LittleLightShining
08-16-2009, 06:56 AM
From a newsletter sent out by the United Church of Christ:
FAITH COMMUNITY CONFERENCE CALL WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA! Wednesday, August 19, 5:00 PM Eastern
The United Church of Christ's campaign Don't Place A Period on Health Care: God is Still Speaking continues to work in partnership with many faith groups, including the Faithful Reform in Health Care Coalition, the largest interfaith coalition of denominations and national, state and local faith organizations working together on health care reform.
President Obama has agreed to be on a call with members of the faith community to talk about health care reform. It is anticipated that over 10,000 people will participate. We need to know from you how many of your congregational members and clergy will be able to join the call. Please contact Lynn Bujnak (bujnakl@vtcucc.org) as soon as possible to report the number of people from your congregation who wish to participate or click here to RSVP (Note: in the box for "Organization," fill in "United Church of Christ").
In addition, Vermont Interfaith Action has invited us to participate in a call to get ready for the conversation with President Obama. The Clergy Conference Call, Thursday, August 13, at 3:00 PM will help us maximize this opportunity and insure that the voice of the faith community is heard and not drowned out by those extremists who would de-rail the health care reform process. To participate in the clergy call, please RSVP at: rromaine@piconetwork.org. The call number on Thursday is 866-910-2586 , passcode 264744#.
In preparation for both calls you may with to read the following: Health-care rationing vs. abundance - The truth shall set us free, an article to help diffuse the rationing attacks by placing the conversation in the context of our faith values (written by Rev. Jackson Day, a United Methodist minister and health care reform consultant to the UMC General Board of Church and Society).
But wait, folks, there's more!
A self-described Tea Party patriot in VT got this newsletter and responded to her church with this reply:
I am extremely disappointed in the information regarding the health care proposals before congress. I support good health care available to everyone and I believe that it is entirely appropriate for the Church to support that goal. But as we know, the devil is in the details. I have done my best to read the bill—I’m working my way through slowly. Apparently that is more than can be said of most members of congress. I expect that few clergy have read it either. In any case, it will serve most people’s interests if the bill could be written in English and if everyone had ample opportunity to understand and discuss it. To characterize Americans—many of whom are members of the UCC—who have genuine concerns about this specific legislation as “extremists who would de-rail the health care reform process” is un-Christian at best. Most are not trying to de-rail an open and reasonable process to reform health care—we simply do not want this particular bill passed without anyone having a real opportunity for thoughtful analysis of the provisions. It is not appropriate for the UCC to blindly back a specific bill. The best you should do is encourage everyone to find out as much as they can and follow their Christian conscience. When did the UCC decide that it knows more about God’s will than its ministers (i.e. parishioners). Shame!
Now read the response she got back!
Dear _____,
A copy of your email was sent to me, as Vermont Interfaith Action has been doing a great deal of work around health care reform at the national level, and I have the opportunity to stay on top of legislative developments through involvement with our national network, PICO, which has a very active Washington office -- and which has been working closely with the UCC, along with 24 other denominations, on health care.
As you say, having good health care available to everyone is a worthwhile but broad goal, and the devil is in the details. Well-intentioned people like yourself are rightfully questioning what is going into reform proposals and are not completely satisfied with what they have learned. I certainly understand your point of view. A few thoughts to share with you, though:
1) You may have seen in your reading that there are currently three avenues along which proposals are proceeding: the House version of a bill, and two in the Senate: one from the HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee and one from the Finance committee. The House bill has already been approved by three committees but has not gone to the whole House yet; the Senate bills are stuck in committee. Now that Congress is on recess, nothing further will happen until September.
The different versions contain different elements. I have attached a chart that summarizes them so that you can compare them more easily. Many advocates feel that the House bill has a lot of what reformers are looking for and that the Senate bills are not as good. I'm not sure which version you read, but these are all current proposals that are being considered.
2) The major goal of the current reform is to get more Americans better insurance, not to massively overhaul the entire system. President Obama and most leaders of Congress are aware that many Americans are happy with their current insurance plans, 60% of which are supplied by employers, and that they would rather not have anyone tampering with them. They would, however, like to keep costs down, and insuring the 47 million Americans who are currently uninsured would help achieve that objective. It would also obviously improve the quality of life of those who are uninsured, as would improving the plans of the 25 million Americans who are underinsured (have little coverage with high deductibles). So the current reform centers around creating more options for people to buy plans, requiring that all Americans have plans, and regulating coverage so it is more consistent and equitable (like prohibiting insurance companies from not covering people on the basis of pre-existing conditions and putting a cap on out-of-pocket expenses so people no longer go bankrupt when they contract a major illness).
