As the tone of the debate on Health Care shifts from teabagging nonsense to policy sanity, the United Church of Christ is launching a major mobilization to gather 100,000 signatures to present to Congress in the course of ten days. 100,000 in 10 days - UCC webpage.
In what it's describing as a "massive mobilization effort," the United Church of Christ will launch a major advocacy campaign on Tuesday, Sept. 8, to gather 100,000 messages to Congress in just 10 days in support of health care reform.
Sign petition HERE.
In June, the General Synod United Church of Christ passed the following resolution:
Based on our belief that health care is not only a basic human right but also a basic human need and our belief that it is a moral imperative to transform health care so that it is: inclusive, accessible, affordable and accountable, the Twenty-seventh General Synod calls upon all settings of the United Church of Christ to endorse and support in principle the provision of Single-Payer Universal Health Care Reform through national health insurance that is privately provided and publicly funded. Note: While adopted by the Twenty-Seventh General Synod, the wording of this resolution should not be considered exact until the resolution is approved within the body of the Minutes of the Twenty-seventh General Synod by its Executive Council, scheduled for October 2009 PDF link
Their recent mobilization in the first link follows up on that resolution.
Leaders of the 1.1-million-member denomination, known for emphasizing justice advocacy as an expression of Christian faith, are hoping to collect "100,000 for Health Care" before Friday, Sept. 18, when the Rev. Geoffrey Black, the UCC's general minister and president-elect, will be visiting churches in San Francisco and will deliver the names — in person — to the in-district office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Messages simultaneously will be sent to individual petitioners' members of Congress, as well as Congressional leadership in both parties.
The position of the United Church of Christ is in large agreement with the position of the National Council of Churches, which in August released a similar strong statement on health reform, which doesn't shy away from a class analysis
Under current proposals, more affluent Americans are being asked to sacrifice financially for the betterment of all. Legislators are left with a political choice. On one hand, they can seize this historic opportunity and enact broad reform that protects the broadest number of Americans, but at great economic expense. Christian teaching of love of neighbor favors this approach, but Congress might well capitulate to a lower price tag and serve only the middle and upper classes.
It urges advocating for the following basic principles
Access to health care is sacrosanct, needs to be protected under law, and should not be a privilege you have to buy, but a right to which you are entitled.
· Fulfilling our moral commitment requires special attention to the health care rights of children, the poor, disabled and sick.
· While we will not tolerate waste in our health care system, we approve spending that invests in the health and coverage of our fellow Americans.
· People deserve control over their health care, and should have a choice of public and private plans.
· Congress must vote yes on health care legislation that includes protections for the vulnerable so that all may share in the blessings of liberty. link to full statement
It's time to give the Fundamentalists less oxygen, and acknowledge the work progressive religious people are doing for the common good.