Around mass incarceration and gun violence, raising wages and benefits for our families and keeping immigrant families together. Today you will hear from speakers from Pico National Network, a National Latina evangelical coalition, the 11th episcopal district of ame church in florida, the Ohio Baptist State Convention, religioureligious Action Centerf reform judaism, United Church of christ, bread for the world. You can follow the conversation today using the hashtag together we vote and would like you to know for president as they called an option and that will be listened only to respond, respond to email requests. Id like to begin. We had arranged a speakers today and coming from all of the country. Id like to begin with bishop who served as pico National Director political director. [applause] good afternoon. I am the political drug of the Pico National Network ecosystem providing bishop international. We have gathered today to lay out a plan for people of faith to engage in how they want to see this country develop in the years to come. The Pico National Network as network of 45 federations in 21 states made up of over 40 different religious traditions and over 200 cities and towns representing over 2 million families of africanamericans, latinos, Asian Pacific islander, white and native american descent. We believe every person of faith should exercise their right to vote as an act of faith in cocreating with the divine the beloved community that we all desire here on earth. As much as such the Pico National Network and allies will engage in the together we Vote Campaign to do the following. We are going to talk to 1 million voters, in particular those voters that have been ignored or not considered as relevant. Those that were low propensity voters who we know to the work we did in 2012 and 2014 if people reach out to them will actually come out and vote. We are going to train 15,000 volunteers and Leaders Within our federation, and allied organizations to go into the work of knocking on doors, of having phone conversations, meeting people at supermarkets and on the streets, in their congregations making sure that they vote the season. We will be working in 19 states. In some of the key states and the numbers were talking about in terms of turning out for this election, in ohio we will talk to 150,000 people. In florida we will talk to 50,000 people. In pennsylvania we will talk to 50,000 people. In indiana we will talk to any 1000 people. In colorado we will talk to 10,000 people. We are laying out a framework of Public Policy framework so that in 2017 these voters who we are talking with now will continue to engage the local, state and National Level on issues like paid family leave in the 15 an hour minimum wage. They will engage in ending predatory payday lending. They will work to close privately run immigrant Detention Centers that are Holding Families and supporting families in this country. We will work to withhold federal dollars from cities and states that refuse to hold Police Accountable for how they are treating like and brown bodies in this country. Together with our allies we seek to Work Together to unify a voice, to build to speak for this country in a way that builds up into a place where all cannot just barely survive but everyone can thrive. Think he very much. [applause] now i would like to introduce pastor Tracie Blackmon in christ the king church in missouri and also with United Church of christ. [applause] good afternoon. I consider my task for these few moments to be twofold. One, has become an of United Church of christ and latino that the United Church of christ is not a Political Organization but we do have the partisan affiliation because we care about what happens to the marginalized in our society. We believe that we have a theological mandate, that it is a biblical mandate to care for the least of these, the left out of these, the lost of these. Because of that extent we must vote our conscience, voting not necessarily along political lines where we are made up of republicans and democrats and independents, but voting along moral lines, voting about issues that will have a tremendous impact on those who are marginalized in our society. I also stand before you today on behalf of the moral movement of revival that is going across this nation led by dr. William barber who many of you saw as the Democratic Convention just a few days ago, reverend james ford from the Drum Major Institute also Pastor Emeritus from the riverside church, myself and Sister Simone from nuns on the bus. We have created a moral revival that is going throughout the nation to many states, including new york, North Carolina, georgia, alabama, texas, mississippi, ohio, pennsylvania, massachusetts, south carolina, wisconsin, missouri, washington, d. C. , tennessee, indiana, minnesota, new mexico, kentucky, virginia. Tonight we will be in boston, if the message is clear. We are coming to reclaim the biblical narrative, to snatch it out of the jobs of capitalism and partisanship come into place it squarely back where cheeses, that Palestinian Jew we follow jesus place in the biblical narrative. And that place is people who are marginalized at the center. We are suggesting that the theological mandate that those of us who follow jesus have is that we must care for the hungry. We must care for those who do not have shelter. We