TIA: The Road to Renewal: Rev. Albert Pennybacker

Statement by Rev. Albert Pennybacker

July 15, 1996

Washington, D.C.

We are here today not to just put our faith into words, but to put our words into action.

We are here today to inspire others to action.

Today we take the first step on what we are calling our "Road to Renewal" -- to restore values, strengthen families, rebuild communities -- to renew our faith and our nation; to challenge religious political extremists who use faith as a wedge instead of a welcome.

The shared religious principles of our pluralistic grassroots network compel The Interfaith Alliance to move forward with the "Road to Renewal" campaign. These principles, which cut across denominational lines, morally obligate us to uphold the dignity of all human beings and take responsibility for the community of America.

The Road to Renewal is about renewing that sense of community, starting in each of our families, our neighborhoods, and our towns. It is about challenging those who, in the name of religion, encourage us to ignore our responsibility to each other, such as those in the Christian Coalition who preach a false gospel of irresponsible individualism that threatens our values, our families, and our future.

Over the last few years we have witnessed religious political extremists promote policies which hurt the most vulnerable in our society such as our children and thereby further unravel our entire sense of community. And, we have seen religious coercion used against well meaning individuals, Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike who dared to speak out.

This campaign has been developed with active participation from our state and local leadership and through our experience over the last two years. We begin on Wednesday with events in Raleigh, North Carolina and Thursday in Nashville, TN. Between now and November the "Road to Renewal" will take us to communities across America where we will work with religious leaders and people of all faiths to demonstrate the positive and constructive role religion can play in public life.

We will pray together, we will work together, we will learn together.

The "Road To Renewal" will help people learn about the issues through voter guides and educational forums. It will help citizens to organize and mobilize to make a difference in their communities. It will empower mainstream people of faith to take action.

Between now and November we will be doing the following:

1) Throughout the summer and fall we will travel throughout our blossoming network of chapters to highlight the partnership between the religious community and others who are working towards restoring values, strengthening families and rebuilding communities. These public events will also highlight the agenda of religious political extremists.

2) At the Republican Convention in San Diego we will be holding an Interfaith prayer rally the Sunday afternoon before the convention begins. We will send a message to all candidates for public office that an alternative faith based voice to groups such as the Christian Coalition exists in the public arena. We will not remain silent while religious political extremists attempt to hijack one of our nation's great political parties.

In Chicago later that month we will be co-sponsoring a prayer luncheon right before the Democratic convention begins.

3) Grassroots Training - We are organizing training sessions with our state and local alliances which will provide clergy, laity and others with nuts and bolts grassroots organizing skills including voter education and mobilization, interfaith outreach and public speaking.

4) In September TIA and its state and local alliances will urge all candidates for public office to take the "Pledge of Civility". This pledge will ask candidates to repudiate the use of religion as a weapon to demonize those whose religious or political beliefs are different from theirs. It will ask them to challenge anyone or any organization which asserts that a particular candidate is sanctioned by God. Finally, the pledge will ask the candidate to agree to conduct his or her campaign without an appeal to prejudice or discrimination. We will educate voters as to who has signed the pledge and further who has broken it.

5) In October we will be distributing millions of voter guides which will provide voters with a fair and accurate picture as to where candidates for public office stand on important issues facing their families and communities. These voter guides will include school board, state legislative and congressional candidates. In your packet you will find samples of past voter guides we have distributed in Washington State school board races and in Virginia State legislative races.

6) Finally, we will ask clergy and our activists to participate in our "Call To Faithful Decision". This will include asking clergy around the country to dedicate a portion of their sermons the weekend before election day to that coming Tuesday and the importance of voting. State and local activists will ask members of their congregations, community organizations, family members, co-workers and neighbors to sign a pledge that they are committed to the shared values of our faith traditions and will exercise their duty to vote. Those who sign this commitment will be phone banked immediately before election day.

This is clearly an ambitious plan. But consider that in only 2 years, The Interfaith Alliance has grown to 109 chapters in 35 states with over 30,000 members. Clearly, all across America mainstream people of faith feel it is time to speak out. The Interfaith Alliance will publicly challenge any candidate or political organization that explicitly or implicitly claims to speak for all people of faith or turns a deaf hear to our most fundamental shared values that remind us all of our responsibility to each other and our community.

At a time when Americans fear our values are losing meaning and the strength of our families is being undermined, The Interfaith Alliance is working to restore our values, strengthen our families and build community, just as the Bible teaches us. That's what the Road to Renewal is all about.

The Road to Renewal Page