A national call for moral revival is coming to Portland on Thursday, October 10, 2019.  It begins with a “Meet-up & March” organizing at 5:45 pm at Lincoln Park, 350 Congress Street.   That march will be followed by a “Mass Meeting” at 7:00 pm at First Parish Unitarian Universalist, 425 Congress Street, Portland.

This moral revival is a preamble toward the Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington on June 20, 2020.

Addressing the Portland crowd at First Parish will be the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II,  President Repairers of the Breach, and the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Co-director , Kairos Center.

The tour will shine a light on the conditions of those most impacted by systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.

“Being poor is not a sin, poverty is not a sign of moral failure or simply bad choices.  Similarly, people of color, women and LGBTQ people ae not sinners for being who they are.   The sins are systemic racism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia,” wrote Rabbi Joshua Chasan, Portland in an opinion piece in the “Portland Press Herald,” on Saturday, September 28.

Portland is the third stop on this nine month, twenty plus state “We Must Do More tour.”  It began September 20, 2019 and will end in May of 2020 in time for the June March on Washington next year.

“If you love freedom, you owe it to yourself to experience the presence of Rev. Barber and Rev. Liz and their team as they call for a moral revival that can awaken the hearts of every American to the human suffering still increasing all around and within us,” Rabbi Chassan concluded his piece.