A MATTER OF HEALTH...A MATTER OF WHOLENESS
Today health care reform has become an urgent priority, with many Americansfearful about the health care they now hold and more than 45 million lacking
coverage altogether. Rising unemployment, underemployment and a decline in
employment benefits have deprived many more of health care. The health of our
neighbors and the wholeness of the nation now require that all segments of our
society join in finding a solution to this national challenge.
"...Learn to do good, seek justice; rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan,
plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:17
"...Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Matthew 22:39
"...Ye who believe! Stand up firmly for Allah, witness to justice...be just,
that is next to piety." Qur'an 5:8
Our diverse communities of faith -Jewish, Christian and Muslim- are each shaped and
guided by our respective sacred texts which compel us to speak out on behalf of the
most vulnerable members of our society. Today that means making comprehensive
and compassionate health care reform an urgent priority so that all of our neighbors,
especially the people living in poverty, children, and the aged, can be assured of the
fullness of life that is central to the holy vision of a beloved and peaceable
community.
No longer can we afford to squander the hopes and dreams of the American people
through a much-too-costly system that contributes to economic despair. Families
and individuals must be able to rely on affordable care in times of illness or accident
and preventative care to safeguard health and well-being. Those who are ill need
the assurance that coverage will not be canceled by illness or employment
circumstance. They should also be afforded the dignity of selecting their own
caregivers.
Today we pray, each in our own custom, for discernment, boldness, clarity and
leadership in each segment of our society so that we may find the resolve to achieve
health reform worthy of this land. As we together pursue this vision our direction is
certain-it is toward the common good. The prospect of high-quality, affordable
health care for everyone is a measure of our wholeness as a nation.
We pray that our best minds and kindest hearts might be joined in this effort so that
all men, women and children will have the health care they need to live the lives for
which they were created. We stand ready to give our support and energies to its
achievement.
Archbishop Vicken Aykazian
Armenian Apostolic Church
President of the National Council of Churches
Bishop Wayne Burkette
Moravian Church in America, Southern Province
Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett
Medical Director
African Methodist Episcopal Church Health Commission
Rev. Jerry D. Campbell, Ph.D.
President
Claremont School of Theology
Sister Simone Campbell, SSS
Executive Director
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Margurite Carter
National Board President
Church Women United
Dr. Iva E. Carruthers
General Secretary
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc.
The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane
Episcopal Bishop of Washington
District of Columbia
Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham
Ecumenical Officer
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Amy Echeverria
Director
Columban Center for Advocacy & Outreach
Matthew Ellis
Executive Director
National Episcopal Health Ministries
National Episcopal AIDS Coalition
Bishop Christopher Epting
Deputy for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations
The Episcopal Church
Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell
Ecumenical Officer
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
Rabbi Steve Gutow
President
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Dr. Richard L. Hamm
Former General Minister & President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US & Canada
Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Dr. Michael Kinnamon
General Secretary
National Council of Churches
Dr. Ken Brooker Langston
Director, Disciples Justice Action Network
Coordinator, Disciples Center for Public Witness
Elaine Lee
Vice President at Large
Health Ministries Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
Rabbi Michael Lerner
Rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in San Francisco
Chair of the Interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives
Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner
Connectional Presbyter
Presbytery of the Palisades (NJ)
Rev. Michael E. Livingston
Executive Director, International Council Community Churches
Immediate Past President, National Council of Churches
Marie Lucey, OSF
Associate Director for Social Mission
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Felton Edwin May United Methodist Bishop Retired
Executive Director
Multi-Ethnic Center for Ministry
Dr. David McAllister-Wilson
President
Wesley Theological Seminary
Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley
General Secretary
American Baptist Churches
Stanley J. Noffsinger
General Secretary
Church of the Brethren
Harriett Jane Olson
Deputy General Secretary, Women's Division
General Board of Global Ministries
The United Methodist Church
Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church USA
Rev. Dr. Tyrone Pitts
General Secretary
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader
Ecumenical Officer
United Methodist Church
Nancy Ratzan
President
National Council of Jewish Women
Rabbi David Saperstein
Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel,
The Union for Reform Judaism's Religious Action Center
The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
Episcopal Church
Dr. Robert Seymour
Minister Emeritus
Binkley Memorial Baptist Church
Ronald J. Sider
President
Evangelicals for Social Action
Rev. Dr. T. DeWitt Smith
President
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed
National Director
Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances
Islamic Society of North America
Russell M. Testa
Executive Director
Franciscan Action Network
Rev. John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ
Daniel Vestal
Executive Coordinator
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Bishop George Walker, Jr.
Senior Bishop
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
Dr. Sharon E. Watkins
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada
Dr. Robert Welsh
President, Council on Christian Unity
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada
The Rev. David L. Wickmann
President
Moravian Church-Northern Province
Jim Winkler
General Secretary
General Board of Church and Society
United Methodist Church
Bishop Gabino Zavala
Bishop President
Pax Christi, USA
Updated June 28, 2009
