Visiting Sen. Lieberman (or at least trying to)

Last Sunday, I went to see Senator Joseph Lieberman to discuss healthcare. Of course, I wasn't alone. Five Hundred or so other people of faith, representing an unbelievably broad range of religious traditions, gathered at the high school across the street from Sen. Lieberman's condo and then marched over for a prayer vigil on the sidewalk. The event managed to grab a good bit of press and I found that my picture was on the front page of the The Hour, as well as The Advocate. (That's me holding the left end of the banner.)

Since the rally on November 15, bloggers from the far-right have characterized the rally as an intimidation tactic and have questioned the motives of those of us who prayed together, calling us all sorts of colorful things. Really, you've got to see some of this crap that thoroughly misrepresents the event. (Even scarier is to read the comments posted by the readers of these fearmongering blogs!!)

Then, watch this video of the event.



Weren't we scary, horrible and intimidating?

Below is the column that I wrote in my church's newsletter, explaining the need for a religious voice in the healthcare reform conversation and, even further down this is a copy of the letter written by my friend, Rabbi Ron Fish, of which I am honored to be a signer.

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When I went to Stamford on Sunday evening, I didn’t expect my picture to end up on the front page of the next day’s newspaper. Instead, I went to pray – along with nearly five hundred other interfaith brothers and sisters – for our country, for the unmet healthcare needs in our nation, and for Senator Joseph Lieberman. I went to stand side-by-side with Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Unitarians, Hindus and Buddhists as we spoke a message of responsibility for the most vulnerable in society that is common in all of our religious traditions.

I wasn’t at all surprised, when I arrived at Stamford High School, to find several FCC members already there, though we hadn’t made any advance plan to meet. After all, our congregation has a long history of working for social justice, of speaking out on behalf of the poor, of advocating for the needy. I was a little surprised, however, when some folks cheered and clapped when I walked into the church council meeting on Monday evening. It seems as though our legacy of standing up for justice has been a tad dormant over the last few years, as the efforts of our congregation have focused largely on our own needs during the interim period. People are glad that we’re “back in the game,” as one parishioner put it to me.

At the same time, I realize that not every member of our church is in agreement about our nation’s healthcare reform – or about anything else, for that matter. Some are worried about the church getting into “politics.” While I certainly understand those sentiments and the underlying concern that the church not become just another political action agency, it is also important to realize that our living faith calls us to be active in transforming our society to be more just.

As we prepare to enter the season of Advent, the major them of the scripture readings is summed up by the prophet Isaiah, who wrote, “prepare the way of the Lord” and by John the Baptist, who echoed those same words in the Gospels. All too often, we think about that preparation as just getting ready for Christmas, hanging greenery and lighting candles. From a biblical perspective, however, that preparation means that we are to be engaged in doing God’s work, in building God’s realm, in modeling God’s justice for all people.

Jesus was clear about what the “way of the Lord” entails. He preached about it in his first sermon, when he told the congregation, ” ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Later Jesus would tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, where he would explain that a neighbor was one who cared for the health of those who were in need of medical care. He echoed that same message when he told the story of the rich man and Lazarus, where the beggar who was covered in boils went to heaven, while the rich man who ignored his need went to hell. Christ summed up the law and the prophets by teaching that we need to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Of course, Jesus wasn’t making this up on his own. The Hebrew Scriptures are full of similar images. In Leviticus, the commandment is given, “you shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor,” and the prophets consistently enjoin the nation to care for the old, the sick and the vulnerable. Our UCC ancestors understood this and started numerous healthcare institutions throughout the country. Our General Synod, just this past July, passed a resolution in support of a reformed healthcare system that is 1) Universal – it covers all persons; 2) Affordable for all; 3) Provides comprehensive benefits; 4) Offers a choice of physicians and other health providers; 5) Eliminates racial, ethnic and all other disparities for health care; and 6) Waives pre-existing health conditions and does not further impose financial barriers to health care.

