Letter to Jack Bovender on Metro General
Posted by admin on March 28, 2009
Would you be willing to ask HCA to help support Metro General? Here’s your chance:
Clergy Statement in Support of Metro General Hospital
Posted by admin on
Via Gordon Bonnyman:
General Hospital is endangered by state and local government budget shortfalls that are reducing the subsidies that sustain the hospital, since few of its patients can pay their own way. Getting federal funds to sustain the Hospital is critical for vulnerable Nashvillians, and it is also important for Meharry, which uses the Hospital as its primary teaching facility.
Rev. Jerry Maynard has drafted a Declaration of Support for clergy to sign. Clergy are also signing letters to Dr. Harry Jacobson of Vanderbilt and Mr. Jack Bovender, Chairman of the Board of HCA, to exert their influence as leaders of Nashville’s healthcare industry, on General Hospital’s behalf.
Clergy Statement to Harry Jacobson on Metro General Hospital
Posted by admin on
Here is a letter to Dr Harry Jacobson of Vanderbilt that we are asking clergy to sign:
Thank You Nashville!
Posted by admin on January 22, 2009
On behalf of all the members of the Faith Leaders for All of Us, I want to express my thanks for the defeat of the English Only amendment. Six weeks ago, no one thought we had much of a chance. But through your efforts, your sermons, and your prayers we have said that hospitality will continue to be the norm in Nashville.
However, our work is not over. While over 41,000 of us said no to English Only, over 32,000 said yes. Just because we won an election doesn’t mean that the fears and concerns that led those to support the amendment will go away. Those fears and concerns must be addressed in the days and weeks to come so that Nashville will be even more welcoming than it already is. It is up to us in the faith community to lead the way in facilitating conversations on change, immigration, and diversity, drawing on all that our traditions offer us to bring forth God’s beloved community in the world.
Thanks again for all you have done! Be watching in the future for how we can work together on spreading the message of hospitality.
–Jay Voorhees
What I would Have Said
Posted by admin on January 20, 2009
This morning, I watched the inauguration of President Obama with 400 neighbors and friends at the Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro Village. The viewing “party” was sponsored by Nashville for All of Us, the group leading the opposition to the English Only amendment being voted on in Nashville this Thursday. I had been scheduled to speak at the event, to share some words on why I and other faith leaders are against English Only, but the organizers were late in getting the speakers on and it was getting close to the inauguration, so the crowd was in NO mood to hear any stump speeches. I voluntarily gave up the opportunity to speak (I valued my life too much to try!), but if I had spoken, I would have said something like this:
Yesterday, many of us spent the day celebrating and reflecting on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Those of us gathered here know the result of King’s work, in fact, our gathering today is the direct result of one who had a vision that would not die, in spite of all those who tried to kill it.
In 1968, when I was just 8 years old, Dr. King came to the National Cathedral just a few miles from our home in Maryland, and preached a sermon titled “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.” I, like many today, was caught up in my own life, my own needs and wants, and knew nothing of this sermon. But many years later some words from the sermon grabbed my heart, and I keep them framed near my desk in my office.
