Washington, April 14  On this Sunday’s “State of Belief,” The Interfaith Alliance Foundation’s show on Air America Radio, Rev. Welton Gaddy talks about the passing of Rev. William Coffin, chats with Rev. Jim Forbes about the nations budget and listens members of his own congregation in Louisiana talk about what it means to be interfaith. Welton along with the entire faith community mourns the passing of Rev. William Sloane Coffin, a visionary and activist in the faith community. Cofin was a lifelong warrior for peace and a witness for justice and equal rights for all. He served as Senior Minister at The Riverside Church and as Yale University Chaplain. “He was as comfortable in a march as in a pulpit,” Gaddy says, “as energized by protest as by advocacy, as fulfilled by his poetry as by his politics. This man was as deeply sensitive personally as he was profoundly courageous publicly. Though firmly a Christian, Bill Coffin embraced with appreciation the broadest expanse of religious traditions.” Rev. Forbes is the first African-American minister to serve at The Riverside Church in New York. The Riverside Church is an interdenominational, interracial, and international church built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1927 with more than 2,400 members. Welton asks Rev. Forbes why the Administration is having problems with the budget and who is at risk because of government cutbacks. “When the nation has difficulty,” Forbes says, “they balance the budget on the backs of the poor. Something ought to be done about that.” Members of Welton’s congregation at Northminster Church explain what it was like building a progressive church in a conservative community and how important it is to build bridges between the religious groups within the community.

Interfaith Alliance is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism, while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government. We advocate at all levels of government for an equitable and just America where the freedoms of belief and religious practice are protected, and where all persons are treated with dignity and have the opportunity to thrive. For more information visit interfaithalliance.org.