Rhode Island
Interfaith Coalition
to Reduce Poverty
Interfaith Vigil
To offer support for our elected officials as
begin their new legislative session
January 7, 2015
3:00 pm
At The Statehouse
Rotunda
Program
Blowing of the Shofar
A Jewish tradition to call the community for assembly
Rabbi Alan Flam
Swearer Center for Public Service, Brown University
Rabbi Wayne Franklin
Temple Emanu-El, Providence
Rabbi Aaron Philmus
Temple Torat Yisrael, East Greenwich
Abigail Sherwood
Temple Beth-El, Providence
Music by: Shirley Howe
Welcome by Maxine Richman
Co-Chair of Rhode Interfaith Coalition
National member of the Board of Directors, Jewish Council for Public
Affairs
Greetings by Governor Gina Raimondo
Greetings by Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed
Greetings by Speaker of the House Nicholas A. Mattiello
Keynote Address by the Rt. Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
Responsive Reading Led by Seminarian Chontell Washington
Intern, Rhode Island State Council of Churches
The Reading of the Names of Our Elected Officials
Our elected officials’ names will be announced by members of the faith
community to ask them to govern with wisdom and compassion
Remarks by Rev. Betsy Aldrich Garland
United Church of Christ, Congregation
Co-Chair of Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition, President of the RI State
Council of Churches
Closing Blessing by Mufti Ikram ul Haq
Masjid Al-Islam, North Smithfield
Readers
The Rev. Agnes Akinrolabu
Christ Miracle Church Services
Providence
The Rev. Dr. Donald Anderson
Executive Minister, Rhode Island
State Council of Churches
Imam Farid Ansari
Muslim American Dawah Center
of RI, Providence
The Rev. Robert Auld
Summit Baptist Church, Coventry
The Rev. Dr. Carl Balark
Ebenezer Baptist Church
Providence
The Rev. Dr. Janice Byers
Kingdom Seekers Fellowship
Providence
The Rev. Janet Nelson-Cooper
Chaplin Brown University, UCC
Providence
The Rev. Sandra Demmler D’Amico
Immanuel Lutheran Church
Attleboro
The Rev. Eugene Dyszlewski
Rabbi Alan Flam
Lime Baptist Church, Lincoln
Swearer Center for Public
Service
Brown University
The Rev. James Ford
First Unitarian Church,
Providence
The Rev. Amy Frenze
Hope Congregational Church
Warwick
The Rev. Herson Gonzalez
Calvary Worship Center
Woonsocket
The Rev. Valerie Gonzalez
Calvary Worship Center
Woonsocket
The Rev. Doris Hooks
Antioch Christian Community
Providence
The Rev. Henry James
Trinity United Methodist Church
Providence
Rev. Alvin Johnson
Second Free Will Baptist Church
Providence
The Rev. Mathew Kai
West Side Tabernacle Baptist
Church, Providence
Fr. John Kiley
Diocese of Providence
Rabbi Andrew Klein
Temple Habonim, Barrington
The Rev. Barbara Libby
United Church of Christ,
Pawtucket
Rabbi Sarah Mack
President, RI Board of Rabbis
Temple Beth-El, Providence
The Rev. Nikita McCalister
Bethany Baptist Church, Pawtucket
Father Gene McKenna
St. Lucy Church, Middletown
The Rev. Caroline Patterson
Chaplin, Women & Infants
Hospital
Rabbi Aaron Philmus
Temple Torat Yisrael
East Greenwich
Sister Mary Reilly
Sophia Academy, Providence
The Rev. Timothy Rich
St. Lukes Episcopal Church
East Greenwich
The Rev. Keila Rodriguez
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
Providence
The Rev. Santiago Rodriguez
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
Providence
The Rev. Dr. Anita Schell-Lambert
Emmanuel Church, Newport
The Rev. Hyuk Seonwoo
Zion, Korean United Methodist
Church, Warwick
The Rev. Naomi Smith
Generations for Christ Mission
Church, Providence
The Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis
Providence Presbyterian Church
The Rev. William Sterrett
Amicable United Church of Christ
Tiverton
The Rev. Thomas Wiles
American Baptist Churches of RI
The Rev. Dr. Johnny M. Wilson
Olney Street Baptist Church
Providence
The Venerable Sochettra Yieng
New England Buddhist Temple
Providence
Swami Yogatmananda
Vendante Society of Providence
Responsive Reading
Our God, the Guide of humanity, let your spirit rule the elected
leaders of this State of Rhode Island so that their actions may
be prompted by love of justice, and bear fruit in goodness and
peace.
Bless our leaders with love of righteousness.
Guide our elected officials to work for the welfare of all, and
to work with special diligence to reduce the impact of poverty
in our state that holds too many of our brothers and sisters in
its grasp and stands in the way of our shared prosperity.
Bless our leaders with civic courage.
Bless the work of our legislators to work for a society where
justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty
stream.
Bless our leaders with a vision of justice and righteousness.
You have endowed humans with noble powers; help our public
officials to use those powers wisely and with compassion.
Bless our leaders with qualities of wisdom and compassion.
We stand together today with the recognition that humans have
been given the freedom to choose between good and evil, life and
death.
May our leaders choose life and good that our children may
inherit the blessings of dignity and freedom, prosperity and
peace.
Written by Rabbi Alan Flam, from the Swearer Center for Public Service,
Brown University and
member of the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty Steering
Committee
The Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty
2015 Advocacy Platform
Every Rhode Islander shall have:

