Media Advisories and Press Releases

Three Nationally Renowned Speakers and Authors: Jim Wallis, Naomi Tutu, and Richard Rohr speak at weekend conference and engage participants on politics and spirituality

Washington D.C.--(October 1, 2007) Anticipating a veto by President Bush of the SCHIP legislation on Tuesday, congressional leaders from both parties and prominent religious leaders will participate in a press conference to speak to the very conscience of our nation about the need to override the veto in the Senate and the House.

Washington, DC – (Wednesday, May 16, 2007) Sojourners, the largest national network of progressive Christians, announced today that it will host a candidates forum on faith, values, and poverty on Monday, June 4, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. featuring the three leading Democratic presidential contenders: Senator Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards, and Senator Barack Obama. CNN has joined Sojourners as a media partner and has agreed to broadcast the forum live from the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

(Washington, DC) – Evangelical Christians from across the ideological spectrum will launch a national grassroots and ad campaign calling for comprehensive immigration reform that is consistent with biblical values Monday at 11:30 AM on Capitol Hill. Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform will mobilize at least 200,000 letters, tens of thousands of calls, and hundreds of lobby visits to Members of Congress by the August recess. Ads announcing the campaign will run in Roll Call and CongressDaily on Monday to coincide with the launch.

Prominent religious leaders and anti-poverty advocates will engage in a panel discussion and town hall forum on poverty and the Philadelphia mayoral race from a faith perspective from 3-5 pm on Sunday, April 29, 2007 at the Church of the Holy Trinity (1904 Walnut Street). This event is presented by Sojourners/Call to Renewal, and is free and open to the public.

Washington, D.C. – (Monday, February 26, 2007) A delegation of U.S. religious leaders returning from a week-long trip to Iran held a press conference in Washington, D.C. today to brief reporters on their meetings with the Iranian president and Iranian religious leaders. This is the first religious delegation to meet with an Iranian president in Iran since the revolution in 1979. Their prepared statement can be found below. The 13-person religious delegation, which included Jeff Carr, Chief Operations Officer of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, traveled to Iran to encourage a dialogue in the hope of averting a war. Delegation members discussed with government officials the political situation inside Iran, Iranian foreign policy, and Iran’s nuclear energy program. In the coming weeks, the group will meet with members of the U.S. Congress, informing them of what the delegation heard from leaders in Iran and suggesting ways to begin lessening current tensions. “I am convinced that the only path for a true and lasting peace with justice will require that we find a way to tell our stories and to have our stories heard,” said Carr. “Then we must begin to write a new narrative together, one that comes out of humility, mutual respect, and shared understanding. May God help both our nations and peoples to begin the healing and reconciliation process so we may avoid war and build that lasting peace.”

Washington, D.C. ----- (Tuesday, February 20, 2007) Thousands of Christians---Evangelicals, Protestants, and Catholics--- from across the country will worship together on March 16th to mark the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War with public prayer, a candlelight procession through the center of the nation’s capital, vigils in cities and towns throughout the country and a protest culminating with 1500 Christians surrounding the White House with the light of peace. The Christian Peace Witness, organized by a broad cross section of Christian denominational peace groups and organizations, is expected to be the largest peace gathering of Christians expressing opposition to the war since it began four years ago. Prominent religious leaders and peace activists, including Jim Wallis, Celeste Zappala, Bernice Powell Jackson, and Raphael Warnock will speak at a worship service, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C on Friday, March 16, 2007.

“A growing number of American evangelical Christians, mainline Protestants, and Catholics believe that a diplomatic solution is possible in Iran and the only path to real security for all people living in the Middle East,” said Carr. “Americans are realizing that the Iraq War is causing greater instability, and continuing bloodshed, throughout the region. We pray that dialogue with various people in Iran may offer new hope in this tense time between our countries.” Rev. Carr will be blogging about the visit at www.GodsPolitics.com.

In this election, both the Religious Right and the secular Left were defeated, and the voice of the moral center was heard. A significant number of candidates elected are social conservatives on issues of life and family, economic populists, and committed to a new direction in Iraq. This is the way forward: a grand new alliance between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, one that can end partisan gridlock and involves working together for real solutions to pressing problems.