Thirteen church leaders, including Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church, have issued an open letter criticizing administration policies they believe will increase poverty. The letter from the Circle of Protection begins:
As leaders from all the families of U.S. Christianity, representing church bodies and networks serving more than 100 million Americans, we are concerned about administration action to cut safety net programs that help low-income people. The gospel of God’s love for all people moves us to speak together on this issue.
We support the goal of helping Americans move from poverty to financial independence. But some of the administration’s policy changes and proposed cuts in funding for low-income programs are likely to add to the hunger, poverty, and economic insecurity which are already far too widespread in our country. Read the full letter ⇒
As reported by Christian Post,
The coalition is comprised of mostly left-leaning Christian leaders, including Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Sojourners founder Jim Wallis, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and Barbara Williams Skinner of the National African American Clergy Network.
Other signatories to the letter include the National Association of Evangelicals President Walter Kim, Gabriel Salguero of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Jim Winkler of the National Council of Churches and Bread for the World President David Beckmann.