Millions of people of faith have found hope and promise in Barack's candidacy. Mandy, of Chillicothe, is just one of those people. She wrote this letter to the editor in the Chillicothe Gazette, which clearly and beautifully articulates why she as a person of faith supports Barack:
OBAMA CAN PROVIDE WHAT WE PRAY FOR As a Christian and a member of this community, I would like to publicly show my support for Barack Obama.My answer to why Obama is the clear choice if very simple. God does many works through man, I'm sure most of you will agree. We pray daily for the poor, the homeless, and the ones who go without health care and who have lost their jobs. We pray for their suffering to end and for God to lead them from their troubles into a time of prosperity.God answers prayers, but it's not always the answer we were expecting.Obama has a means to an end for so many of the things that we pray for. Many times there are mountains that we must climb before we can achieve what God has prepared for us. I truly believe that this campaign is just one of those mountains.It is refreshing to see a Democrat like Barack Obama embrace his Christian faith and talk about how it inspires his commitment to public service. Like Gov. Ted Strickland, he understands we are all our brother's keeper. We cannot be a great nation if we do not look out for the least fortunate among us.But he also recognizes that we must demand that all Americans take responsibility for themselves and their families. It's nice to hear a politician talking about turning off the TV and reading to our children.I think Obama has it right, and he's earned my support.
OBAMA CAN PROVIDE WHAT WE PRAY FOR
As a Christian and a member of this community, I would like to publicly show my support for Barack Obama.
My answer to why Obama is the clear choice if very simple. God does many works through man, I'm sure most of you will agree. We pray daily for the poor, the homeless, and the ones who go without health care and who have lost their jobs. We pray for their suffering to end and for God to lead them from their troubles into a time of prosperity.
God answers prayers, but it's not always the answer we were expecting.
Obama has a means to an end for so many of the things that we pray for. Many times there are mountains that we must climb before we can achieve what God has prepared for us. I truly believe that this campaign is just one of those mountains.
It is refreshing to see a Democrat like Barack Obama embrace his Christian faith and talk about how it inspires his commitment to public service. Like Gov. Ted Strickland, he understands we are all our brother's keeper. We cannot be a great nation if we do not look out for the least fortunate among us.
But he also recognizes that we must demand that all Americans take responsibility for themselves and their families. It's nice to hear a politician talking about turning off the TV and reading to our children.
I think Obama has it right, and he's earned my support.
Is faith important to you? Does your belief system play a role in your support for Barack? Whether it does or it doesn't, people of faith in Ohio and across the country play a huge role in Barack's campaign. You can take your support to the next level.
Click HERE join Ohio People of Faith for Obama today.
At the sign up page, you have resources at your fingertips, including this video of Barack in Zanesville, in which he outlines his support for faith-based groups:
On the page you can also:
Join Ohio People of Faith for Obama right now.
Are you an Ohio person of faith for Obama? Let us know in the comments section below.
INCIDENT ONE: I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!
These two separate responses caught me unawares! First, I meet a very friendly elderly lady (79 years old she told me) pushing her dog in what used to be a toddler's pushing trolley or cart. We exchange views on how Chihuahua dogs react to strangers and how cute they can be! I finally got the chance to ask her if she was registered to vote and to share with me who she would vote for. She replied: "I am not registered, no not yet!" I went on to ask, "If you were registered, who would you vote for?" She answered with a warm and inviting smile: "I would vote for Obama of course! I want CHANGE! But, I don't care to vote! I will pray hard that those who vote, should vote for Obama! I begged and said please, go and register to vote! Why are you not interested in voting. She said: "Let me tell you something! It began a very very long time ago when as a single mother, I could not find anyone to watch my children, and I did not have enough money to pay babysitters, I told myself that I do not go voting, and all my life I have never voted!" I just shook my head with regret, and said to her: "Do Obama some favor and change your mind". It seemed it went in through one ear and out through the other ear as we parted our ways!
Question: If you were in my shoes, what would you have done to win this vote for Obama?
