The budget debate has a central moral dimension. Christians are asking how we protect “the least of these.” “What would Jesus cut?” “How do we share sacrifice?”
So said religious leaders who signed the Circle of Protection document presented to President Obama yesterday, July 20, 2011.
Walking to the White House
Yesterday, ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson (purple shirt), Bread for the World (BFW) President, David Beckmann (right foreground), former BFW board member Tony Hall, and five other religious leaders met with President Obama to lobby on behalf of the poor and oppressed while the debate over debt and government spending rages in Washington, DC.
Last week, when Episcopal churches in New York City debated whether or not to officiate at same sex marriages, the issue made the front page of the New York Times. Yesterday's meeting with President Obama where our religious leaders demanded that the budget not be balanced on the backs of poor people barely made the news.
We have our work cut out for us. The Church of Jesus Christ has a special option for the poor. The people in the pews must hear this Good News preached on a regular basis. We will respond. Our leaders know this and are doing their part. Now it is up to us.
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