Covenant minister Adam Phillips, the faith relations manager for the nonpartisan grassroots organization ONE, moderated a conference call that featured representatives of four different religious faiths. More than 100 religious leaders participated.
Seminary student and internationally known AIDS activist Princess Kaune Zulu made an opening statement during the call, which also included the director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, the vice president of the Islamic Society of North America, and the Hindu American Foundation director of public policy.
“The many faiths practiced in our country share a common commitment to caring for the poor,” Phillips said. “ONE Sabbath gives congregations tools to become champions in advocacy and awareness for the poorest people on our planet and for the efforts that are working to help them get basic needs to improve their own lives.”
Zulu added that poverty, “prevents tens of millions of kids from getting the chance to step inside a classroom. It creates conditions that allow diseases like malaria and AIDS to spread and kill millions of people a year, even though we know how to prevent and treat them.”
Phillips said that significant advances have been made in recent years, but much work remains. To read a previous story about Zulu (Princess is her first name), click here.