Faith Leaders Use 'POWER! of Prayer' To Urge Action On Philadelphia Airport Expansion Project

March 15, 2012 - PRLog -- Philadelphia, PA March 12, 2012: More than thirty (30) faith leaders, representing 25,000 members of POWER! congregations in Philadelphia, will dress in full clergy regalia and lead a prayer rally at the Philadelphia Airport on Thursday March 29, 2012 at Noon to urge action on the airport expansion project and its promise of tens of thousands of jobs for unemployed Philadelphians. The inter-faith leaders are from different churches, synagogues, and mosques around the city which make up the organization POWER! (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild www.powerphiladelphia.org). The prayer rally at the Airport (exact location TBD) will be in support of the upcoming $6-billion airport expansion project that is projected to bring more than 100,000 jobs to the Philadelphia region over the next several decades. “POWER! congregations serve thousands of Philadelphians who are either unemployed or underemployed,” says Rev. Dwayne Royster, POWER!’s Executive Director.  “In addition to easing airport delays for people traveling through Philadelphia, this economic development project should be used to address long-standing poverty and joblessness in our hardest hit neighborhoods.”“ The airport expansion project includes building new runways and terminals that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and city officials say will ease congestion. The project will be financed, in part by municipal bonds, state and federal funds as well as Airport Fees. US Airways which operates 70% of the air traffic at the Philadelphia Airport, has recently filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission expressing concerns about the project and threatening a delay in the entire project and postponement of needed job creation. POWER! will use the rally on March 29th to pray for city and airline officials to reach an agreement to move the project forward and ensure that new jobs created are targeted to unemployed and impoverished city residents.
In addition to the noon prayer rally on Thursday March 29th, the leaders of POWER! will gather at Arch St. United Methodist Church, located at Broad & Arch Streets, at 9:00am that day, and walk over to City Hall to meet with City Council members to urge them to support a “local hiring preference” and a living wage standard for jobs to be created by the Airport expansion. The clergy leaders will then board the R1 train and head to the airport for the prayer rally. A tentative itinerary is attached along with more information about POWER!.
The media is invited to attend all events. For more information about POWER! go to www.powerphiladelphia.org or call (215) 232-7697. All media inquiries should be directed to Leslie@TylerMadePRcom or call (609) 247-2632.

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“POWER! of Prayer Rally” March 29, 2012
Tentative Itinerary (events and times subject to change):

9:00am – Faith Leaders meet at Arch Street United Methodist
9:15am – Faith Leaders walk over to City Hall to meet with members of City Council
11:00am – Faith Leaders board R1 Septa Train for Airport
Noon – POWER! of Prayer Rally
Welcome & Song
     Prayer #1 –
     Purpose – Rev. Dwayne Royster, (POWER! Executive Director &      Living Water UCC)
Prayer #2 –
Why You Should Care (even if you don’t fly)
    Prayer #3 –
   Impact on People in Philadelphia – non-clergy person who is unemployed
    Prayer #4 –
Impact on City of Philadelphia
    Prayer #5 & Benediction

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About POWER!

POWER is comprised of 36 dues-paying member congregations which represent the racial, economic and faith diversity of our city.  Together, these congregations represent more than 25,000 people.   The purpose of POWER is to help congregations strengthen their voice for social justice in our city, in practical and local ways.  
Congregations that join POWER pay membership dues and have a seat on the Board of Directors.  As members, POWER congregations receive training and support from experienced community organizers who help them build Local Organizing Committees to address local issues of concern to their congregants and neighbors, as well as connect them to city-wide POWER campaigns to address larger issues.
POWER not only helps congregations with tools to strengthen their internal bonds, but to strengthen ties to their local neighborhoods.  POWER also helps congregations to cultivate new and existing leaders and helps those congregations build new relationships with people of different faiths, backgrounds and neighborhoods – for the common good.
In 2011, POWER congregations conducted 1,250 one-on-one interviews in their communities and identified 5 areas of common pain and hope for change: unemployment, underperforming schools, violence, blight and lack of access to affordable healthcare.  A core group of 200 POWER leaders then conducted 50 research meetings with decision-makers, experts and allies in these areas.  On September 25, 2011, POWER gathered 2,000 of its members and allies at its Founding Convention.  The Convention launched the organization’s Economic Justice Campaign and solidified commitments from Mayor Michael Nutter and other civic leaders to partner with POWER on shared goals.
In 2012, POWER congregations will be collectively working to ensure greater training for, access to and quality of jobs that will be created by the $6B expansion of the Philadelphia International Airport.  Individual POWER congregations will also be organizing their members to address local issues.  

List of Current POWER Member Congregations
Arch Street United Methodist Church (Center City)
Calvary/St. Augustine Episcopal Church (Mantua)
Calvary United Methodist Church (SWPhiladelphia)
Chestnut Hill United Church (Chestnut Hill)
Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir/Heart of the City (Center City)
Congregation Rodeph Shalom (North Philadelphia)
Cookman United Methodist Church (North Philadelphia)
Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic (South Philadelphia)
Evangel Chapel (North Philadelphia)
Grace Christian Fellowship (Southwest Philadelphia)
Harold O. Davis Baptist (Logan)
Holy Innocents Catholic Church (Juniata Park)
Holy Spirit Lutheran Church (Oxford Circle)
Kol Tzedek Synagogue (Southwest Philadelphia)
Living Water UCC (North Philadelphia)
Mother Bethel AME Church (Center City)
New Life Ministries (South Philadelphia)
Old First Reformed United Church of Christ (Center City)
Prince of Peace Lutheran (Lawncrest/Northeast)
Second Baptist Church of Germantown (Germantown)
Philadelphia Praise Center (South Philadelphia)
St. Benedict’s Catholic Church (East Germantown)
St. Malachy’s Catholic Church (North Philadelphia)
St. Martin‐in‐the‐Fields Episcopal Church (Chestnut Hill)
St. Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church (Cedarbrook)
St. Rita of Cascia Catholic Church (South Philadelphia)
St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church (West Philadelphia)
St. Therese Catholic Church (East Mt. Airy)
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church (Germantown)
St. William Catholic Church (Lawncrest/Northeast)
St. Paul Baptist Church (North Philadelphia)  
Sweet Union Baptist Church (West Philadelphia)
West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship
Woodcrest United Church of Christ (Cedarbrook)

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