Presiding bishop, other Christian leaders meet with Obama on election eve

Group raises issues of poverty, peace and justice
By Matthew Davies
November 02, 2010

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori joined leaders of other mainline Christian denominations in meeting with President Barack Obama on Nov. 1, the eve of the midterm U.S. elections, to express gratitude for his leadership and to address national and international issues of peace, justice and poverty.

"On All Saints' Day, it was very good to gather with the president to speak words of support for him as a leader, particularly his work on behalf of so many people on the margins," Jefferts Schori told ENS. "We expressed our concern for the divisive rhetoric so prevalent in our society today. We also expressed gratitude for his administration's concern for the poor and hungry, and our hopes for continued work on the economic situation in this nation, on Middle East peace, and on the travel ban and restrictions on religious work in Cuba."

The Christian leaders included members of the National Council of Churches, which represents 45 million people and 100,000 congregations in the United States, and the global humanitarian agency Church World Service.  the rest

The delegation also included Episcopal Bishop Johncy Itty, chair of the CWS board of directors; Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and representatives of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Church of the Brethren, Armenian Church of America, Greek Orthodox Church of America, Presbyterian Church (USA), Moravian Church, Religious Society of Friends, Reformed Church in America, United Methodist Church, Orthodox Church in America, United Church of Christ, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.