health care reform activities all around the country.  From small study groups in congregations to postcard campaigns to participation with other allies in large statehouse rallies, we’re making it be known that our perspective must be valued in public discourse about health care reform.  Every action — large and small — will contribute to the story of what people of faith are doing to make comprehensive and compassionate reform a reality.  Plan now for your participation by organizing your own action or by participating in events being planned by others.  And then be sure to tell us what you’re doing!

Visit the Faithful Reform in Health Care website for Echo Event ideas:  Prayers for the Uninsured ~ Sound the Alarm events ~ Call-in days ~ Study Groups ~ Interfaith Prayer Breakfasts and Prayer Vigils ~ Postcards ~ Health Care Sabbaths ~ House Parties ~ Forums ~ and more! 

Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference!

Imagine:

One morning, you’re rushing down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairway, you see a young woman lying on the floor, bleeding and with a broken arm. As she sits up, you ask where her doctor’s office is located so can help her there. She timidly answers, “No, I can’t go to a doctor. I don’t have health insurance.”

This is a true story. And even if you’re thinking the story is irrelevant to your life because you are currently insured, you could still be affected by the uninsured crisis. Over 33% of Americans will not have health care coverage at some point in their lives.

Instead of worrying about our health, we are worrying about how to pay for it.

Unlike education, health is not a right in the United States. So just like we fought for equal access to education in the 60s, today we are fighting for the same right for health care. Currently, health care is a privilege for those who have money, a job with benefits, or the qualifications to be covered under Medicaid or Medicare. It’s a myth that uninsured Americans are lazy or jobless. In reality they are your neighbors, family members, and you.

Americans are vehemently demanding change for equal access to and better quality of health care based on the moral imperative for health care reform: that it is immoral to deny access to health care because of a person’s income level, education, or race. In the 2008 presidential election, health care was one of the top three issues for voters. However, some are still hesitant to speak out for change because health policy is messy, complicated, and often difficult to understand. But one group’s message is clear:

US based health care must change now because the system is inefficient, costly, and most importantly, immoral.

40 national faith organizations have come together to plan the largest faith-inspired mobilization to ever happen around health care reform. An Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer for Health Care for All will be held on June 24th, 2009 from 5 – 7 PM at Washington DC’s Freedom Plaza (13th and Pennsylvania, near the Metro Center stop). Early birds welcome at 4 pm for gathering activities, late-arrivals also welcome.

Join the effort! There are several ways you can help create change. Please visit the event website today: www.WeBelieveTogether.org
1) Attend the event to let us know we’ll see you in Washington, DC.
2) Host an “echo event” the week of June 19th.
3) Sign on your organization or faith group and become a sponsor.
4) Blog about health care reform and/or about this event. Spread the word!

Health care is a human right, and it’s time we make it a reality for all of us.

We’ve launched a new feature on WeBelieveTogether.com! When you click on the “Local Events” tab in the upper righthand corner, you’ll be taken to a page where you can now do one of two things:

• Enter your zip code to search for an event taking place near you during the Interfaith Week of Prayer for Health Care. You can then learn more about these individual events and even RSVP to attend or get involved.
   
• Indicate that you’ll be hosting a local event. Just click on the purple button that says “Create an Event,” and you can list all the details of the event you’re planning. Others will be able to search for this event when they’re looking for events near their hometown.

So get started! We’re looking forward to hearing about all the local events going on throughout the country – and if you’re going to be in Washington, D.C. during the Interfaith Week of Prayer for Health Care, don’t forget to RSVP for the June 24th Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer on Freedom Plaza.

As always, for questions about echo events and other local initiatives, please email JuneAction@faithfulreform.org. For questions regarding this event, please email june24@healthcarechaplaincy.org.