Christian group asks Obama to Put poor people first

A coalition of 36 major Christian organizations today urged President-Elect Barack Obama to put poor people first when designing an economic stimulus package.

Christian Churches Together, which says its represents 101 million church members, said talk of bailouts and stimulus packages have focused too much on the middle class instead of the poorest citizens.

"We really can't be true to our calling and our Christ without addressing poverty," said William J. Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA and president of the African American groups in Christian Churches Together.

Christian leaders said they met with Obama's transition team to discuss the main priority of many religious groups: reducing poverty.

They asked the new administration to set a goal to reduce poverty by 50 percent in the next decade. That same goal was suggested to President Bush eight years ago, but it wasn't met, said the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church of America.

"Poverty is a moral failure," he said. "The ongoing scandal of poverty in our country is not just a political issue but is a moral and spiritual issue."

The group acknowledged that middle class families need help, too, but said those in poverty have the most pressing need. Helping the poorest families could stimulate the economy, they said.

The responsibility to help, they said, lies with the government and with religious organizations.

Christian Churches Together, formed in 2006, includes members from every major denomination. It is broken into five "families" -- Catholic, Orthodox, historical Protestant, Evangelical/Protestant and African American. source>>>

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