Join in a Community-Wide Observance of National Children's Sabbaths^® Weekend

October 17-19, 2008, Nationally Sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund, www.childrensdefense.org

The National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Weekend (nationally sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund) is an annual, multi-faith holiday that celebrates children as sacred gifts of the Divine, and provides the opportunity for communities of faith to renew and live out their moral responsibility to care, protect, and advocate for all children. Through the service of worship, educational programs, and congregational activities, you can affirm what your place of worship already does with and for children in your community, state, and our nation. In some communities, all of the local congregations work together to sponsor a mulit-faith service to which the entire community is invited.

This weekend is a part of a broader Children's Sabbaths movement that aims to unite religious congregations of all faiths across the nation in shared concern for children and a common commitment to improving their lives and working for justice on their behalf. In that respect, each action is bigger, more powerful and more inspiring than the efforts of any one celebration.

Durham Congregations In Action, a local interfaith ministry network and program incubator, calls on our community to mark this occasion with renewed commitment to realizing the vision of Martin Luther King's "Beloved Community," and to advance the protection of our children from poverty, racism, and violence. We have a "cradle-to-prison pipeline" at work, funneling our poorest children (especially African-American and Hispanic) from homes without adequate income, health care, or family support and stability, into:

a lack of educational preparation for school, a culture that glorifies guns and violence, educational delays, foster care relationships that do not meet needs for family support, neglected physical and mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness, social services, juvenile courts.

The Children's Defense Fund summons us to work for a fundamental paradigm shift in child policy and practice, away from the too frequent first choice of punishment and incarceration, and toward prevention and early intervention and sustained child investment. The only thing our rich nation will guarantee every child is a jail or detention cell after s/he gets into trouble, fails in school, becomes a child parent or explodes in rage from undiagnosed and untreated health or mental health, neglect or abuse.

1. We must begin early by ensuring every child a healthy start through guaranteed comprehensive health and mental health coverage that includes pregnant women wherever they live in America. That our President and Congress refuse to invest enough money to provide all 9.4 million uninsured children in America the health coverage they would not deny a single one of their own children for a single day should be an urgent issue in 2008 and until a national child health

and mental health safety net is in place. Our North Carolina legislature must expand Healthy Start until no child does not have access to health care.

2. Ensure quality Early Head Start, Head Start, child care and preschool to get every child ready for school. High quality early childhood programs help children do better in school, avoid special education and stay out of trouble.

3. Link every child to a permanent, caring family member or adult mentor who can keep them on track and get them back on track if and when they stray. We must bring to scale promising practices, like YO-Durham's mentoring and employment-preparation blend, that engage and enrich children during out-of-school time and encourage more minority youths to see teaching and child advocacy as urgent callings.

6. Make sure every child can read by 4th grade and can graduate from school able to succeed at work and in life. An ethic of achievement and high expectations

for every child must be created in every home, congregation, community and school and in our culture and public policies and practices. No external enemy poses as great a threat to America’s security as our millions of unhealthy, uneducated, angry children who will fill our prisons rather than bolster our economy.

7. Commit to helping the richest nation on earth end the child and family poverty that drives so much of the Prison Pipeline process and the racial disparities faced by Black, Latino and American Indian children who are disproportionately poor. It is not right, sensible or necessary to have 13 million poor children in a $13.3 trillion economy. No other industrialized nation permits such high rates of child poverty. Parents need a range of work and income supports to make ends meet including expanded and refundable earned income tax and child tax credits - both federal and state - and minimum wage laws adjusted for inflation that provide a living wage. 8. Dramatically decrease the number of children who enter the child welfare and juvenile and criminal justice systems. Stop detaining children in adult

jails and reduce the racial disparities in these and other child serving systems. Bolster programs and measures to prevent teen pregnancy, provide quality parent-child home visiting programs, comprehensive and quality community family support programs to prevent neglect and abuse, and comprehensive family-based substance abuse treatment to keep children out of the child welfare system are critical.

9. Confront America’s deadly, historic romance with guns and violence and stress more nonviolent values and conflict resolution in all aspects of

American life. Since 1979 more than 100,000 children have been killed by guns. We must stand for common sense gun controls and against excessive violence in the media and entertainment industry. Congregations play a key role in helping ex-offenders re-settle and re-establish relationships in the community in new, nonviolent patterns. We also must invest in the services needed to develop in our children and adolescents the conflict resolution skills and emotional capacities for dealing with aggression and distress without escalating violence.

We do not have a money problem in America, we have a values problem. It is time for our nation to do the right and cost-effective thing by investing in children now. That will happen only when advocates for children stand up together and make it happen.

