August 8, 2024
Cursed is he who perverts the judgment of the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. And all the people shall say: Amen! -Deuteronomy 27:19
Nashville – known as both “Music City” and the “Buckle of the Bible Belt” – is the hometown of country music and the birthplace of bluegrass. Rabbis like me, who find themselves serving Jewish communities in places like Tennessee, respect that our neighbors take both their music and their religious values seriously. And one of the principles that many religious leaders share is the notion that we should protect the vulnerable.
As our governor and state senators continue to pass legislation discriminating against the LGBTQ+ community, we have joined child welfare advocates and religious and secular communities around the country in sounding the alarm and calling yet again for passage of the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which will ensure that no taxpayer-funded child welfare agency can turn away qualified prospective parents or mistreat youth in foster systems because of who they are, whom they love, or what they believe. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, recently reintroduced the bill, and U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Illinois, plans to reintroduce it in the House.
Rabbi Philip “Flip” Rice is the co-senior Rabbi of Congregation Micah in Brentwood, Tennessee. A community leader of interfaith dialogue, he also lectures at Belmont University. Congregation Micah works with the Religious Action Center teaching youth to advocate on their own behalf and is a proud member of the Interfaith Coalition for Children’s Rights.