Special to IFN
A coalition of clergy, veterans, and moral leaders are planning to convene outside Rep. Pat Harrigan’s district office on the App State campus in Hickory at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 13. Through public prayer and testimony, participants will demand that Congress cease funding unauthorized military action in the Middle East and instead invest in the social safety net programs that protect poor and working people.
The action — part of the “Moral Mondays” movement — is being held across numerous locations, led by Bishop William J. Barber II, president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach.
“The current moment is one of moral crisis and requires immediate and sustained public response,” Barber said. “During this holy Easter season, people of conscience must reject the unholiness of war and refuse to separate Holy Week language, ritual, or faith practice from the suffering and policy violence unfolding in real time. We come together to not only say what we oppose, but also what we are for: peace, humanity, justice, truth, nonviolence, and public investment in life-giving priorities.”
A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies’ National Priorities Project revealed that the war in the Middle East is costing an estimated $1 billion per day.
Organizers describe Monday’s action as a moral reckoning — a call to account for the human cost of war and the hollowing out of the programs that sustain life for the poor and vulnerable.
“War is a moral issue, not just a political issue,” said Barber. “The use of public money should reflect public values. People of faith must show up in the public square alongside interfaith, multifaith and nonfaith communities to take local action and bear witness to this moment.”
Moral Mondays are organized by Repairers of the Breach. Joining as national partners in this next phase are Indivisible, the National Urban League, Masjid Muhammad, the National Council of Churches, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the AME Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Church of Christ, the Ohio Council of Churches, North Carolina Council of Churches, Red Letter Christians, AM Kolel, Franciscan Action Network, OBRA Hispana, Hood Theological Seminary, Neighborhood Folks, Foundry United Methodist Church, and Sojourners.