The National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Weekend is supported by Catholic Charities U.S.A., the Islamic Society of North America, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., the National Assembly of Bahá’ís in the U.S., the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, the Union for Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and more than 200 other religious organizations and denominations.

Though we can and should lift up children and our commitment to them all year long, the National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Weekend is celebrated the third weekend of October (October 17-19, 2008).

Join thousands of churches, synagogues, mosques and temples across the country in this celebration by holding special worship services, education programs, and advocacy activities to engage people of faith in the lives of children and their families.

To assist communities with planning and implementing their Children's Sabbaths Weekend, CDF produces an annual National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Manual: A Multi-faith Resource for Year Round Child Advocacy.

Ten Examples of Past National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths® Celebrations

Some highlights from previous years' Children’s Sabbaths include:

1. Fulford UMC in Miami Beach, Florida included in their bulletin a history of the Children’s Defense Fund and highlighted the quote from Marian Wright Edelman: “If every one of us looked at each child as a child of God, we wouldn’t stand for the injustice that kids suffer.” They observed a moment of silence at the start of the worship service. The church bell chimed once at 10 seconds, then at 35 seconds, at 40 seconds, 51 seconds. Next, someone stood and stated: “Every 10 seconds a high school student drops out. Every 35 seconds a child is abused or neglected. Every 40 seconds a baby is born into poverty. Every 51 seconds a baby is born without health insurance.” The service concluded with a blessing of the children at the altar. Resources and representation from various community organizations that meet children’s needs were available after worship.

2. Christ Episcopal Church in Springfield, Missouri used lessons from the Children’s Sabbaths manual. The Executive Director of the Community Partnership of the Ozarks spoke to adult classes. Following worship, there was a community BBQ dinner. The afternoon featured a Fun Day of games and events in the park for children in the community. Other members of the congregation did basic home repairs and clean-up for community residents.

3. Washington, UCC in Cincinnati, Ohio participated in 40 Days of Prayer for Children. They distributed children’s names to the congregation and asked them to pray for that child for 40 days. Their Children’s Sabbath was a reunion of the children involved in their summer program.

4. The Children’s Agenda of Greater Rochester, New York is an inter-faith organization comprised of the local Roman Catholic diocese, the Genesee Valley District of the United Methodist Church, the Jewish Community Federation, the Islamic Center of Rochester, and an Interfaith Alliance and Forum. They held a "Bagel Breakfast” to highlight the Children’s Sabbath and provide materials to local congregations.

5. The Baha’i Faith Community in San Diego, California celebrated during their faith’s Nineteen Day Feast in which members of the Baha’i Faith community gather together for prayer, to share and consult about the administrative news of the community, and to strengthen relationships and bonds of unity.

The Baha’i Community utilized Children’s Sabbath program materials at 16 locations in San Diego on November 3, 2005. These materials included prayers and excerpts from the Baha’i Writings and music for a devotional program, thoughtful insights about the needs of children to inspire community consultation, and games and activities for friends and families.

The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’i Community of San Diego invited neighboring faith communities and service agencies to come together in joint activities near the home of the Baha’i Community in San Diego and the San Diego Baha’i Center in the neighborhood of Linda Vista, California.

The Baha’i Community also coordinated a Sunday morning devotional program at the Boisclair Baha’i School, which offers a spiritual education program for children and youth and serves 80-90 participants.

6. Lake Shore Baptist Church in Waco, Texas held a family camp-in at the church as part of their weekend celebration.

7. The Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel, Oregon held a prayer service for the welfare of children that raised awareness for children’s advocacy.

8. Temple Emmanu-El in Edison, New Jersey invited a speaker from the Children’s Defense Fund to speak for their Children’s Shabbat. The ongoing refrain was, “How is it for the children?” Following the service, people signed-up for a writing campaign to elected officials. The Social Action Committee of the synagogue will focus on children’s justice for their upcoming Mizpah Days event and are planning a community Children’s March.

9. Greater St. Mark AME in Georgetown, South Carolina had an entire weekend of events with a Friday “Night Out of Fun” for community children and a Saturday community “Harvest Fest.” Children led the Sunday Worship service. School supplies were collected and sent to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

10. Newport Lutheran Church in Newport, Minnesota involved the youth group in the worship service. The youth made and presented a Power Point presentation on the needs and concerns of children. The Sunday School classes made quilts that included positive messages of hope and blessing to children. These quilts were displayed during the service, blessed, and then given to the local St. Joseph Home for Children. The congregation made the Children’s Defense Fund their mission focus for the month of October. Money raised during this time will be split between the Children’s Defense Fund and the St. Joseph Home for Children