October 1, 2003
Civil rights leader urges clergy to usher congregants toward fiscal
solvency

Churches can take care of more than the spiritual needs of their communities, the Rev. Jesse Jackson reminded area religious leaders last week. Religious institutions can bring about social and political change by educating their congregations.

Jackson, one of the nation's most visible figures in the civil rights movement, visited The Joshua Group Ministries in Silver Spring on Thursday morning to talk about the fourth movement in what he calls the Freedom Symphony: the quest for equal opportunity through shared economic security and empowerment.

Jackson has been traveling the country speaking about his Freedom Symphony, which consists of four movements: ending slavery, ending segregation, obtaining full voting rights and, now, combating debt and financial instability. The end of segregation and procurement of full voting rights were achieved by Martin Luther King Jr., and Jackson is working on completing the final movement, the financial concerns.

Debt plagues many Americans and "you have to be out of debt to be free," Jackson said. Lack of financial resources can act as a barrier to education, home ownership and investment, and can affect quality of education and quality of life.

During the civil rights movement, King used the pulpit to address segregation and voting rights. Now, Jackson, saying he is continuing King's legacy, has proposed that religious leaders across the country help their congregations become financially sound. Church, he said, brings order to any movement.

"When churches move, the masses move," Jackson said.

In response to growing debt and bankruptcies, Jackson has created 1,000 Churches Connected, an initiative of the Rainbow/PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) Coalition designed to help churches bring the message of economic responsibility to its members. The Joshua Group Ministries is a member of 1,000 Churches Connected. The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is a multi-racial, multi-issue organization that focuses on social, racial and economic equality.

Jackson wants to mobilize churches across the state to become a branch of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and focus on teaching good finance management and changing public policy. The Rev. Donell Peterman of The Joshua Group Ministries, the Rev. Grainger Browning of Ebenezer AME Church in Prince George's County, and Isiah Leggett, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party, will chair the organization designed to connect congregations and make a political statement as the 2004 presidential elections draw closer. Peterman said a statewide meeting will be held in October.

Jackson, a Democrat who made unsuccessful runs for a presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, said President George W. Bush supports policies that don't help the less moneyed.

Bush's policy "gives money back to the top 1 percent of people," and the middle class are working harder than ever in a declining job market, he said. And money -- or lack thereof -- is responsible for many problems that plague Americans.

"Jobs are going down, tuition's going up, the jail population is exploding," he said.

It's possible for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to help change current policies, Jackson said, referring to triumphs made during the civil rights movement. "Coming from the back of the bus in Montgomery [Ala.], we changed public policy," he said.

Leggett said he supports Jackson's ideologies. This provides a foundation for "what I consider to be the next challenge: broad inclusion," both socially and politically, he said.

Peterman said his congregation could benefit from a message of economic responsibility. He agreed with the idea of using the pulpit to teach about the importance of saving and investing, particularly because members of 1,000 Churches Connected are taught that "it's not about pointing fingers, it's about how you help yourselves."

Some of his members can't afford to do certain things that they want to do or should be doing, and many of his members are between the ages of 25 and 37 with young children, he said.

"They need to begin to think about an education plan," he said.

Bishop Imagene Stewart of the Greater Pearly Gate Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., also said that she supported Jackson's message, even though their political views differ. Stewart, a Bush supporter, said she originally met Jackson when working with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the1960s.

"We've got the same goals: bringing people together, black, white, Hispanic. He's never been in the black-only mindset," Stewart said.

Stewart, who runs a homeless shelter in the District that she opened in 1977, said she would like to share financial expertise with the people who come to the shelter.

But you don't have to be homeless to have financial trouble. People buy cars and rent houses they can't afford, Jackson said. They spend money on Lotto tickets and use credit cards as a substitute for cash. When he asked how many people in the room were in debt, nearly every hand shot into the air.

Jackson's plan to combat debt is fairly simple: Assess the debt ("How deep is the hole?"), create a plan to get out ("Spend less than you make. That's the key to the plan.") and invest money wisely.

Under 1,000 Churches Connected, each church will have a financial advisor and pastors will learn how to write sermons to introduce congregations to financial independence. Pastors also get a three-day training at the New York Stock Exchange, a financial curriculum with formal lesson plans and learn how to initiate an investment club within the church.

"This is tremendous for the life of the community in which you do ministry," Peterman said.