Advocates at conference learn how US policies impact children worldwide

March 26, 2007

Dr. Jorge Freyre Scafati, General Coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for the Defense of the Rights of Children and Adolescents, during Ecumenical Advocacy Days. Photo: M. Shupack/CWS

Church World Service Executive Director John L. McCullough opened the fifth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice conference held March 9-12 in Washington, D.C. Rev. McCullough paid tribute to the impact made by the Christian ecumenical community and past Ecumenical Advocacy Days conferences in stimulating U.S. policy changes.

McCullough emphasized that the ecumenical community still has a large agenda of unfinished business to bring to the U.S., saying the faith bodies’ successes give strong basis for future ones.

The theme of the 2007 Advocacy Days conference was “And How Are the Children?” Some 900 people of faith from throughout the United States and representing a wide array of Christian communions gathered in Washington, D.C. for worship, fellowship, witness and learning together about how U.S. domestic and international policies impact the lives of children here and abroad. These U.S. participants were joined by faith-based peace and justice activists from throughout the world.

Plenary speakers included Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund and Mercedes Roman, an Ecuadorian sociologist and UN Representative for Defense for Children International. Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church in the USA brought the biblical message during the Friday evening worship service. Rev. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, gave the Sunday night charge preparing participants for their advocacy visits to Congress on Monday.

As part of its new “Ecumenical Witness Program,” the Church World Service Education and Advocacy Program brought international partners from Latin America, Africa and Asia to speak at the conference. In addition, Education & Advocacy provided 10 full scholarships to CROP volunteers and staff from across the United States.

Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognized partners and allies. Church World Service has been a primary sponsor since its inception in 2003. Advocacy Days is representative of the broader movement of people of faith who believe that U.S. and global poverty is a pressing moral issue that must be addressed as a top priority on the U.S. agenda.