Chief of Program Peggy Nienaber represented Faith & Action at a recent all-day White House conference on Faith Based and Neighborhood partnerships. The invitation-only meeting was held in the elaborate Eisenhower Executive Office Building immediately next to the White House. The facility is accessible only through the White House gates.
Peggy participated in the discussion surrounding recommendations presented to the President by a special advisory council. The group was appointed to explore ways the White House can continue to work with faith-based organizations on efforts like Mr. Obama’s Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. Last year, on the 100th anniversary of Fathers’ Day, the President wrote in an article for Parade Magazine,
In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence — both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We can do everything possible to provide good jobs and good schools and safe streets for our kids, but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference.
That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.
Faith & Action is working to reinforce the President’s admonition, particularly on his point that the job of fathers, “does not end at conception.”
Peggy Nienaber also used the conference as an opportunity to present the President’s point man for the Responsible Fatherhood program, Rev. Joshua DuBois, with a signed copy of a book by long-time Faith & Action supporter Pastor Kenneth Barney of the renowned New Antioch Baptist Church of Randallstown, Maryland.
Tags: faith based initiative, joshua dubois, new antioch baptist church, pastor kenneth barney, peggy neinaber, randallstown, rev. rob schenck, white house
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America and the world are in a massive generational shift. Vivid evidence of this was President Obama’s recent speech to the American Association of Retired Persons, a group he doesn’t even qualify to join because he doesn’t meet their minimum age requirement of 50. Young people are largely credited with electing Mr. Obama. On the other side of the political divide is an even younger state governor, Bobbie Jindall of Louisiana, still in his thirties!
Faith and Action is taking the challenge of connecting to young Americans seriously. Rev. Rob Schenck will today address a youth camp for young political and social activists at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, VA, near Washington, DC. The theme of the week-long program for kids ages 14 – 18 is teen leadership. Rob will speak about the power of using the words and concepts in the defense of Biblical convictions.
“Kids need to find their own language for communicating to their generation,” said Rob, who just turned 50. “Biblical principles never change, but the words we use to defend, explain and advance them are always changing. It’s my generation’s greatest challenge, but it’s easier for these young people. It comes natural to them. I want to encourage them to develop effective and persuasive arguments in language and ideas that connect to their peers.”
Faith and Action regularly hosts groups of young people at our ministry center on Capitol Hill, where they often hear Rob and other team members talk about the critical role youth play in the life of our nation. To schedule a visit by your youth group, Sunday school class or school, contact Chief of Program Peggy Nienaber at peggy@faithandaction.org or at 202-546-8329, ext 104.
Tags: aarp, barack obama, bobby jindall, capitol hill, faith and action, patrick henry college, peggy neinaber, rob schenck, teen leadership
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Churches have long played a central role in the ministry of Faith and Action. As a Christian missionary outreach, we are dependent on and accountable to the congregations with which we partner on a regular basis. Some 150 churches of every denomination support the work of Faith and Action in various ways. Some contribute monthly financial support; others make large annual gifts or underwrite significant and specific projects, while still others send volunteers to help in everything from building and grounds maintenance to preparing mailings.
“As a para-church organization, we work alongside the church to accomplish our mission,” said Faith and Action president Rob Schenck. “We could not do what God has called is to do in the nation’s capital without the churches that faithfully do what God has called them to do in their communities. We also depend on pastors to assist us on the front lines of ministering to top elected and appointed officials in government. Pastors are uniquely positioned because politicians know clergy shake the hands of hundreds if not thousands of average Americans each week.”
Rob Schenck and other Faith and Action team members regularly visit pulpits as guest speakers. Rob Schenck has lately been preaching in some of the largest churches in the country. He was most recently at the 12,000 member Harvest Bible Chapel in Elgin, IL, with senior pastor James McDonald. Churches are invited to visit our ministry center and tour Washington from a uniquely Christian perspective. To make arrangements contact Peggy Nienaber at 202-546-8329, ext 104.
Tags: Add new tag, churches, faith and action, IL, Mission, peggy neinaber, rob schenck
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President Obama will today place a major emphasis on responsible fatherhood by delivering comments from the White House and hosting at-risk young men for afternoon activities at the executive mansion. Mr. Obama grew up with an absentee father which has made this cause a deeply personal one for him.
Earlier this week Faith and Action chief of program, Peggy Neinaber, personally discussed the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative with Rev. Joshua DuBois, the president’s point man on religious and social outreach.
“President Obama deserves to be commended for taking priority time to address this serious problem in our society,” said Rev. Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action. “Absentee fathers are the cause of enormous suffering for young mothers and for their own children. Irresponsible fathers are also one of the major causes of abortion. Many women who suffer abortion do so at the bullying of an unwilling father who threatens or pressures them to destroy their own children.”
Faith and Action has pledged to work with the Obama Administration in its fatherhood programs. “The Bible says that a man who is unwilling to take care of his family is worse than an infidel,” said Rev. Schenck. “In other words, it’s worse to be an irresponsible father than it is to be a fallen-away Christian. That’s serious.”
Tags: faith and action, joshbua dubois, obama, peggy neinaber, rev. rob schenck
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