It was sad to hear community organizers "dissed" by Palin (and Giuliani) this week at the RNC in St. Paul, MN. If not for the suffragists -- community organizers such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton -- Palin would not be a VP candidate today. She wouldn't even be able to vote.
The comment dismisses the contributions of people of faith and the grassroots community groups they partner. Congregations are and have been involved in community organizing to advocate for affordable housing, better schools, environmental justice, access to health care, living wages, peace, immigrant rights, and worker justice. As Barack Obama said in his acceptance speech in Denver, "We are our brothers' and sisters' keeper." That statement says that community organizers take responsibility and accountability very seriously.
A "Hall of Fame of Community Organizers" can be found at the blog eclectique916.com. It includes Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, Ida B. Wells, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr., and Benjamin Franklin (a "founding father," no less). Visitors are invited to submit names of other famous community organizers.
When Gene Robinson was born, his parents didn’t dare to hope that their son would one day rise to prominence as a bishop in a major American church or as a civil rights leader.
Instead, they were just hoping he would live through the day.
Born to poor tobacco sharecroppers in Lexington, Kentucky in 1947, the baby was paralyzed and so unlikely to survive that a birth and death certificate were drawn up at the same time. But Gene not only survived and recovered from the paralysis, he thrived. Feeling a call to service, he received his M. Div. from the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1973, he was ordained a deacon and then a priest. In 1975, he moved to New Hampshire where he made a name for himself both as Youth Ministries Coordinator for New England, and as an advocate for clergy wellness and mentorship.
Looking at what Gene has been able to accomplish as a leading voice in the faith community, his body of work clearly embodies a faith-filled sentiment that Barack gave voice to in his Democratic National Convention speech: “It's that fundamental belief -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper -- that makes this country work.”
Gene has made that belief work for the poor through association with the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, which advocates for debt relief for the world’s most impoverished nations, and through the New Hampshire Endowment for Health which increases access to health care for the poor and uninsured right here in New Hampshire. Inspired by his faith and concern for his brother’s and sister’s throughout the world, he has worked with people with AIDS in the U.S., Uganda and South Africa, and has been a co-author of three AIDS curricula for adults and young adults.
In addition to all of this, he is an inspiration and symbol of progressive tolerance as the first openly gay man democratically elected bishop of a major American Christian denomination.
Despite such intense engagement with his community, he has never before endorsed a candidate for public office. But to Gene, Barack Obama is different.
“As my work shows me every day, leadership means bringing people together and inspiring them to live out their values. Barack Obama sees beyond the partisanship and hopelessness that have dominated in recent years, and the movement he’s building is bringing vital new energy and optimism into our democratic process. I’m excited to work with Barack to bridge the old divides and make this country one again.”
Chuck Hotchkiss has walked the same path that Barack did during his years as an organizer. Barack learned the power of ordinary people mobilized to take action to improve their lives-a lesson that has served as the foundation for our grassroots campaign and one he often cites as "the best education I ever had." His experiences are thoughtfully detailed in his first book, Dreams from My Father.
Chuck first glimpsed the power of people united by common cause at a packed, sweaty rally at a high school gymnasium in East Los Angeles in 1996. Three thousand folks from all walks of life packed the gym as if they were there to watch a state championship game. Instead, they were rallying for a program that offered mentoring and counseling for at-risk youth designed to help them stay in school and avoid drugs. "There was this sense of the power that comes from people of different backgrounds coming together in common cause," Chuck recalled. For Chuck, organizing seemed to bring together his faith commitment-he's an active member of the United Church of Christ-and his professional work in urban planning. A college professor at the time, Chuck soon left the quiet halls of academia for a year in the trenches as a community organizing intern. Successful organizing, Chuck learned, is based upon one-on-one conversations that build relationships, clarify self-interests and identify leaders. He built relationships founded on a sense of shared commitment that did not revolve around any single issue.
Chuck brought this method with him to New Hampshire in 2000 to help found the Granite State Organizing Project (GSOP), made up of over 30 religious, community, and labor organizations in south-central New Hampshire devoted to providing affordable housing, creating jobs, expanding access to health care, and improving education.