must care for those that others turned their backs on, that must be the center of our narrative. And everything we do from the poles to the pulpit to the pews must lie up on this accord. So we are suggesting that we must practice in this nation a Linguistic Liberation that separates, separates capitalistic ideals from language that appears to be faithful. We are suggesting that you are not right religiously based on political parties. But that you are right by following the mandates of scripture. We are suggesting that you cannot be faithful to the word of the lord without being faithful to those that the lord came to serve. Thank you. [applause] now let me invite pastor Michael Harrison who serves with the ohio organizing collaborative and the Ohio Baptist State Convention to tell us about the amazing work he is doing in ohio. [applause] thank you. For nearly a decade ive been privileged to lead one of ohios Largest Community organizations. It is a diverse alliance of faith groups, neighborhood organizations, and workers. This year in our response to the attack on voters rights it is our goal to register over 200,000 people in the state of ohio. And as of today we already registered 135,000. [applause] but registering them is not enough. We are going to turn it out to the polls this fall and beyond. It is our plan to knock on every voters adore at least three times. But we are not going to stop there. Were going to send each and every one of them an application for early voting. Not only that but we will call them several times as well as text them. Were going to chase every new registered voters to the polls your in total, theyre going to have over 125,000 conversations with new voters, new voters as well as those of the principe to vote this fall. Propensity. We will not been over 500,000 doors, and these new voters will be registered. These 200,000 voters are going to decide the election in ohio this fall. Because people cannot be denied their voice. We have been running programs to register and turn out voters ever since 2007, and we will continue to do so beyond 2016. This is not just won the election to it is about people of faith, regular everyday people having the power to control and delete in their own communities. We cant take elections off. We cannot be silent when the time comes we must that because there is an attack that has been lost by grants voters rights. It is our responsibility to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to express themselves at the ballot box. [applause] thank you, pastor harrison to know id like to invite the National Latino coalition. [applause] bouygues there is, good afternoon. My name is to say. Im representing a National Latino evangelical coalition the also a minister. We are here because we want the latino voice to be heard. Many families have been divided to many families have been deported, and, but one of the things we want to be heard is that many of these families that have been divided, their kids our citizens. They are coming of age and they are ready to vote. We are ready to register them. We are going out into the cities in florida and pennsylvania and registering them. We are moving and all these major cities. And we have been mobilizing the congregations right after the Worship Services and registering all the families. We are doing it now in the d. C. Metro area and we are starting to do this in all the other major cities. One of the things we want everyone to understand is that we want everyones voice to be heard. We want our people to be heard and we want our families to be kept together. So the organization is not standing there we are moving because family comes first. So we are here to stand, we are standing on the gap ready to get the voice heard and ready to get the vote out. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Now i would like to invite be shown Adam Richardson junior with 11 episcopal district of African Methodist Episcopal Church in florida. [applause] im representing the ame church celebrating 200 years this year of Civic Engagement beginning with our founder whose lapel pin i show here today represented on before ever staff. Civic engagement has been what we are about. In florida we are aligned with faith in florida, that we take the lead in coordinating an early voting, that will deliver 100,000 africanamerican voters in nine counties. This engagement of 725 churches across denominational lines. We will count our participation through individual churches, commitment cards from voters at each congregation, and not by the congregation they signed up. But counties will consist of miamidade, broward, hillsboro, duvall, orange, seminole, leon, all seal and st. Lucie. Faith in florida has a formal partnership with agreement with the ame church in the 11th district in florida. One of the strong africanamerican denominations in the state. A minimum of 60 congregations and 69 cities can each with a trained volunteer will team out and reach out on the phone, knocking on doors to low propensity africanamerican voters in precincts close to their congregational sites. The program will collectively engage 50,000 conversations in the seventh of forementioned counties. Our goal is to keep each conversation congregation to 100 voting congregations by the november election day. Faith in Florida Action Fund will partner with local organizations to