Faith-based mobilization for health-care reform

Jim Winkler, chief executive of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society, led a prayer at Believe Together rally declaring health care as a human right.” (Photo by Brittany Thomasson)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly 1,000 persons representing many faith groups gathered in Freedom Plaza in the evening of June 24 to unite in support of a health-care future grounded in the sacred bonds of common humanity, defined by compassion, especially for those most vulnerable, and reflective of faithful stewardship of the United States’ abundant health-care resources.

The event was sponsored by Believe Together: Health Care for All, a coalition of more than 40 national faith organizations and religious denominations united around the urgent need for health care for all. The rally encouraged U.S. leaders to pass comprehensive and compassionate health-care reform legislation this year.

The health-care system in the United States is in crisis.

“The health-care system in the United States is in crisis,” declared Shelley Lindauer, executive director of Women for Reform Judaism. “With well over 46 million uninsured Americans and more who are underinsured, as well as the almost exponentially rising health-care costs, the need for comprehensive health-care reform to cover all Americans is urgent. We are calling on Congress to address this need now.”

Even the warm summer couldn’t deter the faithful, who prayed, danced, sang and voiced their support for health-care reform in the face of an unsustainable future and a present in which millions are left on their own for medical care.

Faith leaders representing nearly every major faith tradition, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus, offered prayers for Congress to have the vision and courage to pass comprehensive health care reform this year.

Jim Winkler, chief executive of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society, declared health care is a human right. We believe health care is a human right. “We affirm the interconnectedness of Creation,” he said in a prayer, adding, “We reject the notion that the profits of health-insurance companies should come before health care for our people.” (Winkler's prayer can be read at A prayer for health-care reform.)

Special guests from the Obama administration and Congress attended the event to voice their support, including Joshua DuBois, special assistant to the president and executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships; Neera Tanden, senior adviser, Dept. of Health & Human Services, Office of Health Reform; Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; and Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va. All spoke to the urgency of the health-care crisis in the United States and noted their dedication to ushering in a new age of health-care reform.

Millions of Americans with chronic or advanced illness do not receive the quality of care and life that they deserve.

“Millions of Americans with chronic or advanced illness do not receive the quality of care and life that they deserve,” said the Rev. Dr. Walter Smith, president and CEO of HealthCare Chaplaincy. “We call for national health-care reform to create a new strategy that delivers this quality, is sustainable, and helps reduce costs.”

The Believe Together: Health Care for All coalition grew out of an April 2009 meeting between faith leaders and President Barack Obama. Yesterday’s interfaith service of witness and prayer for health care for all was the largest faith-inspired rally for reform ever. Similar “echo events” occurred across the country all week.

To see a live Twitter feed of the event, visit TwitterBelieve.

For more information about Believe Together: Health Care for All, visit WeBelieveTogether.

For more on health care-related topics, visit the “Health & Wholeness” page on the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) website: Health and Wholeness.

Health & Wholeness Action Network

The Rev. Cynthia Abrams, director of GBCS’s Alcohol, Other Addictions and Health Care program, supervises a Health & Wholeness Action Network that provides legislative updates, educational resources and identifies opportunities to act on issues such as access to health care, Medicare, Medicaid, mental health access and parity. She issues “action alerts” periodically through e-mail.

Joining the Health & Wholeness Action Network is free: go to umpower.org or click on My GBCS on the General Board of Church and Society Web site, www.umc-gbcs.org. You can also contact Donna Brandyberry, (202) 488-5641.

Cynthia Abrams can be reached at (202) 488-5636.