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Gathering at church brings faith perspective to address

In a church on East Colfax Avenue, Terian Turner watched the president on the big screen Tuesday night, listened to all the promises and programs, and would have none of it.

A 21-year-old student at Metropolitan State College of Denver, Turner tutors high-school students in a program called Upward Bound, which suffered budget cuts under President Bush.

"God tells us to be educated people," Turner said during his turn at the microphone. "We should fight to make sure people disenfranchised and indigent should have a chance to rise up and have that American dream."

"Leave no child behind? Not working," he said.

For two hours Tuesday night, church and State of the Union came together at the Master's Bible Church in Denver. A crowd of 60 people - pastors, ministry leaders, students and ordinary citizens - gathered to watch the speech and engage in a dialogue about Bush's ideas, Christians' role in politics and social problems facing Denver.

It was a tough crowd for Bush. The gathering was one of 200 nationwide sponsored by the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal and Sojourners magazine.

While the goal was to bring together white and black, conservative and liberal, inner city and suburban, organizers said that in the end it was tough to get conservatives to the table.

The sponsoring organizations and others - including some conservative evangelical groups - are trying to craft a new definition of "values voters," one that brings a faith perspective to policy debates over poverty, the budget and the environment.

"There are 2,000 verses in the Bible that talk about care of the poor," said Caleb Seeling, 31, a social worker and public-health educator who coordinated the Denver gathering. "There are many people of faith who are progressive, who don't buy into only the issues the right holds out."

The Denver audience agreed that Bush's biggest focus was Iraq and foreign policy. His pledge to explore alternative forms of energy drew raves.

"I was really encouraged by what he said about energy, but I was frustrated he spent so little time on health insurance and the medical problems in this country because they're getting worse," said Candi Olson, 28, who has struggled to find health insurance as a freelance writer.

After one audience member ran through a litany of complaints about Bush that began and ended with references to fascism, Ron Bard interjected.

"It's easy to come here and take pot shots at various elected offices," said Bard, 68. "After all is said and done, we are a representative government. We've got to put pressure and let these people know what we want."

David Warren, executive director of Open Door Ministries, which runs inner-city outreach programs for single moms and at-risk youths, shared his conversion from a conservative evangelical who thought little about poverty to an activist who was arrested in Washington, D.C., in December protesting what he calls an immoral federal budget.

"There is a time for tax cuts and a time for cuts in programs," Warren said after Bush spoke about extending tax cuts. "But probably not at the same time."