Over 1,000 Religious Leaders Gather for Global Peace, Justice

WASHINGTON - More than a 1,000 international faith leaders and human rights advocates have gathered to address how problems such as violence, globalization, and global warming are harming the world's children.

Participants of the fifth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace and Justice Conference, have convened in the suburb of Washington, D.C., under the theme of "And How Are the Children."

The three-day event, which began Friday, will highlight how the killings in Burma, global livelihood, and the new Farm Bill will affect children worldwide.

In addition, the plenary sessions and workshops will discuss topics such as unaccompanied children crossing borders, the effect of the Middle East conflict on children, and the effect of the debt of African countries and free trade agreements on poor families in Latin America.

The conference is the only event of its kind in the United States to gather national and international faith and grassroots activists to tackle poverty. This year's gathering of over 1,000 people will be the largest attendance since its beginning in 2003 with about 400 people.

More than 50 organisations have sponsored the ecumenical event including Church World Service, the National Council of Churches USA, Episcopal Church USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America, United Methodist Church, and Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.

Key speakers include the Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson, North American President for the World Council of Churches; the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); and the Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the national Council of Churches U.S.A.

The event will conclude Monday with a day of lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill to press officials to set poverty as the top priority on the U.S. agenda and provide greater support for children around the world.