The folks over at Faith in Public Life alerted The Brody File to the fact that a Bipartisan Presidential Compassion Forum will take place in Pennsylvania Sunday April 13th at Messiah College. Read below for more:
Religious leaders from across the faith and ideological spectrum today invited Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama to participate in an unprecedented bipartisan presidential candidate forum at Messiah College near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on the evening of Sunday, April 13 -- just nine days before the Pennsylvania primary.
Now more than ever, Americans motivated by faith are bridging ideological divides to address domestic and international poverty, global AIDS, climate change, abortion, genocide in Darfur, and human rights and torture. The Compassion Forum will provide the opportunity for candidates to discuss how their faith and moral convictions bear on their positions on these important issues.
Senator McCain, Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have each been invited to the Compassion Forum. Each candidate will participate in a separate substantive conversation. The Forum will be moderated by Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek, author of American Gospel, and respected scholar on faith and American politics.
The Compassion Forum will offer candidates an unprecedented opportunity to reach religious voters. The Forum will be broadcast on the Church Communication Network (CCN) to tens of thousands of people of faith in at least 1,000 churches across the country on April 20, the Sunday evening before the Pennsylvania primary.
The Compassion Forum is a testament to the power of faith to bring people together. The event has attracted the support of diverse religious leaders and Democrats and Republicans alike.
“The Compassion Forum will give the candidates a chance to talk straight to voters about what they’ll do as president to fulfill God’s command that we be our brothers’ keepers,” said Governor Mike Huckabee, a supporter of the event. “I’m proud that the faith community is taking the lead in asking the candidates to confront the most pressing moral challenges of our times.”
“Issues of faith, compassion and the common good are important throughout Pennsylvania,” said U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. “We have a moral obligation to provide a stable foundation for our next generation, but it also makes perfect economic sense. This year's candidates will be well served discussing these issues in Pennsylvania at the Compassion Forum.”
So will John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama show up? I’m told it’s looking good but stay tuned. This should be a great event. I’ll buy popcorn but if I go, I hope they have free food.