138 people attended an interfaith vigil for health care reform yesterday at the First United Methodist Church. Participants represented congregations throughout Omaha, including the First Christian Church, the Niagara Foundation, St. John’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, St. Agnes Parish, St. Francis of Assisi, Claire Memorial United Methodist Church, and more. Clergy led prayers and gave testimony in support of health care reform, and people came forward with personal stories of family and friends not able to afford the care they need.
Franco, a leader of a Guatemalan indigenous group from St. Francis of Assisi, gave a prayer in his native language, Qanjobal, and the vice president of the Niagara Foundation, Ferhat Ozturk, recited a passage from the Quran. Rev. Frederick McCullough of St. John’s African Methodist Episcopal Church gave a brief message on the need for health care. “It is time that pastors and congregations come together to speak out against the injustice we see in the health care system that robs the poor of the access that all deserve,” he said. “We must be a voice for the voiceless.”
The event was organized by Interfaith Worker Justice and the participating pastors. “We support worker justice and the right for workers to organize without being fired or harassed, which is why we want the Employee Free Choice Act to pass the Senate this September,” said Noel Andersen of Interfaith Worker Justice. “We know workers are much more likely to have health care when they have a union.”
A group of 22 interfaith clergy had a meeting last Friday with Senator Nelson in person to talk about the moral imperative and ethical responsibility of creating health care reform now, to ensure that the marginalized can also receive care. Many clergy pushed for the public option as the most viable form to reign in large insurance companies.
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