educate africanamerican and letting the electorates about the powers of the state attorney. Concretely the discretion that they have that significantly impact their most pressing racial criminal justice issues. Together, the organization will contact 45,000 voters, knocking on doors and ringing telephones. Moving 10 of the likely turnout based on an average turnout in countywide races during previous president ial election years. In addition to the program, this partnership will pay for newspaper and radio ads that lift up the importance of Estate Attorneys raise, and organize one candidate for him to for the lift the profile of these elections. And so we are on the case. Florida is on the case. Florida is on the case. [applause] id like an invite Barbara Weinstein who will be talking to us from the religious Action Center of reform judaism. [applause] good afternoon. I am here on behalf of the religious Action Center and the commission of social action of reform judaism and we are the largest the nomination in north American Jewish life. Like all of my friends and colleagues gathered here this afternoon, we have a deep and abiding belief in the holiness of every individuaindividua l. And an understanding of the power and strength that exists when we come together as individuals and we form a community. But we know as well theres been a systematic silencing of individual and communal voices at the ballot box. In the form of closed polling stations, limitations on early voting, and owners voter id laws. That brings us tremendous pain as a test i going here today. But we feel and particularly i could form of that pain because we know that the Voting Rights act itself was drafted in large part in our Historic Building here in washington, d. C. We take tremendous pride in that history. But our commitment to the rights is something thats just a historic one. Its something we engage in today with a deep meaning and the purpose. And so later this month we are proudly launching a program called which in hebrew means we are standing together. We are standing together in a nonpartisan voter registration, Voter Engagement and Voter Protection initiative thats going to carry us from august all the way through election day. We are launching this later this month in North Carolina which has been so many ways on the front lines when it comes to voter issues that have afflicted communities across this country. We are doing it as well as a community in partnership with other communities, many of which are here today with pico, the naacp, with the Lawyers Committee. We are doing that because the great stage cannot separate yourself from the community. We chose that phrase, that word because its the word that appears in a portion of the bible where moses out of the community together, all members of the committee, young and old, rich and poor, people of different classes and status in skin color, everyone had a place within the community. Everyone today must have a place within our National Committee what comes to the right to vote. Those are fundamental values that we have as jews, as people of faith, and as americans. We are proud to be part of this initiative today. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. Next we have lisa sharon harper. [applause] in matthew 25, jesus said what you did to the least of these you have done to me. Now, the least of these sorry, Nicholas Walters to actually call them the quartet of the vulnerable. The quartet of affordable included the widow, the orphan, the poor and immigrant. Why we jesus care about the least of these . Jesus just because the least of these are made in the image of god just like any other human being within her borders or in our world. Those making the image of god are called by god and created by god with capacity according to the scriptures to exercise demeaning comment exercised stewardship over our world. But Voter Suppression laws and policies negate and deny human beings their divine call and write to exercised stewardship. Now, the aclu reported in january this year that can states will be put into practice this year suppression laws in 2016. The Fourth Circuit this last month declared North Carolinas suppression law is unconstitutional. It targets the least of these. For other states had their Voter Suppression laws struck down in july. Yet we see that new tactics are being born by places by the locations and districts all over the country. Just today i believe were yesterday the New York Times reported that in different Districts Police officers are now being used in order to intimidate voters and challenge their capacity to vote. We say that they are made in the image of god, if they are citizens they have the right to vote. And so sojourners is launching the witness of the vote project at its called on churches and faith communities to show up at the polls on election day, and especially we are targeting by specific states, ohio, florida, pennsylvania, North Carolina and michigan. These are states were Voter Suppression laws have made it and policies, have made it a very tenuous place for people who are vulnerable in those populations. We are encouraging churches to engage in Community Spirit at the polls. Stand in solidarity with the least of these. Bear witness to Voter Suppression efforts in precinct across the country. The partners we are working with include pico, the