Organizing for America | Alyssa Martin's Blog: National Baptist Convention

National Baptist Convention

By Alyssa Martin - Sep 11th, 2008 at 5:42 pm EDT

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On September 10, Michelle Obama addressed the National Baptist Convention in Cincinatti, Ohio. She opened with the following remarks …

The National Baptist Convention has worked for years to build a community that serves all God’s children, around the world and in our own communities. Thanks to Dr. Shaw and the leaders that came before him, God has built this church into our nation’s oldest and largest Baptist convention. And I’m so proud to be here with you today.

Michelle went on to talk about what brought her to this place, mentioning the faith and people that give her strength and illumine her path …

I come here today as a Christian, a person of faith, who believes that we’ve all been called to serve our fellow men and women, and to honor all of God’s creation. I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. I come here as a daughter, raised on the South Side of Chicago by two of the warmest, hardest-working people I’ve ever known. But most of all, I come here as a mother. Our girls are God’s greatest gift to Barack and me, and a reflection of His grace in our lives every day.

Michelle invoked the Gospel of Luke, saying “To whom much is given, much is required … That’s the promise that we make to God.” She called on us to give our time, labor, work, and gifts to making “our world more just, more prosperous, and more peaceful.” But she also noted the challenges we face, and the realities we must confront …

So many of our neighbors are working hard every day, without enough resources, to keep their families and communities strong. So the question we should ask is, shouldn’t we have policies that reflect that reality—that we’re all in this together? Shouldn’t we have policies that express our values, and honor our common humanity? Shouldn’t we have leaders who get it?

In one of the most important moments of her life, Michelle remembers Barack speaking to a group of people devastated by local steel plant closings. He said, “we know the world as it should be … we know what it looks like in our hearts.” It’s a belief and hope in things unseen. Michelle pointed out what’s at stake in this election, which is the chasm between the world as it is and the world as it should be: 8 straight months of job losses; an economy that lifts Wall Street, and not Main Street; 46 million Americans without health insurance; 1 out of 3 high school dropouts; a reckless engagement with the rest of the world. This is the world as it is, but we must fight for the world as it should be …

Remember what Jesus told us, in one of the greatest speeches ever given, the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “You are the light of the world.” He told us not to hide our light, but to let it shine for all. He was telling us to get involved in this world. To open our hearts and raise our voices and share our hopes with the people around us and to work for as long as it takes to make those hopes come true. That’s what we are called to do today. If we tell all the people in our lives what’s at stake in this election. If we remind them that voting is a responsibility and an opportunity. If we tell them that this time is our time. And if we get everyone we know to vote on November 4th. Then, on Election Day, we will let our light shine. We will build a better future, for our daughters, our sons, our parents and our grandchildren. We will finally bring the change that we need to the country we love. And we will do it together.

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