Most faith-based groups support some kind of reform that covers everyone; is affordable for all Americans, even low-income individuals and families; and is financially sustainable for our nation. These are the key elements that leaders of the denominations are looking at when they choose whether to ask their members to advocate for health care reform.
3) While some people, like yourself, are mostly supportive but asking hard questions that deserve answers, there is a concerted extremist effort led by groups called "tea baggers" who are organized in disrupting town hall meetings across the country, shouting obscenities at Congress people, and shouting down the comments of supporters of health care reform. This extremist movement is hopefully not the majority of people, but they do exist, and it is those people, not the ones who are asking thoughtful questions, who are behaving in a way that many UCC clergy and lay people find unacceptable.
4) Encouraging people to do what their conscience tells them is of course a fundamental principle of the UCC and many denominations. Yet there must also be some key values that we all share that we can take a stand on: that "we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers" and that "we love our neighbors as ourselves" are two of them, intertwined, that lead many people of faith to say that we must reform our health care system so that all God's children have access to the quality care they deserve.
I hope my comments address some of your concerns and add clarity. This is an important time in our nation's history, and it's good to see persons like yourself who care enough to read and express your opinions.
Best regards,
Rev. Debbie Ingram
Executive Director, Vermont Interfaith Action
Nice! :rolleyes:
So our friend replies:
Thank you for your email. I’m a bit confused. I assume that you have personal experience with the tea party groups. Those in Vermont, so far as I know from personal experience, urge everyone to remain civil and polite. They counsel against yelling, using profanities or otherwise personally attacking anyone who doesn’t agree with them. So, I’m not sure which ones you are referring to. On the flip side, it’s disconcerting to be a citizen trying to ask questions—and be referred to by some congress people and other administration officials as “angry mobs, hate mongers, fascists, ugly old people, crazed mobs”. It also annoys me that some accuse those who dissent with being mindless pawns. Thanks again. But, please refrain from judging based on hearsay.
And gets this in return:
Thanks for your reply. I haven't had personal experience with the Vermont tea party group, so I'm glad to hear they urge civility and courtesy. The accounts I've heard are from other directors in the PICO network in other places. I just spoke with the Los Angeles director, for instance, and he said at their event on Tuesday they had people shouting obscenities at their Rep and someone brought a poster with Obama made up to look like Hitler.
Often folks in Vermont are more civilized -- smaller state, people more likely to know one another personally -- so I'm not surprised at what you say.
Thanks,
Debbie
Beware wolves in sheep's clothing.
FAITH COMMUNITY CONFERENCE CALL WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA! Wednesday, August 19, 5:00 PM Eastern
The United Church of Christ's campaign Don't Place A Period on Health Care: God is Still Speaking continues to work in partnership with many faith groups, including the Faithful Reform in Health Care Coalition, the largest interfaith coalition of denominations and national, state and local faith organizations working together on health care reform.
President Obama has agreed to be on a call with members of the faith community to talk about health care reform. It is anticipated that over 10,000 people will participate. We need to know from you how many of your congregational members and clergy will be able to join the call. Please contact Lynn Bujnak (bujnakl@vtcucc.org) as soon as possible to report the number of people from your congregation who wish to participate or click here to RSVP (Note: in the box for "Organization," fill in "United Church of Christ").
In addition, Vermont Interfaith Action has invited us to participate in a call to get ready for the conversation with President Obama. The Clergy Conference Call, Thursday, August 13, at 3:00 PM will help us maximize this opportunity and insure that the voice of the faith community is heard and not drowned out by those extremists who would de-rail the health care reform process. To participate in the clergy call, please RSVP at: rromaine@piconetwork.org. The call number on Thursday is 866-910-2586 , passcode 264744#.
In preparation for both calls you may with to read the following: Health-care rationing vs. abundance - The truth shall set us free, an article to help diffuse the rationing attacks by placing the conversation in the context of our faith values (written by Rev. Jackson Day, a United Methodist minister and health care reform consultant to the UMC General Board of Church and Society).
But wait, folks, there's more!
A self-described Tea Party patriot in VT got this newsletter and responded to her church with this reply:
I am extremely disappointed in the information regarding the health care proposals before congress. I support good health care available to everyone and I believe that it is entirely appropriate for the Church to support that goal. But as we know, the devil is in the details. I have done my best to read the bill—I’m working my way through slowly. Apparently that is more than can be said of most members of congress. I expect that few clergy have read it either. In any case, it will serve most people’s interests if the bill could be written in English and if everyone had ample opportunity to understand and discuss it. To characterize Americans—many of whom are members of the UCC—who have genuine concerns about this specific legislation as “extremists who would de-rail the health care reform process” is un-Christian at best. Most are not trying to de-rail an open and reasonable process to reform health care—we simply do not want this particular bill passed without anyone having a real opportunity for thoughtful analysis of the provisions. It is not appropriate for the UCC to blindly back a specific bill. The best you should do is encourage everyone to find out as much as they can and follow their Christian conscience. When did the UCC decide that it knows more about God’s will than its ministers (i.e. parishioners). Shame!