Chuck seated in the middle at Barack's "Take Back Our Government" speech in Manchester
For the past two decades, some have invoked faith to divide the country and attack the values of their political enemies. Since entering public life, Barack has spoken of the power of faith to unite individuals of diverse backgrounds in pursuit of a higher purpose. This past week, the Obama campaign in New Hampshire facilitated a series of Faith-Action-Change forums that focused upon faith and politics, demonstrating the potential for people of faith to come together.
Held in five cities last week, over 150 people attended the forums. This Concord Monitor story highlighted the uniqueness of these forums in a broader discussion of the role faith will play in the upcoming presidential election.
Sharon Spivak of Nashua attended one of the forums and remarked:
Only one campaign has reached out to people of faith to hear about the things that concern us, unite us, and motivate us to public service. While Senator Obama was not physically present in the room that evening, his energy, vision and genuine need to hear from this country’s' citizens was very much present.
Over 100 miles away in Hartford, CT this past Saturday, Barack inspired and energized 12,000 people at the annual conference of the United Church of Christ with his own view of faith as a calling to public service.
Barack said:
…There's an awakening taking place in America. People are coming together around a simple truth - that we are all connected, that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper. And that it's not enough to just believe this - we have to do our part to make it a reality. My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work.
The focus of these forums reflected Barack’s belief that faith can unify people and drive them to act to improve their communities.
Last week’s Faith-Action-Change forums began a conversation between Barack and people of faith in New Hampshire. In the coming months, this conversation will deepen as the campaign and faith communities throughout the Granite State
Read the full text of the speech on our website.
Last night at the New Hope Baptist Church in Portsmouth, an energetic group of clergy, lay people, and Obama staff kicked off our week-long series of Faith-Action-Change forums. These forums will bring people of faith together to start up a long-overdue conversation: how do progressives incorporate faith in civic life?
We were thrilled with the turnout for the first forum: nearly 40 people attended, representing over 14 congregations across the Seacoast.
After a prayer and self-introductions from all attendees, the group broke up into pairs and shared personal stories about how faith motivates their public service.
Moderator Chuck Hotchkiss said these conversations helped attendees form personal connections: “A personal connection serves as a stronger foundation for cooperation in pursuit of social justice than anything else.”
As the pairs reconvened to share their stories with the entire group, these personal connections deepened as people discovered that they had more in common than they thought. They spoke of their childhoods on both sides of the racial divide in a segregated America, and shared their feelings of devastation after the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. One woman recalled learning of the world’s religious and cultural diversity during her years abroad. Listeners nodded as they recognized their own experiences in these stories.
These conversations are the beginning of a deepening relationship between Barack and communities of faith throughout the Granite State. As Barack learned during his years as an organizer, these relationships can empower ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.
Barack believes that faith can unite people to act for change. Click here to learn more about Barack's vision and how you can get involved.
This week, Barack Obama’s New Hampshire campaign is hosting five Faith, Action, Change forums around the state. Local clergy and lay people will come together to discuss faith, values and civic engagement, as well as Barack’s vision of the role of faith in public life.
You can learn more, find a forum near you, and sign up to attend by clicking here.
Barack came to his faith in his 20s, after working with churches as a community organizer to help lift up neighborhoods reeling from job losses. The age-old story of communities weathering crises sustained only by their faith inspired the title of Barack’s recent book, The Audacity of Hope, a phrase coined by his pastor years ago.
Barack believes that faith can inspire ordinary people to face down hardship and do extraordinary things. He sees faith as a unifying force that can bring people together to create positive change.
This week, the Obama for America campaign in New Hampshire will be hosting a series of five Faith - Action - Change forums around the state to discuss the relationship between faith and public life. This is an open dialogue and everyone is invited to attend. You can learn more and sign up by clicking here.
You can hear Barack explain his beliefs and expand on his own faith in this video of a speech he delivered at Sojourner’s Call to Renewal conference in 2006.
Our national website also has a Faith - Action - Change section, which you can explore here.
