For Immediate Release
September 20, 2021
Contact: Lori Arguelles 202-441-6789
Beatitudes Should Guide Budget, Infrastructure, and Immigration Efforts
Statement from Sojourners President Adam Russell Taylor
Washington, DC—Today’s White House meeting between members of the Circle of Protection and Senior Biden Administration officials marked the first meeting with faith leaders on the impact of several Administration efforts to invest in people, infrastructure, and the economy.
Sojourners President Rev. Adam Russell Taylor:
As people of faith, we urge our elected leaders to support an agenda that allows families to thrive. We know that when families thrive our communities and our country thrive too. Thanks to visionary leadership, we have a package of public policy prescriptions that can truly help heal some of the greatest ills facing our nation. What’s needed now is the political courage to see this legislation turned into law.
As the Circle of Protection members noted in our letter to President Biden, “We believe our nation is called to reduce poverty, expand opportunity, and address racial disparities and that everyone, especially wealthy individuals and corporations, should pay their fair share.”
This moment makes me think of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. The meek, poor, and hungry live among us every day. Our modern-day Beatitudes—the gifts and commitments we give one another—include the biblical principles of radical welcome, dignity for all, and imago dei—the notion that every person is a reflection of God and should be treated as such.
Once passed, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the family support budget bill, and voting rights legislation will be powerful ways for these Beatitudes to be actualized. These proposed investments could cut child and family poverty to the lowest levels in history, protect the sacred right to vote, and create an immigration system that recognizes the inherent dignity and worth of every person. Now is the time to move beyond thoughts and prayers and into bold action.
About Sojourners - Sojourners, a faith-inspired nonprofit, articulates the biblical call to social justice through its magazine and digital publication and convenes, equips and mobilizes people to put their faith into action while building alliances for effective advocacy. Sojourners envisions a future in which Christians put their faith into action in the passionate pursuit of social justice, peace, and environmental stewardship, working in partnership with people of conscience and from other faith traditions. https://sojo.net/