Advocacy
The Vote is Sacred Tour: Des Moines
We woke up Tuesday in Des Moines to a great story about The Vote is Sacred Tour in Baptist News Global.
“The goal of the eight-day ride from Omaha to Philadelphia, with multiple stops along the way, is to fight the Christian nationalism that has inspired its adherents’ yearning to replace democracy with theocratic and autocratic rule,” Jeff Brumley reported. You can read the full story here.
We then headed over to the Iowa State Capitol to meet our partners at Interfaith Alliance of Iowa for a rally and press conference. I went ahead of the bus to get the area ready, which meant we got a great view of the bus driving up the hill towards the Capitol. There was palpable excitement in the crowd, as multiple people mentioned seeing the bus driving around town.
Connie Ryan, Executive Director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, orchestrated a great lineup of speakers for the press conference: The Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot, Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Iowa; Sally Frank, member, Des Moines Jewish community and Board Chair, Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Action Fund; Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, clergyperson in the Evangelical Church in America; Mazie Stilwell, Director of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa; and Keenan Crow, Director of Policy and Advocacy, One Iowa.
“There’s a lot going on in Iowa that does not look like love of neighbor,” Bishop Frank declared. You can watch a portion of her speech on our TikTok channel.
After the press conference, we hosted a lunch with local religious leaders and then hit the road to Madison, Wisconsin. As we checked into our hotel, I caught this photo of the bus in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons is the Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy at Interfaith Alliance.
Transcript
Department of Education Gets Patriotism Wrong
Interfaith Alliance, together with major religious organizations committed to religious freedom and education, has submitted a formal comment to the U.S. Department of Education opposing the proposed priority and definitions on promoting patriotic education.
Moral Courage in Action: Faith Communities Confront Executive Overreach
This June, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard to California following widespread protests against a series of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the city; protesters stood in solidarity with immigrant communities and voiced opposition to mass deportation. Executive overreach under the guise of making communities “safer” threatens the freedom and safety of protesters and distorts democratic norms. In August, the administration further displayed overreach by deploying National Guard troops and quelling protests in Washington, D.C. In September, the administration announced that Portland, Oregon, would be the next city to have troops mobilized in its community. In response, faith communities, along with their partners, have not relented and are pushing back in defense of immigrant rights and the integrity of our democracy.
Interfaith Solidarity with LDS Communities
These past few weeks have been some of the hardest for our partners in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). On September 27th, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson passed away at the age of 101. President Nelson served as the Church’s 17th president and was a leader in promoting deep partnerships during a trying time in the Church’s history, including with other faith communities. We extend our deepest condolences to members of the LDS Church and wish them comfort as they mourn the passing of such an important leader.