Interfaith Rally at the Capitol

FYI...

Called to be a Faithful Minnesota: A Witness of Lament

Tuesday, June 30, 10:30 - 11:30 AM
State Capitol, St. Paul

Minnesota people of faith are gathering for a witness of lament on the
morning of Tuesday, June 30 to beg Governor Tim Pawlenty not to abandon
the health of Minnesota's citizens, especially those most in need.

At the end of the legislative session the governor vetoed funds for
health insurance for 30,000 extremely vulnerable Minnesotans. Now his
unallotment plan accelerates these health care cuts by two months. He
also plans to unallot emergency assistance and services to children,
families and people with disabilities.

As people of faith we want to send the message that this is not the
Minnesota we are called to be. It is against the teachings of all our
religious traditions. We want to remind Governor Pawlenty that he is
governor of all the people and plead for his care for all.

Join us for this rally:

Gather at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill, 105 University
Avenue, St. Paul , by 10:15 am. We will stage in congregational groups
and process in a somber, funeral-like procession beginning at 10:30 am.
Please wear black and bring old flowers and notes to the governor
expressing your faith-based concern about these budget decisions.

We will process down Martin Luther King Blvd , cross and gather on the
South steps of the Capitol. Please deposit your flowers and cards in
the baskets provided.

Speakers will include Bishop Peter Rogness, Saint Paul Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, Temple
Israel Minneapolis; and the Rev. Alfred Babington-Johnson of the
Stairstep Initiative, as well as the Rev. Peg Chemberlin, Executive
Director of the Minnesota Council of Churches and Rev. Grant Abbott,
Executive Director of the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches.

A delegation will deliver the cards and letter to the Governor's
office.

TO THE GOVERNOR: TAX OUR POCKETBOOKS, NOT OUR SOULS


17 June 2009

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

To the Editor:

Governor Pawlenty's announced cuts in Minnesota's Health and Human
Services programs amount to nothing less than a "tax" on the soul of
all Minnesotans. Our state's essential identity is built on the
notion of care for the poorest and the most vulnerable. We are not a
"survival-of-the-fittest" state where the strong and the powerful
rise at the expense of all others. We have always chosen, instead, to
act with the knowledge that "we're all in this together," that
none of us can really prosper unless the basic needs of all are provided
for. The Governor's unallotment proposals, which directly affect the
homeless, the sick, and the disabled, serve to erode this long-standing
and vital foundation of our identity. He has chosen to burden us all
- "tax" us, if you will - with the weight of knowing that we
have not lived up to our higher aspirations and our deeper sense of what
is right. Many of us would far prefer to have our pocketbooks taxed . .
. not our basic values.

The Rev. Dr. James Gertmenian
Plymouth Congregational Church
1900 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis , Minnesota 55403
612-871-7400