Now read the response she got back!
Dear _____,
A copy of your email was sent to me, as Vermont Interfaith Action has been doing a great deal of work around health care reform at the national level, and I have the opportunity to stay on top of legislative developments through involvement with our national network, PICO, which has a very active Washington office -- and which has been working closely with the UCC, along with 24 other denominations, on health care.
As you say, having good health care available to everyone is a worthwhile but broad goal, and the devil is in the details. Well-intentioned people like yourself are rightfully questioning what is going into reform proposals and are not completely satisfied with what they have learned. I certainly understand your point of view. A few thoughts to share with you, though:
1) You may have seen in your reading that there are currently three avenues along which proposals are proceeding: the House version of a bill, and two in the Senate: one from the HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee and one from the Finance committee. The House bill has already been approved by three committees but has not gone to the whole House yet; the Senate bills are stuck in committee. Now that Congress is on recess, nothing further will happen until September.
The different versions contain different elements. I have attached a chart that summarizes them so that you can compare them more easily. Many advocates feel that the House bill has a lot of what reformers are looking for and that the Senate bills are not as good. I'm not sure which version you read, but these are all current proposals that are being considered.
2) The major goal of the current reform is to get more Americans better insurance, not to massively overhaul the entire system. President Obama and most leaders of Congress are aware that many Americans are happy with their current insurance plans, 60% of which are supplied by employers, and that they would rather not have anyone tampering with them. They would, however, like to keep costs down, and insuring the 47 million Americans who are currently uninsured would help achieve that objective. It would also obviously improve the quality of life of those who are uninsured, as would improving the plans of the 25 million Americans who are underinsured (have little coverage with high deductibles). So the current reform centers around creating more options for people to buy plans, requiring that all Americans have plans, and regulating coverage so it is more consistent and equitable (like prohibiting insurance companies from not covering people on the basis of pre-existing conditions and putting a cap on out-of-pocket expenses so people no longer go bankrupt when they contract a major illness).
Most faith-based groups support some kind of reform that covers everyone; is affordable for all Americans, even low-income individuals and families; and is financially sustainable for our nation. These are the key elements that leaders of the denominations are looking at when they choose whether to ask their members to advocate for health care reform.
3) While some people, like yourself, are mostly supportive but asking hard questions that deserve answers, there is a concerted extremist effort led by groups called "tea baggers" who are organized in disrupting town hall meetings across the country, shouting obscenities at Congress people, and shouting down the comments of supporters of health care reform. This extremist movement is hopefully not the majority of people, but they do exist, and it is those people, not the ones who are asking thoughtful questions, who are behaving in a way that many UCC clergy and lay people find unacceptable.
4) Encouraging people to do what their conscience tells them is of course a fundamental principle of the UCC and many denominations. Yet there must also be some key values that we all share that we can take a stand on: that "we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers" and that "we love our neighbors as ourselves" are two of them, intertwined, that lead many people of faith to say that we must reform our health care system so that all God's children have access to the quality care they deserve.
I hope my comments address some of your concerns and add clarity. This is an important time in our nation's history, and it's good to see persons like yourself who care enough to read and express your opinions.
Best regards,
Rev. Debbie Ingram
Executive Director, Vermont Interfaith Action
Nice! :rolleyes:
So our friend replies:
Thank you for your email. I’m a bit confused. I assume that you have personal experience with the tea party groups. Those in Vermont, so far as I know from personal experience, urge everyone to remain civil and polite. They counsel against yelling, using profanities or otherwise personally attacking anyone who doesn’t agree with them. So, I’m not sure which ones you are referring to. On the flip side, it’s disconcerting to be a citizen trying to ask questions—and be referred to by some congress people and other administration officials as “angry mobs, hate mongers, fascists, ugly old people, crazed mobs”. It also annoys me that some accuse those who dissent with being mindless pawns. Thanks again. But, please refrain from judging based on hearsay.
And gets this in return:
Thanks for your reply. I haven't had personal experience with the Vermont tea party group, so I'm glad to hear they urge civility and courtesy. The accounts I've heard are from other directors in the PICO network in other places. I just spoke with the Los Angeles director, for instance, and he said at their event on Tuesday they had people shouting obscenities at their Rep and someone brought a poster with Obama made up to look like Hitler.
Often folks in Vermont are more civilized -- smaller state, people more likely to know one another personally -- so I'm not surprised at what you say.
Thanks,
Debbie
Beware wolves in sheep's clothing.