A decent, safe and affordable home

Adequate food and nutrition

Equal access to affordable and quality health care

Equal and quality education for all children

Decent work with adequate income
As people of faith, we are committed to helping our neighbors when they are in need. But we understand that there is a vital
role that Government must play in assuring that all Rhode Islanders are protected against economic deprivation and are
afforded opportunities to achieve economic security.
We call on our public officials to preserve and enhance programs and policies that ensure that all Rhode Islanders are able to
meet basic needs and that establish pathways out of poverty through education and job training.
As a Coalition of faith communities, we are the watchdog for our neighbors who are most at risk and those who may need
extra assistance on the road to self-sufficiency. These are our seniors, children, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans,
chronically homeless, people who were formerly incarcerated, people subject to abuse, working poor, people with limited
skills and those who need to improve their English.
We work in collaboration with other organizations and coalitions who share our values and goals and support their efforts to
impact public policy to achieve economic security for all Rhode Islanders. For the coming legislative session The Interfaith
Coalition will work with our partners on the following policy initiatives:
All Rhode Islanders deserve a warm place to live, food on the table and adequate health care:
o
Implement Opening Doors RI, the State’s plan to end homelessness
o
Increase funding to the RI Community Food Bank and reinstate funding for SNAP outreach
o
Increase funding for the Meals on Wheels Program
If you work you should not be poor:
o
Increase the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit
o
Reform Pay Day lending
o
Increase income limits for the child care assistance program and increase the quality of programs by
improving rates paid to providers who participate in the program
Education is the way out of poverty:
o
Provide child care assistance for low-income parents who want to go to job training
o
End the waiting list at adult education programs so adults can access services to improve their English
language and/or literacy skills
o
Increase access to high quality early childhood education including high quality child care, Pre-K, Head Start,
and Full –Day Kindergarten
Vision “With one voice, the interfaith community of Rhode Island champions
justice and mercy, and eradicates poverty”
Mission To organize the Rhode Island faith community, its leaders and
members, into a force that can be mobilized and is to be reckoned with, at
the federal, state and city/town levels on matters impacting the poor, the
vulnerable and the disenfranchised.
To connect the common threads of our faith traditions and build
awareness of those connections to enable us to fight poverty with
faith; helping all believers see the solid line connection between what
they believe and what is happening around them that impacts those
“least of these.”
To advocate for and accompany the poor, by encouraging community
organizing and development, advocating for grants, spotlighting
initiatives of consequence and supporting challenges to the status quo,
i.e. the culture of poverty.
To empower poor communities to discover their own resources and
capabilities, to embrace them and to discover the means of success in a
democratic society that starts with personal responsibility and expands
to community responsibility-taking.
The Coalition is part of a national faith-based initiative that will work
to cut poverty in half by the year 2020. The Coalition is an advocate for
sound legislation and public policies that address the causes of poverty
and that promote economic well-being for all Rhode Islanders.
Steering Committee
Rev. Dr. Donald Anderson, RI State Council of Churches; Imam Farid Ansari,
Muslim American Dawah Center; Toby Ayers, RI for Community & Justice;
Elizabeth Burke Bryant, RI Kids Count; Rev. Marie Carpenter, American
Baptist Churches RI; Channavy Chhay, Center for Southeast Asians; Marty
Cooper, Community Relations Council of Jewish Alliance of Greater RI;
Rabbi Alan Flam, Swearer Center for Public Service, Brown University; Rev.
Betsy A. Garland, RI State Council of Churches and United Church of
Christ; Jim Jahnz, Catholic Diocese of Providence; Karen Jeffreys, RI
Coalition for the Homeless; Rev. Alvin Johnson, Second Free Will Baptist
Church; Linda Katz, Economic Progress Institute RI; Sr. Ann Keefe, St.
Michael Parish, Providence; Rabbi Sara Mack, Temple Beth El, Providence
and President of RI Board of Rabbis; Rev. Michael Mageau, Open Table of
Christ; Carlos Morals, Progreso Latino; Maxine Richman, Community
Relations Council, Jewish Alliance of RI and JCPA National Board Member;
Rev. Santiago Rodriguez, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church; Sr. Joan Rokicki,
McAuley House; Andrew Schiff, RI Community Food Bank; Chontell Washington
RISCC, ANTS Field Education Student; Yogatmananda, Vedanta Society of
Rhode Island
For more information contact: The Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition
401.421.4111 ext. 171 mcooper@jfri.org
endpovertyri.org