Please, please join the Congo Sabbath Initiative

The front page of today's New York Time's focuses on the ongoing tragedy of the tin mines in the Congo.

I wish you could have been part of the Religious Institute's conference call on Friday afternoon with V-Day founder and playwright Eve Ensler. Eve has recently returned from the Congo, and shared with us heartbreaking stories of the women who have been terrorized there. In some areas, one out of every two women have been raped, some as young as three months, some as old as eighty. At the Panzi hospital, brave medical personnel work tirelessly to repair women's bodies ripped apart by weapons and machetes. Eve's stories of raped girls who leak urine constantly & raped women who have been rejected by their families were set against the courage that she and others are giving women to speak out and reclaim their lives. We listened in stunned silence as she implored faith communities and faith leaders to become involved to end what she has termed "femicide" in the Congo.

I am asking each of you who are reading this to become involved...and to pass the word on to other people of faith. You can do something to stop rape and violence against the girls in the Congo. We are asking you to be part of our national Congo Sabbath Initiative. Go to this link and sign up for more information about how you can do an adult education session, a sermon, a prayer or responsive reading AND a collection to support these women. Read more about the Stop Rape in the DRC campaign.

Get involved. Spread the word. The women in the DRC are counting on us.