AUSTIN, DALLAS, FORT WORTH (Texas): The national evangelical group Vote Common Good (VCG), will host a series of events in Texas starting Monday as part of a growing campaign to mobilize voters of faith to defeat election-denying, insurrection-supporting candidates in November and educate the public about the dangers of Christian Nationalism.
VCG, which made headlines in the runup to the 2020 presidential election by urging voters to make the common good, not political party, the determining factor when casting votes, will visit Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth.
“We are in a fight to protect our democracy from election-denying, insurrection-supporting, law and order-attacking, democracy-downgrading candidates and movements,” Pagitt said. “Voters of faith can and must choose the common good, not political party, when heading to the polls this November.”
On October 3, State Rep. Jasmine Crockett, State Rep. Carl Sherman and a surrogate for Beto O’Rourke will join VCG Executive Director Doug Pagitt, local pastors and voters at a Wilshire Baptist Church rally to urge people of good faith and conscience to denounce candidates or movements that stand for political violence.
On October 4, the evangelical group will further its calls for common good policy reform with a stop in Austin, where they will join the Death Penalty Action Group in delivering 15,000 signed petitions calling on Governor Greg Abbott to halt the pending execution of veteran John Henry Ramirez.
Vote Common Good will conclude this Texas swing with stops in Dallas and Fort Worth, where experts will hold anti-Christian nationalism trainings. At the trainings, which made national news when they launched last year, pastors and their congregations will be taught to define Christian nationalism, recognize it in their communities, and develop ways to counter it, including by highlighting Scripture passages that directly confront it.
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EVENT DETAILS
WHAT: Rally to denounce candidates who espouse Christian nationalism
WHO: Vote Common Good, State Rep. Jasmine Crockett, State Rep. Carl Sherman and a surrogate for Beto O’Rourke, local faith leaders including Michael Waters, George Mason, Rabbi Nancy Kasten, Charles Johnson, and voters
WHEN: Monday, October 3, 2022 at 6:30pm
WHERE: Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams Rd, Dallas, TX 75214
WHAT: Rally calling on Governor Abbott to stay the pending execution of veteran John Henry Ramirez.
WHO: Vote Common Good, the Death Penalty Action Group, local activists
WHEN: Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at noon
WHERE: Austin State Capitol
WHAT: Anti-Christian Nationalism training
WHO: Vote Common Good, academic experts, pastors
WHEN: Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 7:00pm
WHERE: Kessler Park United Methodist Church, 1215 Turner Ave, Dallas, TX 75208
WHAT: Anti-Christian Nationalism training
WHO: Vote Common Good, academic experts, pastors
WHEN: Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at 11:00am
WHERE: Celebration Community Church, 908 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76104
Common Good
Vote Common Good is a group of progressive Christian leaders from Catholic, evangelical, and mainline Protestant backgrounds with years of experience at the intersection of faith and politics. Together, they aim to inspire, energize, and mobilize people of faith to make the common good their primary voting criteria on Election Day 2022.
On the sixth month anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, Vote Common Good (VCG), Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), and Christians Against Christian Nationalism (CACN) released a curriculum designed to help pastors combat the rising threat of Christian nationalism, and pledged to campaign to make sure the resources reach church communities nationwide.
The curriculum, available on the Christians Against Christian Nationalism website, invites pastors and their congregations to define Christian nationalism, recognize it in their communities, and develop ways to counter it, including by highlighting Scripture passages that directly confront Christian nationalism.
The launch was part of an ongoing effort by a new coalition of pastors, academics and experts on religious extremism to counter the radicalized Christian nationalism that has spread through congregations across the country and presents a distinct and salient threat to American democracy and the integrity of the Christian faith.
This intra-community, anti-extremism effort to disavow and help stem the tide of Christian nationalism continues ahead of the midterms, as Vote Common Good travels through swing states on the FAITH, HOPE, & LOVE: NOT INSURRECTIONS AND CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM TOUR. The tour will include voter rallies, candidate trainings, billboards, and roundtable discussions.
