Faith in Action

Wow -- I've only been to one event at this convention, and already the trip to Denver has been worthwhile.

We rushed from the airport to get to "Faith in Action -- An Interfaith Gathering," the opening event of the Democratic convention. (There's a switch -- Democrats opening their convention with prayer. Something new is going on in the America.)

I have not been so deeply moved in a long time.

A gospel choir singing, then local Indians beginning the event with drumming and chanting. Then over a thousand Democrats -- not every delegate, but those of us who felt moved gather in this way on a Sunday -- a thousand Democrats praying together, led by a Protestant minister, a Muslim imam, a Jewish rabbi, and a Catholic lay leader.

Followed by two hours of prayer, music, sermons, and readings from sacred texts -- the Torah, a Buddhist sutra, the Holy Qur'an, and the Holy Bible -- beautiful passages that anyone from any sect (or even any good-hearted non-believer) could assent to and by uplifted by.

I'm pretty leery of mixing religion and politics, from so often having seen religion used as part of political theatre -- where people are saying things they know people want to hear, but that are really insincere and hypocritical.

This was different. I felt the sincerity all the way through. No preaching. No "Look at us, how special we are." Just a bunch of people speaking from their hearts... and talking about how their deeply held religious views drive their values, and push them to do the work they do in the world, to make the world a better place. To do God's work on Earth.

Some highlights:

• From the Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, a 4th-generation black preacher from Washington, DC, and CEO of the 2008 Democratic National Convention: "People said we needed to bring faith to the Democratic Party. But we didn't need to bring faith to the Democratic Party -- faith has always been in the Democratic Party." (That brought a chorus of "Amens"!)

• A stunning sermon against the death penalty by Sister Helen Prejean, the nun who wrote "Dead Man Walking." Having walked with men to their death, having sat with the families of the victims and helped them heal, she brought a profound and moving perspective. I don't know if I agree with her, but I was moved by the way her faith moves her.
  

• Remarks from the President of the Islamic Society of North America: "Muslims in other nations hear about discrimination against Muslims in America, and asked me in hushed tones, 'Are you okay?' I tell them this is the best country in the world in which to practice Islam [because of the freedoms we Americans enjoy]." "It is Christian leaders and Jewish leaders and leaders of other religions who have stood up for my people every single day over the past 5 or 6 years." And, "It saddens me that much of the evil being done in the world is being done in the name of my religion."
  

The most amazing part was a sermon by Bishop Charles Blake, Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, who spoke on "Our Sacred Responsibility to Our Children." Most of his speech was a clear exposition of our duty to our children, and how society has failed in that duty to so many children (both in this country and around the world), and that we are called to change that. Good Democratic stuff.

Then, I think he stunned half the crowd by talking about abortion, and stating his case that abortion is contrary to the same values of protecting children that most Democrats hold dear.

I couldn't believe what was happening, and you could feel the room stirring.

But he didn't criticize anyone, or curse anyone, or judge anyone. What he said was, "Can you not hear us when we tell you about our agony about this continuing tragedy?"

Then he really took it home. He said that despite his moral sorrow about abortion, and his conviction that Democrats were in error, he solidly supports the Democratic party, because of all the things they stand for that are right. And he spoke out forcefully against those who seem to care so much about unborn lives, but then completely forget about those same children the moment they are born, showing no commitment to help those children be fed, or clothed, or housed in decent housing, or given adequate medical care, or provided with adequate schools. Because "Love thy neighbor" does not refer to a feeling... it refers to action. "Love is to feed and clothe the poor. Love is action." (Needless to say, the room was on its feet to that. I am apparently not the only one who is fed up with religious and political hypocrisy on the right.)

The most significant thing for me, though, was this: It felt so good to sit in a room of Democrats where political correctness was dead. Where people could say hard things, upsetting things, and still stick together. Where friends could disagree, and speak about their disagreements in ways that would not divide them, but instead would cause each side to think differently about what the other had to say, and maybe change their minds.

That's the kind of America I grew up believing in, and that's the kind of America I'm excited to be part of building today, side by side with so many others -- millions of citizens across the country, of whom we in Denver are only the representatives.

At the start of the event, Rev. Daughtry referenced scripture (paraphrased from Isaiah 58), "You shall be called the repairers of walls, the restorers of the breach, the rebuilders of the city."

Of course not all Democrats have their values rooted in faith. But millions of us do. And today, a roomful of people from different faiths found a way to express their common cause. They were reminded again that, even though they read different holy texts, the same message comes through, calling them to common action. Calling us to act in such a way, as Rev. Daughtry put it, that future generations would look back on us and say, "You were the repairers of walls, the restorers of the breach, the rebuilders of the city."