Michael Blake is the Obama campaign's Iowa Director of Faith Outreach
Yesterday Reverend Joseph Lowery, one of the cofounders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and The Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and a close friend of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr, spoke at Corinthian Baptist Church in Des Moines. Reverend Lowery also heads up the Lowery Institute. He has been honored by the NAACP, the National Conference of Black Mayors, the Progressive National Baptist Convention and many other organizations for his role in the civil rights movement. Hearing one of the leaders of the civil rights movement talk about why he supports Barack Obama and what his candidacy means for our country was an incredibly moving experience. Check out this video Greg put together:
Barack’s faith has long informed his values and shaped his public service, as it does for many Iowans and millions of Americans. To better reach out to the faith community, the campaign recently launched a new website: Faith-Action-Change.On the site, you can read testimonials and guest blog posts from prominent religious leaders, and learn more about Barack's vision for faith in public life. Even if you've already signed up as supporter, you should specifically join the Faith-Action-Change community to make sure you stay in the loop about related events and speeches.Here in Iowa we've seen overwhelming support from people in the faith community – ranging from Rev. Katherine Mulhern of Edwards Congregational UCC in Davenport to Rev. Dr. Floyd Brown of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist church in Sioux City. Barack recently spoke at Antioch Baptist Church (where Rev. Michael Coleman is pastor) in Waterloo. He raised the idea that it’s time for people of faith to fully realize that we can do remarkable things when we work together.
On Saturday, Barack will be speaking at the UCC Statewide Conference at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.The campaign holds weekly faith calls for Iowans to talk about how we can invoke hope and optimism to our fellow congregants. To get more information about these efforts, please feel free to contact me. I’m heading up Barack’s faith outreach here in Iowa and can be reached at mblake (at) barackobama.com or 515-883-2008. If you're in Des Moines, you can also stop by our office at 323 E. Locust St., in the East Village.
Otherwise, click here to find your local office and stop in. They’d love to have you!Each day, we're meeting people of faith in America from across the religious spectrum. They all want to join together to meet our common challenges. They know in their hearts that the responsibility we have to one another is greater than the pursuit of any ideological agenda or corporate bottom line. Faith-Action-Change is a way to help bring folks together around the idea that we’re all connected as one people - that we all have a stake in one another. Please join, invite your friends and, most importantly, continue to share with us your thoughts, advice, vision, and hope for our country.
