A Muslim, Catholic, and a Jew went to church...
Interfaith Effort Targets Voters in Eight Cities

Chicago – Have you heard the one about the Muslim, the Jew and the Catholic who walked into a Baptist church? If not, you haven't heard about "Faithful Citizenship" summer, an eight-city voter registration effort by teams of interns from different religious denominations and faith traditions. Their goal is to make sure the often-ignored voices of low-wage and immigrant workers are heard this election year. The interns and site coordinators are Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, Baptist, Muslim, Episcopalian, and Unitarian Universalist.

"Faithful Citizenship isn't a joke, it's an innovative way to use our shared religious values to advocate for vulnerable people," said Kim Bobo, executive director of the Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ). IWJ is sponsoring Faithful Citizenship summer and recruited 38 interns who will work with local groups to register 23,000 voters through churches and faith-based institutions. The cities included in the 10-week "Faithful Citizenship" project are Chicago, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, Syracuse and Elmira, N.Y. The interns and site coordinators will attend a weeklong training session June 14-17 at North Park University's Magnuson Campus Center on the north side of Chicago. North Park University is located at 3225 W. Foster Avenue. Following the training, interns will be dispatched to their respective city assignments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charity isn't enough

Poverty is often rooted in low wages, Bobo observed. U.S.-born workers and immigrants already receiving low pay often fear losing the little they have, she noted. "Workers need more than charity. That means people of faith must speak out against injustice, and help workers better understand their rights. The right to vote is an important one and a way for workers to make their voices heard," said Bobo.

The voter registration effort is non-partisan and supports IWJ's mission of building relationships across religious lines through advocacy. Faithful Citizenship interns are deeply committed to their faiths and bettering the lives of people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

National Interfaith Committee background info

The Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) focuses on common religious values to educate, organize, and mobilize the religious community in the U.S. on issues, campaigns and public policy that will improve wages, benefits, and job conditions for workers, especially low-wage workers. IWJ consists of 60 affiliates around the country and seven walk-in worker centers where people can get help with problems in the workplace.

For more information, contact Cynthia Brooke at (773) 728-8400, x40.