"Call" to San Diego and Chicago a Success!

"Call" to San Diego and Chicago a Success!

The Interfaith Alliance and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation (TIAF) issued a "Call to San Diego" to coincide with the National Republican Convention. In Balboa Park on August 11th, just prior to the convention, San Diego clergy joined with national religious leaders and mainstream Republicans to speak out against religious political extremism and to promote the positive role of religion in American life. This "Road to Renewal" rally was followed by an interfaith worship service sponsored by the San Diego Host Committee of TIAF. Speakers stressed the need for greater civility and called upon our political leaders to reaffirm the traditional American values of tolerance and community.

Mary Louise Smith, Board member of The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa and former Chair of the Republican National Committee said, "I have witnessed with alarm the growing influence of the religious right within the Republican Party...I am a person of faith and a Republican but the Christian Coalition does not speak for me." She then issued this challenge to her listeners: "It is our responsibility as people of faith and goodwill to ensure that tolerance, civility, respect, and understanding will forever prevail in public life."

Andy Nilsson, a pro-life member of the State Exec. Committee of the North Carolina Republican Party who worked with pro-choice Republicans to have tolerance language included in the GOP platform, affirmed his commitment to the GOP but expressed concern about the direction his party is taking. He said, "I believe in the Republican Party. I believe in the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower...But I see forces at work today in the Republican Party that are alien to this -- forces that preach hatred and intolerance and division."

Denise Davidoff, TIA Board member and national moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association, called upon her listeners to "take responsibility for ensuring that a mainstream faith-based voice is heard in the ongoing debate regarding the direction of our republic." She then unveiled The Interfaith Alliance's Candidate Pledge of Civility, "We will ask candidates to pledge that they will not use religion as a weapon in their campaign or claim that a vote for them is a vote for God. We will ask candidates to pledge to distance themselves from groups or individuals who appeal to prejudice or intolerance in the political arena."

In response to this appeal, over 900 people signed a "Voter's Pledge of Faithful Decision," in which they committed themselves to vote for candidates who abide by these principles.

On the Friday prior to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, TIA and TIAF joined with other faith-based organizations to sponsor an interfaith worship service. Held at the Chicago Temple (First United Methodist Church), this "Festival of Faith" featured local choirs and speakers from each of the sponsoring organizations.

Rev. Ed Mathews, former chair of TIA of Arkansas and pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Little Rock, delivered the sermon. Other TIA participants at this well-attended event were TIA Board members William Thompson, former President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches.

Participants at this event celebrated the diversity among people of faith and urged political leaders to pursue the common good of all our citizens. Other sponsoring organizations included Protestants for the Common Good, Habitat for Humanity, the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Board of Rabbis of Greater Chicago, the Central Chicago Clergy Association, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, and the Christian Faith and Interfaith Concerns Commission of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church. The worship service was followed by a giant picnic and celebration in Daley Plaza.