On this Friday, November 16, 2007 at 8 a.m. all clergy and spiritual leaders of Charlotte are invited to join the Clergy Advisory Board of Mecklenburg Ministries in demonstrating to Charlotte that caring for the poor is a requirement of our faiths and a priority for our city. Below is the letter the Clergy Advisory Board wrote to The Charlotte Observer (printed Monday, Nov. 12th) and sent to approximately 700 clergy throughout the city.

Information about how to ride the bus to meet at the Transportation Center by 8 a.m. follows. All are invited to join in this walk and the Homeless Awareness Walk on Saturday, November 17th - please see the letter and details below.

The 32nd citywide Interfaith Thanksgiving worship service will be Tuesday, November 20th at 7 p.m. at St. Gabriel Catholic Church. More information follows - and we invite any and all persons to join the Interfaith Choirs!

In gratitude for all that is going on in our community,

Maria

Open Letter to All Charlotte Clergy: We Invite You to Join in "Praying with Your Feet"

Dear Clergy Colleagues,

We live in a community of great blessings and deep disparities. We have a rapidly growing number of homes valued over one million dollars, while there are 5000 homeless on our streets. We have those who choose how to invest large portfolios, while others must choose between purchasing medication or food. Neither the rich nor the poor, given our faith traditions, can ever be content with the disparities that exist in our city.

The world's major religions have a common call: to love your neighbor as yourself. Micah speaks to us all, rich and poor, when he teaches: "do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with our God" (Micah 6:8). According to Mohammed, "You will never enter Paradise without faith and you will never have faith until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself." When Jesus was asked by a religious leader of his day, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied with a parable about a Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37)

We, a group of concerned clergy and representatives of several religious and faith communities in Charlotte, feel moved to raise the question of ourselves: what does God require of us? How shall we love our neighbor? This letter is our initial attempt to affirm justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

We call upon each community of faith in Charlotte-Mecklenburg to be in prayer for the poor. We call upon ourselves and the faith community to focus on the issues of disparity surrounding us, to enable those without a voice to be heard, to seek to do justice. These are essential efforts if we are to become a "world class city." We also call upon the community to consider how our lifestyles and political decisions impact others.

When he marched in Alabama for Civil Rights with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said he was praying with his feet. It is time for us to pray with our feet as well. We invite all Charlotte clergy to join us in demonstrating to our congregations that caring for the poor is a requirement of our faiths and a priority for our city. As a symbol of our commitment to this cause, on Friday, November 16th, we will take public transportation to the Transportation Center (310 East Trade St.) and meet at 8 a.m. After a public expression of our concern, we will walk together to Crisis Assistance Ministry to express our solidarity with the poor and to encourage support for the 3rd Annual Help the Homeless Awareness Walk the following day.

In addition, we ask people throughout Charlotte to pray for this cause, to tell our community's leaders that care for the poor is a priority, and to participate in the Help the Homeless Awareness Walk.

Together we can build a community that has compassion and can be a place of hope for all. For more information, please contact Maria Hanlin at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sincerely,

Mecklenburg Ministries Clergy Advisory Board:

Imam Khalil Akbar, Ash Shaheed Islamic Center

Monsignor Richard Bellow, St. Mark Catholic Church

Rev. Russ Dean, Park Road Baptist Church

Dr. Nabil Elias, Charlotte Baha'i Community

Rabbi Murray Ezring, Temple Israel

Dr. Maria Hanlin, Mecklenburg Ministries

Dr. James Howell, Myers Park United Methodist Church

Dr. Bill Jeffries, Providence United Methodist Church

Dr. Clifford Jones, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Rev. Jay Leach, Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte

Dr. Joan Parrott, University Park Baptist Church

Rabbi Judy Schindler, Temple Beth El

Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker, Myers Park Baptist Church

Dr. Ricky Woods, First Baptist West Church

P.S. For more information on the 3rd Annual Help the Homeless Awareness Walk which is Saturday, November 17th, please go to www.AWayHome.org.