Source: The Associated Press
http://www.theday.com/eng/web/newstand/re.aspx?reIDx=2DC126D4-3D69-4986-8861-974671282EEA
On October 27, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "A coalition of religious groups is turning from preaching to public policy, hoping to persuade government to focus on the poor and working families. About 36 congregations, ranging from Catholics to Muslims, have joined forces to form the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice. The Hartford-area group is expected to include about 100 congregations by next year, while similar regional interfaith coalitions are planned statewide. Rev. Alvan N. Johnson Jr., pastor of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Bloomfield, and coalition president, said he sees the unification of faiths as the most important event in Connecticut in at least 25 years. 'We've overcome division. We found a way for people of faith to unite,' Johnson said. 'We are really concerned that the people of faith and their desires and wishes and the quest for justice of the people of faith has been ignored.' The coalition plans to lobby public officials at a massive meeting in Bloomfield Oct. 30. "