FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, December 13, 2010

CONTACT: Evan Trowbridge at etrowbridge@sojo.net / 202-745-4625 or

Tim King at tking@sojo.net / 202-631-7763

Rev. Wallis is available for comment

**TOMORROW. TUES, DEC. 14: 11:30- 12:30**

Faith Leaders Deliver Urgent Plea to Senate on DREAM Act

Clergy and Students from LA, TX, OH, NC, FL, MA, SC, NH, IL Rally and Pray for America’s Future at Emergency Prayer Summit

WASHINGTON, DC — Arriving from across the nation at a pivotal political moment, leaders of the faith community will converge at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, December 14 to press the Senate to pass the DREAM Act in the lame duck session.

Banding together with DREAM students, the faith leaders will gather in the chapel at the United Methodist Building at 11:30 a.m for an emergency prayer summit to call for the passage of this legislation, which will put the American dream within reach for thousands of talented, hard-working immigrant young people.

“We’re praying for a Christmas miracle,” said Sojourners founder and CEO Rev. Jim Wallis, “A miracle to give Advent hope to a generation of young people who are ready to become some of our best citizens.”

The faith community has been mobilizing for months to urge Congress to pass the DREAM Act, a compassionate and common-sense policy that will allow upstanding students to join the military or attend college and earn their legal status. Following the House of Representatives’ recently passage of the DREAM Act, it is now the Senate’s turn to act, and faith leaders are making the moral and pragmatic case for passage to key Senators.

“The dream to go to college or a commitment to public service should not be illegal- even if you are the children of undocumented parents,” said Wallis. “For the Christian community, this is Advent, a season of hope and anticipation. We celebrate a hope fulfilled but we are praying for a hope that has been deferred for far too long.”

WHAT: Prayer Event for the DREAM Act

WHEN and WHERE:
11:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.: Prayer summit in the chapel at the United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington DC.

WHO: Prominent Faith Leaders and DREAM Students, including:

Jim Wallis, Sojourners

Bishop Minerva Carcaño, Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church, Phoenix, AZ
Bishop Jim Dorff, Southwest Texas Conference, United Methodist Church, San Antonio, TX
Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center
Peg Chemberlin, National Council of Churches
Rev. Jayne L Ruiz, First Presbyterian Church, New Orleans, LA
Rev. Troy Jackson, University Christian Church, Cincinnati, OH
Rev. Arturo Chavez, Mexican American Catholic College, San Antonio, TX
Dr. Melissa Rogers, Wake Forest University Divinity School, Winston-Salem, NC
Rubén Castilla Herrera, Ohio Action Circle, Columbus, OH
Russell Meyer, Florida Council of Churches, Tampa, FL
Rev. Fred Small, First Parish- Cambridge (Unitarian Universalist), Cambridge, MA
María Antonietta Berriozábal, former city councilwoman, San Antonio, TX
Harry Knox, Resurrection Metropolitan Community, Houston, TX
Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith, Rio Grande Conference, United Methodist Church, San Antonio, TX
Rev. Owen Ross, Christ's Foundry United Methodist Church, Dallas, TX
Rev. Sergio Tristan, Kansas West Conference, United Methodist Church, Wichita, KS
Elder Nora Bess, Holy Family Catholic Church, Hilton Head, SC
Rev. Michael Mann, Northern Illinois Conference, United Methodist Church
Pastor Israel Ortiz, Iglesia Pentecostal El Sinai, Portland, ME
Rev. John Richardson, Regional Minister, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in North Carolina, Wilson, NC
Rev. Jean O’Bresky, Sanbornton Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Sanbornton, NH


VISUALS:  Faith leaders wearing garb that either signifies their religious tradition or their state, DREAM students in caps and gowns or military uniforms, procession carrying signs, state flags, pennants from state universities, religious banners.

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Jim Wallis is the president and CEO of Sojourners, the largest network of social justice Christians in the United States focused on the biblical call to social justice. Wallis is also author of the New York Times bestsellers God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It and The Great Awakening: Seven Ways To Change The World,Reviving Faith & Politics. His latest book is Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street.

Sojourners' mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world. Visit www.sojo.net, and www.GodsPolitics.com.