Certainly, bringing about change in our healthcare system is political, just as the change in our nation’s civil rights laws was political. Political, but not partisan. While it is not appropriate for the church to ever endorse candidates or parties, it is the church’s proper role to address issues of public policy, ethics, morality and justice. Indeed, if religious leaders and people of faith kept silent, many of our societal advances would never have happened. We’re at our best when we work through both the church and the government to meet the needs of a hurting world, when we prepare the way of the Lord with all of the tools that are available to us as people of faith.

Advent Blessings,

Paul

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Concerned Clergy of Connecticut

Rabbi Ron Fish, Contact

November 12, 2009

Honorable Joseph Lieberman

706 Hart Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Lieberman,

We are not politicians. We are not doctors. We are not financial analysts.

We are rabbis, priests, ministers, imams and pastors.

This does not mean that our political, medical or fiscal views should be taken any more seriously than anyone else’s. We acknowledge that everyone must evaluate the complex and myriad questions that appear in the healthcare reform debate based upon their own judgments. Certainly our elected political leaders must weigh the problems of cost, availability and sustainability when redesigning such a large portion of our economy.

But our areas of expertise do come into play in this debate. The moral question of what kind of society we seek to build should underlie any deliberation on the question of healthcare reform. We surely disagree over many subjects of theology and politics, over questions of faith and dogma. But whether from the words of Torah or the Gospels of Jesus, whether from the Talmud or the Koran- our traditions all are explicit and clear on one thing: We are commanded to seek the welfare and healing of all those in our midst, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable. Our understanding of the insights of Jewish, Christian and Muslim thought on how we should navigate through the complex challenges of modern life compel us to speak out together in favor of major change that will extend the benefits of modern medicine to all our fellow citizens.

For us this is not an intellectual exercise. We work in our communities, among the sick and scared, who face not only illness but financial ruin when disease strikes. We see hard working people denied care because of pre-existing conditions. We see families with health insurance that they simply cannot afford. We see doctors and nurses whose vocation is to mend the broken, frustrated that their efforts are directed toward profits and paperwork rather than people and healing.

It is for this reason that we insist that the moral imperative of our time is clear. Anyone whose guide in public policy is conscience, anyone who argues that faith and religious tradition should direct our actions, such a person must stand for universal healthcare in America.

It happens that we are all also citizens of the State of Connecticut. This fact leads us to ask you, Senator Joe Lieberman- what is it that you stand for? We ask you to sit down with us, a diverse group of clergy, and your constituents, and answer the most important moral questions. How can you justify your threat to block this much needed reform against the will of the majority? How is it that you can stand in the way of our fellow citizens being granted access to life saving technology? When you speak of values and conscience, what exactly do you understand to be the morality of our current system?

When concerned about questions of finance, we turn to the independent analysis of the CBO, which suggests that a “public option” will reduce long term costs and lighten the fiscal burden of the government. When interested in the effect on medicine, we trust doctors, like the AMA, who approve of this approach. When considering the effect on seniors, we turn to the AARP, which also endorses reform.

But when speaking of morality and conscience, when pursing a calling to goodness and justice- on these matters we have something to offer. Our voices reflect our traditions and our understanding of what God asks of us.

Senator Lieberman, what is it that your conscience tells you?

