Subject: IWG Progressive Letter
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 00:16:51 -0500 (EST)

November 21, 1998

The Progressive
409 East Main Street
Madison, WI 53703

Dear Editors:

Thank you for your December Comment, "Preachers of
Hate."  We agree with your assessment of the danger,
the need to distinguish between those preaching hate
and their followers, and your call for all of us to
organize peacefully.  We believe that in this
particular struggle, people of faith have a special
responsibility to speak out against hate and to
articulate why we support gay rights, reproductive
freedom and separation of church and state.  One of the
reasons that James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, James
Dobson, Lou Sheldon, and Gary Bauer have a following is
that their followers are not regularly exposed to
competing ideas.  We must continually exercise our
first amendment rights in defense of freedom.

Sincerely,
Barbara Purdom     Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators

The above letter went out on IWG letterhead listing 16 congregations and
organizations and 60 clergy from 15 religious traditions. If you are in 
the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious 
organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths 
are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in 
other areas.

-- 

Interfaith Working Group                Religious organizations, congregations
[email-masked]                      and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/iwg/          reproductive freedom, and the 
215-235-3050                            separation of church and state.