Pastor Allen's Letters To Public Officials
 

These letters, while personal letters from a private citizen, show how important it is for a person of faith to have a voice on matters of public policy.  It is critical for a pastor to exemplify the Way of Christ, and I believe central to Christ's mission was to bring about transformation, not only in the individual heart, but in society.

In Luke 4:16-21 we are reminded of Jesus' deep commitment to societal transformation,

When [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’

So, I offer the most recent of my letters to public officials, the most recent at the top, to inspire, challenge, and even convict others to "go and do likewise."

If you have questions or concerns about what this means for the so-called "separation of church and state," I recommend you go to this website from our United Church of Christ sisters and brothers for very helpful information:

http://www.ucc.org/ourfaithourvote/pdfs/guideline2pp.pdf

or you can get resources directly from the Internal Revenue Service website at:

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=179432,00.html

Pastor Allen Harris

July 29, 2008

Joseph A. Calabrese
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
1240 W. 6th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1331

Dear Mr. Calabrese,

I write to you to urge you to not reduce and eliminate RTA bus routes as you have announced in the press recently. In particular, I ask you not to eliminate the Circulator bus routes. These Circulator busses are lifeblood for many of us, predominantly our lower income and elderly citizens.

I can personally speak of one route, the 807 Tremont Circulator, which is particularly critical for many of the daily tasks of members of my congregation who live at Lakeview High Rise Apartments. If it were not for this bus route, many of these persons would be isolated and experience extreme hardships getting to and from the grocery store, doctor’s appointments, and even our church.

The proposed fare increases, while understandable in this day when gasoline prices have become extremely high, would put our urban citizens at risk on long walks and in bad weather. I beg you to explore other ways to manage this dilemma without raising the fares (or at least as much as proposed) and without cutting bus routes.

If you would like to speak with me further about this, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Rev. Allen V. Harris
E-Mail: AHarrisCLE@aol.com

cc. Councilman Joe Cimperman
Mayor Frank Jackson
 

_________________________
May 16, 2008

Dear President Bush,

The JEM rebel attacks in Khartoum and the Sudanese government's heavy-handed response demand your immediate attention. All parties must understand that there can be no violent solution to this revolving cycle of conflict.

The Sudanese government has a long history of using such attacks as an excuse for the indiscriminant killing of civilians in Darfur. These heinous new attacks - which took place not in Darfur but within Sudan's capital city - could give the Sudanese government all the excuse it needs to unleash its forces against Darfuri civilians living in Khartoum as well as in Darfur.

The Save Darfur Coalition is already receiving reports that the Sudanese government is conducting arbitrary detentions, torture and killings in and around Khartoum, and that its proxy janjaweed militias are mobilizing and have begun to attack the town of Tawila in North Darfur. While the Sudanese regime has the right to defend itself, its indiscriminant targeting of civilians must not be allowed to go unanswered.

Mr. President, you and your fellow world leaders must immediately demand that the Sudanese government end all targeting of innocent Darfuri civilians in the wake of these attacks.

I therefore urge you to work at the U.N. Security Council to demand the protection of civilians throughout Sudan, and enact strong U.N. sanctions upon individuals responsible for any attacks upon civilians.

I further urge you to take urgent steps to speed up the deployment of the UNAMID peacekeeping force for Darfur by organizing a high-level UNAMID donor conference to secure contributions of all necessary funding and equipment, and by working with Secretary-General Ban to ensure that all preparations for UNAMID's deployment are being made as swiftly as possible.

Sincerely,
Rev. Allen V. Harris

_________________________

May 12, 2008

Dear Representative Skindell,
I am writing you today to urge you to co-sponsor Representative Dan Stewart's Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies bill, which he will formally introduce on Wednesday. This critical bill ensures that sexual assault victims have access to emergency contraception and preventative treatment for sexually transmitted infections following the assault.

Rep. Skindell, you know me to be an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, and for the homeless and marginalized. This issue is just as important to me, and I urge you to make this a priority.

Last year NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Foundation released a report that showed that 17% of hospital emergency rooms that were surveyed did not guarantee access to emergency contraception (aka the "morning after" pill) to all sexual assault victims in their emergency room. A sexual assault victim deserves comprehensive medical treatment following their assault. Please contact Representative Dan Stewart's office today to sign on as a co-sponsor of this important legislation and show your support for the survivors of sexual assault in this state. The deadline for signing on is 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 14.

Sincerely,
Rev. Allen V. Harris

_________________________

May 4, 2008

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Mukasey,

I write to express my utter horror and profound anger that you and officials in the U.S. Department of Justice continue to support methods of interrogation of individuals detained by our military that include inhumane techniques, cruel and unusual punishment, and outright torture. In addition, you, your staff, and the Administration of President George Bush have created a toxic national environment that presumes and propagates that such illegal and immoral techniques are necessary to the causes of democracy and freedom. They are not necessary and you are, in fact, destroying the foundations of justice, decency, and the rule of law upon which this great nation was founded.

To engage in a policy of torture is a weak policy. Because ultimately:
- It encourages the terrorists. They are emboldened by America’s failure to respect its own proclaimed principles of human rights and democratic values.
- It undermines our own values. Our soldiers and intelligence officials are dragged down to a degrading level of animal brutality.
- It corrupts our system. Individuals and groups whose morality is damaged by promoting torture are far more likely to commit crimes and other corrupt acts.
- It doesn't get good intelligence. Evidence shows confessions given during testimony is at best unreliable and at worst, dangerously misguided.

I urge you to return our nation to its greatest ideals of life and liberty and refuse to allow any act of torture or abuse to happen in the name of the United States of America.

Sincerely,



Rev. Allen V. Harris

cc. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. George Voinovich, Pres. George Bush


 

Copyright 2008 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096