WASHINGTON (RNS) A United Methodist agency has withdrawn its endorsement from this weekend’s One Nation Working Together rally here, an event that has drawn support from religious progressive groups.
In a Friday (Oct. 1) announcement, the General Board of Church & Society of the United Methodist Church said it had become “disturbed by some of the overtly political and partisan statements issued by organizers of the march.”
The board said it disagreed with a comment by one organizer, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, who told The Washington Post the Saturday event was an `antidote’ to the tea party movement. United Methodist officials also were concerned that some rally opponents see the event as a counter to the Aug. 28 rally led by conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck.
The “One Nation” rally, which will be held on the National Mall, has been endorsed by the anti-poverty group Sojourners, the Catholic group Pax Christi USA, the Sikh Coalition and the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group.
