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Statewide Convocation A Huge Success
Three thousand Arizona Interfaith Network Leaders fill the main floor and balcony of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church.
Attorney General Terry Goddard commits to working with Arizona Interfaith Leaders on Medicare Part D education and on legislation to reduce methamphetamine production.
Statewide Convocation A Huge Success
The Arizona Interfaith Network's Leadership Convocation on September 15 sharply exceeded expectations both with respect to turnout and impact. Three thousand leaders from across the State of Arizona jammed the sacred space of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Phoenix.
Public business included commitments by elected and appointed officials to address issues important to Arizona families, including the manufacture of methamphetamines, real immigration reform, respite care for the sick and old, investment in children, and protection against Medicare fraud and identity theft. From the welcome offered by Bishop Alexis Thomas, Pastor of Pilgrim Rest, to the stirring reflections by Bishops Gerald Kicanas (Catholic Diocese of Tucson), Minerva Carcano (Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church), Kirk Smith (Episcopal Diocese of Arizona)and Michael Neils (Synod of the Southwest, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America), to the sober commitments to education and action by the assembled broad-based community leaders, the Leadership Convocation represented an important step forward for Arizona's families.
The theme of the event, Arizona: Taking the High Road, which focused on real solutions to real problems impacting Arizona's families, resonated deeply. Arizona Interfaith leaders called for an end to the political posturing, scapegoat and polarizing, which currently characterizes so much of Arizona's public life. The AIN leaders affirmed a variety of strategies including:
- Formation of a Legislative Academy to teach active citizenship and coordinate a daily presence during the next session of the Arizona Legislature;
- A massive statewide education campaign on the need for real immigration reform;
- Participation in a national conference to explore the implications of public sector failures in the response to Hurricane Katrina;
- State and local initiatives to attack the problem of meth production, sale and addiction.
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