Communities of Faith Initiative

Religious leaders who believe that the principles of inclusion and forgiveness are critical for strong communities have begun to join the movement to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions.

In 2005, the Brennan Center filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of religious leaders in Alabama in Gooden v Worley, a case challenging Alabama’s Secretary of State’s disenfranchising policies. United in their belief that felony disenfranchisement offends basic Christian principles, these leaders urged the Alabama Supreme Court to consider the case and affirm a favorable trial court decision.

On October 23^rd, 2008 the Brennan Center held a one d ay event for religious leaders to come together to share thoughts, ideas, and inspiration about the movement to restore voting rights. Drawing particularly from the widely held religious principles of forgiveness, mercy, restoration, and reconciliation, the Convening sparked compelling discussions on how the religious community can be involved in the campaign to restore voting rights to people after criminal conviction. Participants included:

Pastor Lewis M.Anthony, Metropolitan Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Dr. Carroll Baltimore, Senior VP and Pastor, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Incorporated

Rev. Paul Benz, Director, Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State

Walter Boyd, Director, Ex-Offender Opportunities Program, Protestants for the Common Good

Lucreda Cobbs, Senior Director, Advocacy and Civic Engagement, Catholic Charities

Rev. Bruce Davidson, Director, Lutheran Office of Gov't Ministry in New Jersey

Father Pat Delahanty, Interm Director, Catholic Conference of Kentucky

Elizabeth Denligner, Deputy Director for Policy and Organizing, Sojourners

Imam Makram Nu’Man El-Amin, Resident Imam, Masjid An-Nur in Minnesota

Rev. Roosevelt Ewell, Parliamentarian / National Volunteer Coordinator. National Alliance of Faith and Justice

Robert Francis, Director of Domestic Policy, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America

Rabbi Leonard Gordon, Chair, Social Action Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly

Rev. Jimmie James, Executive Director, H.O.P.E. (Holistic Opportunities for Personal Empowerment)

Verlene Jones, Secretary and Past President of the Church Council of Greater Seattle

Dr. Bret Kincaid, Public Policy Editor, Evangelicals for Social Action

Bill Kleiber, Restorative Justice Ministries Network of North America

Rabbi Aaron Lipskar, Executive Director, Aleph, an organization for Jewish Renewal

Jody McCardle, Network Coordinator, Joint Religious Legislative Coalition

Pat Nolan, Vice President , Prison Fellowship

Rev. Jayne Oasin, Program Officer, Peace and Justice Ministries of the Episcopal Church

Wesley Patillo, Senior Program Director of Justice and Advocacy, National Council of Churches USA

Rev. Mark Peters, Executive Director, Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota

Tom Schellabarger, Domestic Policy Advisor, U.S Catholic Conference of Bishops

Gabe Schlabach, Legislative Assistant, Mennonite Central Committee

Rev. Alexander Sharp, Executive Director, Protestants for the Common Good

Dr. Karen Swanson, President, Billy Graham Center- Institute of Prison Ministries

Dr. Gilberto Valez, Chairman of Board, National Hispanic Leadership Conference, and Pastor, Iglesia Cristiana Misericordia

Rev. Dr. Rolen Lewis Womack, Chair, African American Ministers Leadership Council and founding pastor, Progressive Baptist Church in Milwaukee, WI