Three candidates for the Democratic nomination will participate June 3-6 in the first forum as part of “Pentecost 2007: Taking the Vision to the Streets.” Participants will include Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards, who will address the forum’s three issues on Monday, June 4, at the National City Christian Church in Washington.
The event is sponsored by Sojourners/Call to Renewal, led by Jim Wallis, who told a gathering during the 2005 Midwinter Pastors Conference, “I really think that this is the most interesting and intriguing denomination (Evangelical Covenant Church) now in the country, because you are evangelical – genuinely so – and you have a genuine social conscience.” He repeated the remarks in comments to students at North Park University.
“The goal of ‘Pentecost 2007: Taking Vision to the Streets’ is to call individuals, churches, and most importantly, our political leaders to commit to putting poverty at the top of our national agenda,” states the event website. “We believe that the conversation about moral values in America has been widening and deepening, building into a movement for real change.”
Scheduled activities include a march to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, June 5, as a public show of support on behalf of efforts to eradicate poverty, to be followed by visits with various state delegations and both majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate.
A similar forum has been scheduled for the top Republican contenders for that party’s nomination, to take place in Iowa in September. More information on that event will be published in this online Covenant news report as it becomes available.
Glenn Palmberg, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church, is a member of the Sojourners/Call to Renewal board of directors.