Concerned Clergy of Connecticut*

Rev. Richard C. Alton Saint Andrew's Church Stamford, CT		Rev. Marjo Anderson Tabor Lutheran Church New Haven, CT		Rev. Edwin Ayala Associate Director Christian Activities Council Hartford, CT
Rev. Gordon Bates First Church of Christ, Congregational Glastonbury, CT		Rev. Joseph Bradley Retired Clinical Chaplain Hartford, CT		Rev. Joan Breckenridge Pastor Zion Lutheran Church Stamford, CT
Rev. Paul Bryant-Smith Senior Pastor First Congregational Church Norwalk, CT		Rev. Johnny C. Bush Greater Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church Stamford, CT		Rabbi Debra Cantor Congregation B'nai Sholom Newington, CT
Rev. Annette Cineas-Exantus Tabernacle of Grace Church Stamford, CT		Maryteresa (Missy) Fenlon Conrad Peace & Service Committee The Religious Society of Friends/"Quakers" Wilton, CT		Rev. Peter Degree Minister United Church of Christ Deep River, CT
Rev. Samuel Dexter Senior Minister First Congregational Church Watertown, CT		Rabbi Joseph Ron Fish Congregation Beth El Norwalk, CT		Rev. Christopher Files Pastor Trinity Lutheran Church Milford, CT
Rev. J. Richard Fowler Harwinton, CT		Liz Frohrip Associate in Ministry Salem Lutheran Church Bridgeport, CT		Rabbi Stephen Fuchs Congregation Beth Israel/Co-Chair Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care West Hartford, CT
Rev. Lisabeth Gustafson Interim Pastor Bristol Baptist Church Bristol, CT		Rev. Debra W. Haffner Executive Director Religious Institute Westport, CT		Rev. Richard Hanna Huleatt Senior Minister First Church of Windsor Windsor, CT
Rev. Dr. James Harrison Minister First Congregation Church Woodstock, CT		Rev. Kate Heichler Pastor Church of Christ the Healer Stamford, CT		Dr. Tommie Jackson Pastor Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church Stamford, CT
Rev. Margaret Jay Minister First Congregational Church Wallingford, CT		Rev. Keith Jones Interim Minister Higganum Congregational Church Norwalk, CT		Rev. Lois Keen Grace Episcopal Church Norwalk, CT
Rabbi Stanley Kessler Retired Temple Beth El West Hartford, CT		David Daniel Klipper Chaplain, Rabbinic Pastor and ACPE Supervisory Candidate Stamford Hospital Stamford, CT		Rabbi Emily F. Korzenik Rabbi Emerita Fellowship for Jewish Learning Stamford, CT
Rev. Linda J. Kraft Pastor Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Trumbull, CT		Rabbi Stephen Landau Bloomfield, CT		Rev. Bryan A. Leone Pastor Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Monroe, CT
Rabbi Mark Lipson Temple Shalom Norwalk, CT		Rabbi Alan Lovins New Haven, CT		Rev. James Mahan Turn of River Presbyterian Church Stamford, CT
Imam Adul Azzeim Mahmoud Vice President IT Services Bethel, CT		Avery C. Manchester Clergy Stamford, CT		Rev. Brendan McCormick Vicar All Saints Episcopal Church Ivoryton, CT
Rev. Michael G. Merkel Pastor Grace Lutheran Church Stratford, CT		Rev. Bruce V. Morris Macedonia Church Norwalk, CT		Rev. John A. Nelson Pastor Niantic Community Church Niantic, CT
Rev. Dr. Patricia Nicholas First Congregational Church of New Fairfield New Fairfield, CT		Rabbi Robert J. Orkand Temple Israel Westport, CT		Rev. Josh Pawelek Unitarian Universalist Society East Manchester, CT
Rabbi Richard Plavin Beth Sholom B'nai Israael Manchester, CT		Joshua Ratner Rabbinic Intern Fairfield, CT		Rabbi Liz Rolle Congregation Beth El Norwalk, CT
Rabbi Daniel J. Satlow Congregation Beth El Fairfield, CT		Rabbi Philip E. Schechter Stamford, CT		Rabbi Jeffrey Silberman Westport, CT
Rabbi Eric A. Silver Temple Beth David Cheshire, CT		Pr. Paul D. Sinnott New England Synod Torrington, CT		Rabbi David Small Emanuel Synagogue West Hartford, CT
Rev. Donald R. Steinle Executive Director Christian Activities Council Hartford, CT		Rev. Diane Stevenson Minister North Stamford Congregational Church Stamford, CT		Rabbi Yvonne Strassmann Temple Beth Sholom Stratford, CT
Mary Marple Thies Co-Pastor First Presbyterian Church Stamford, CT		Rev. Keith Welch Church of Nazarene Norwalk, CT		Rev. Dr. Bernard R. Wilson Senior Minister Norfield Congregational Church Weston, CT

* Positions are listed for identification purposes only.