Thousands of church members meet near Dumfries

The first gathering of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, or VOICE, drew 2,014 people from 40 congregations from Prince William, Arlington and Fairfax counties and the city of Alexandria.

Leaders from the congregations that represent 120,000 people met at First Mount Zion Baptist Church near Dumfries on Sunday afternoon and pledged $228,950 to the organization’s mission of providing more affordable housing, strengthening education for people who want to learn English and providing affordable dental care.

Several Northern Virginia community leaders, including Va. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Richard Sanslaw, D-35th; Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Sharon Bulova; and Walter Tejada of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, promised the organization that they would support Voice in its three core missions.

Prince William Chairman Corey A. Stewart balked.

He said he wouldn’t ask Prince William County to contribute to an affordable housing fund and he said he wouldn’t commit to establishing county programs to expand dental services to the needy in Northern Virginia.

Stewart agreed that he would work to set up meetings between VOICE officials and ESOL officials in Prince William County Public Schools.

Stewart told the audience that the foreclosure rate in Prince William County precluded any new building including affordable housing.

“Adding to the inventory of homes in this community is just purely a bad idea,” he said.

Adding to the “housing glut” would not help residents, Stewart said.

On the issue of dental care, Stewart said that’s not a county government’s responsibility.

Those responsibilities include, public safety, education and transportation, Stewart said.

“I do not think that that’s something local government can do or should do at this time. I think that should be left up to the state,” Stewart said.

Father Robert Menard, of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Triangle, said the organization would be heard.

“We are here today to announce the birth of a new organization, a new dominion of justice, a new voice at the table of power,” Menard said.“We may be new in the neighborhood, but we raise our voice not in a helpless whimper, but in a robust and unified cry for justice and participation.”

Several religious leaders offered prayers at the beginning of the rally for the organization, which started when pastors, ministers, imams and rabbis started meeting three years ago to address social issues.

Imam Sheikh Shakar Elsayed, of the Dar-Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, asked for guidance for the organization.

“Guide us all to the straight path ... guide our hearts and give us the power so that we can all join with one heart, one hand, one voice to speak truth to power,” he said.

Robert Buckman, Unitarian Universalist, Arlington, spoke at the service.

“This is just the beginning,” he told the crowd. “We are Catholics. We are Protestants. We are Jewish. We are Muslim. We are Unitarian Universalists. We are African American, white Americans, Latino Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, Asian Americans and new Americans. We are united as never before in our demand for justice,” Buckman said.

Leonard Hamlin, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Arlington, said he hoped the new organization could get the attention of the area’s elected officials.

“There is power in organizing,” he said. “We looking for these politicians, our elected officials, to first of all commit to working with us as well as committing to working on some of the agenda items.”

Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.