An open letter to pastors across the country

Contact: Adam Segal, Faithful Democrats, 202-422-4673, adam@the2050group.com

MEDIA ADVISORY, Dec. 1 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is an open letter to pastors across the country:

Dear Pastor:

Several right-wing religious organizations, including the National Clergy Council, recently blasted Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church for inviting Senator Barack Obama to speak on World AIDS Day this Friday, December 1. It's unfortunate that these groups would exploit the Christian faith to advance their divisive agenda – an agenda that gives almost exclusive attention to a few wedge issues while ignoring the diversity of problems plaguing American communities.

We reject the creation of an unbiblical litmus test to exclude believers from the body of Christ. We are called to the ministry of reconciliation and the liberation of all people, spiritually and socially.

We also wonder why any organization claiming to represent believers in Jesus Christ would choose to play what amounts to partisan politics instead of encouraging our leaders to address the scourge of AIDS.

AIDS has claimed the lives of 25 million people since 1981. Forty million people across the globe, including 2 million children, live with this wretched disease. And nearly 7 million people are now in desperate need of life-saving drugs, without which they will die. In the face of this crisis, it boggles our minds and offends our God-given sense of justice that these groups would choose to attack Senator Obama and Reverend Warren – Christians both – for working together to stamp out AIDS.

It is time for believers to unite under the banner of truth and work to address our society's most pressing problems. The time for scare tactics and divisiveness is over. As leaders in the Christian community, we will not stand silent in the face of these attacks, but will instead serve as voices for equality, fairness, and justice for all people.

Sincerely,

(See the rest of this abbreviated list, with titles and locations, at http://faithfuldemocrats.com/content/view/482/40/.)

Rev. Romal Tune

Co-Chair, FaithfulDemocrats.com

Dr. Randall Balmer

Rev. Tony Campolo

Rev. William Chrystal

Dr. Wayne Croft

Rev. Fredrick Davis

Dr. Paul de Vries

Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III

Dr. Floyd Flake

Dr. James Forbes

Dr. Robert Franklin

Dr. C. Welton Gaddy

Dr. Obery Hendricks

Dr. Ken Brooker Langston

Dr. Robert Maddox

Bishop Earl McCloud

Rev. Lester McCorn

Rev. Timothy McDonald III

Bishop Vashti McKenzie

Dr. Robin Meyers

Rev. Frank Raines

Dr. Ron Sider

Rev. Tim Simpson

Rev. Ron Stief

Rev. Steven Thurston

Rev. Jim Wallis

Dr. Lauren Winner

Dr. Rolen Womack

Dr. Jeremiah Wright