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Faith Leaders Gather at the Capitol for a Common Cause

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Friday, February 18, 2011   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - More than 1,000 Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Muslims joined forces Thursday at the state Capitol to speak out for social justice. Their chief concerns include preventing further cuts to the social safety network and ensuring that lawmakers create a fair, balanced budget that does not harm the state's most vulnerable citizens.

Gov. Mark Dayton addressed the group, saying the budget he released earlier this week included painful cuts he didn't want to make, but it was a start in what he hopes will build a better Minnesota.

"It's our responsibility - our moral responsibility - not to make the state worse. Budgets are about values and priorities as much as dollars and cents. It's about our morality, individually and collectively. And that's what we'll be debating as a free society over these next couple of months on Capitol Hill."

The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, which organized the event, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Terry Schoonover, a Catholic member of the coalition from Rochester, says the group is the first - and possibly the only - coalition of its type, which brings together the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Islamic community.

"We have the four great faith traditions coming together and actually agreeing on something: social justice. So, it's encouraging to be able to reach across the aisle to support one another and let our legislators know that social justice is an important issue for us."

Bob Rubinyi, of the Bet Shalom congregation in Minnetonka, says that in times of fiscal stress it's critical to ensure that the less fortunate are able to have basic services that are essential to a just society.

"There's a tendency oftentimes when you're in a budget crisis to make the most vulnerable, who are the least represented, take the brunt of balancing the budget and making sure that the state's fiscal house is in order. And I think there is a real need for shared sacrifice."

Joseph Pederson, a Lutheran from Moorhead, adds that the faith community cannot do it alone; government, nonprofits, businesses and the general public must come together.

"All of us need to work together, and it's in all of our best interests to work to eliminate poverty. We're losing ground in Minnesota right now, and that's dangerous for all of us. It will cost us all more in the long run. If we want to lower our costs of government, we need to work to eliminate poverty."

Dayton says it is critical for lawmakers to come face-to-face with people directly affected by their decisions, and that it's important for groups, including the faith community, to speak out for those who aren't in a position to advocate for themselves.


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