FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jack Pannell, (202) 745-4654, jpannell@sojo.net ; Colin Mathewson, (202) 745-4625, cmathewson@sojo.net

Sojourners to Host Presidential Candidates Forum on Faith, Values, and Poverty in June

The first candidates forum on faith and values attracts leading candidates Clinton, Edwards, and Obama

WHAT: Presidential Forum on Faith, Values, and Poverty

WHEN: Monday, June 4, 2007, at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Lisner Auditorium,

George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

WHO: Senator Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards and Senator Barack Obama

Washington, DC – (Wednesday, May 16, 2007) Sojourners, the largest national network of progressive Christians, announced today that it will host a candidates forum on faith, values, and poverty on Monday, June 4, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. featuring the three leading Democratic presidential contenders: Senator Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards, and Senator Barack Obama. CNN has joined Sojourners as a media partner and has agreed to broadcast the forum live from the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Jim Wallis, the bestselling author of God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, and a founder of Sojourners, invited the leading Democratic candidates to participate in a substantive national conversation on faith and values, with a particular emphasis on poverty. Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, and Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have agreed to participate in the forum. The question and answer format will be used with each candidate, who will appear on stage one candidate at a time. Sojourners has extended an invitation to the leading Republican candidates for a September forum in Iowa.

The forum will take place during Sojourners’ annual Pentecost conference, which is a national mobilization of progressive Christian lay and clergy leaders, and will be co-sponsored by Catholics In Alliance for the Common Good, the ONE Campaign, Oxfam America and Eastern University.

"We are excited that the leading candidates will be meeting with faithful voters who are hungry for a real conversation about the big moral issues of our time," said Wallis. "The forum will focus on faith and values, with a special emphasis on poverty. This conversation will offer faithful voters insights into each candidate’s moral compass and help to guide their decisions as they consider the candidates running for president of the United States."

Press credentials are required for the event and may be obtained by contacting Colin Mathewson at (202) 745-4625 or cmathewson@sojo.net. Additional details for media outlets can be found as the event date approaches at www.sojo.net/pentecost.

Limited tickets are available by registering for the Pentecost conference at http://www.sojo.net/Pentecost.

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Sojourners/Call to Renewal is a Christian ministry whose mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world. Visit http://www.sojo.net/, http://www.redletterchristians.org/, and http://www.godspolitics.com/.