Interfaith Groups Plan Budget Super Vigil

WASHINGTON – As U.S. Super Committee lawmakers grind down to a Nov. 23 deadline to slash $1.2 trillion from the federal budget, humanitarian agency Church World Service will be among a gathering of the nation's interfaith leaders in Washington for a Nov. 20 Super Vigil pressing for a budget that preserves what is viewed as vital domestic and international assistance funding.

Joining with religious coalitions of Christians, Muslims and Jews for the Washington vigil are faith groups and churches in cities across the country that are uniting and signing on to hold Nov. 20 vigils in their own communities. The groundswell is the highlight of a national Faithful Budget Campaign that began this summer with daily prayer vigils in view of the Capitol building in Washington.

The Faithful Budget Campaign Super Vigil will take place at 3 PM (EST) Sunday, Nov. 20 in Lafayette Park at Pennsylvania Ave and Jackson Place, NW, Washington, D.C. Simultaneous prayer vigils also will take place in cities nationwide. Click here for locations of other Nov. 20 vigil sites.

"We are asking simply for a just and compassionate – a life-saving – budget," said Martin Shupack, Church World Service Director of Advocacy. Shupack helps lead the Faithful Budget Campaign and will participate in the Washington vigil.

"We're asking God to move the hearts of policy makers and urging members of the U.S. Congress to agree to a 'faithful' and fair federal budget that does not cut vital lifelines to impoverished and vulnerable families here and abroad," Shupack said.

Faithful Budget Campaign members say they are asking the appointed Congressional Super Committee to make compassionate investments in America's future that call for shared commitment by all Americans for the nation's common good, including raising federal revenues.

"We don't think it can be said enough times to remind our elected representatives and leaders that foreign assistance accounts for just 1 percent of the federal budget. And those funds literally mean lifesaving food and medical assistance for millions, including small children," said Shupack.

The anticipated seismic budget cuts, as part of Congress's and the Administration's struggle to resolve the U.S. deficit, would come at a time when the U.S. poverty rate is at a 45-year high. One in eight Americans lives in poverty.

Worldwide, CWS says U.S. international assistance each year:

• Feeds 46.5 million of the world's most vulnerable people;
• Prevents 114,000 infants from being born with HIV;
• Saves 3 million lives through immunization programs;
• Helps produce safe drinking water sources for 1.3 billion people;
• Helps small-scale farmers, especially women, grow and market more food to feed more hungry people through the U.S. Feed the Future initiative.

The Faithful Budget Campaign Super Vigil follows an initiative of regular prayer vigils that interfaith leaders have held in sight of the Capitol since the beginning of summer.

In addition, coalition members, including dozens of heads of national religious institutions, have signed letters to members of Congress about preserving poverty-focused domestic and international assistance, met with key members of Congress, and held public events as witness to their institutions' commitments to advocate for programs for people struggling to overcome poverty. A peaceful prayer sit-in in the Capitol rotunda on July 28 led to the arrest of a score of the country's interfaith leaders.