40 Faiths join forces at rally to heal splits
The Washington Times
Metropolitan: District Page C1

April 19, 2001

by Matthew Cella

Religious leaders from more than 40 denominations rallied yesterday at the Lincoln Memorial, ending a 52-day nationwide interfaith revival tour to focus attention on issues they say threaten America's communities.

The goal of the "We Will Stand" tour, led by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, was to dramatize the need for church leaders to heal racial and religious divisions in America.

The religious leaders who participated in the tour, sponsored by the American Clergy Leadership Conference, represented a wide variety of religious doctrines, including Baptist, Catholic and Islamic. Among those attending were representatives of the Nation of Islam, the Christian Coalition and the Martin Luther King Family Life Institute.

During the rally, religious leaders presented a Declaration of Inter-Dependence - a pledge to promote faith, moral purity and racial harmony in America. The rally followed a three-day conference during which religious leaders debated how to translate their cooperation into
concrete plans to help their communities.

"This gathering of clergy from across denominational lines signals a new day in America where we will stand together to tear down the walls of denominationalism, racism and classism, " said Archbishop George A. Stallings of the Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation in the District.

The Rev. Michael Jenkins, president of the Family Federation, said the time is right for cooperation among people of different faiths - politically, publicly and religiously. "There's not much that separates us. It's by the spirit that we can be brought together, " he said.

Nowhere was the eclectic nature of the group more evident than in a prayer at yesterday's rally that called for the rebuilding of the family and the restoration of the community, as well as the elimination of the communist border that divides North and South Korea.

Mr. Stallings said the lingering Cold War is not far removed from his congregation at all.

"Our focus is world peace and unification," he said. "The world is so small that we can no longer afford to live in isolation." The Rev. Connie Crawford Bansa, Chicago pastor and organizer of the Jericho Walk, an annual interfaith community service event, said there
is a connection between such seemingly unrelated topics as the recent riots in Cincinnati over police shootings of blacks and oppression in North Korea.

"Black folks are tired of saying, `Where are the bridges for us? ' And what we're saying is, `Understand the walls are being torn down,"' she said. "Once we set this example, once we show this example, the world will have to take notice."

In his remarks, the Rev. Hycel B. Taylor, former national director of Operation PUSH, addressed the question of why such a diverse group of religious leaders would stand together. "Why should we not stand together when we have found something precious, positive, and productive on which we can all agree without hesitation or reservation?" he asked. The "We Will Stand" speaking tour, which began Feb. 25 in the Bronx, N.Y., has drawn an estimated 100,000 listeners nationwide. Organizers said the crowds included a total of 12,000 supportive clergy at events that met primarily in large city churches.

Leaders said yesterday's rally was only the vanguard of a larger group of 400,000 religious leaders that will assemble on the same spot later this summer.

Organizers plan to hold 50 state rallies throughout the country in May and June, about seven regional rallies in large cities in July, and then come together at the Lincoln Memorial in August or September.