MILWAUKEE—Democrats will come together ahead of the 2020 Democratic National Convention for an interfaith service, where we will celebrate our nation’s collective strength, diversity, and humanity and prepare to unite around Joe Biden’s vision for a kinder and stronger country. The service will be led by religious leaders and performers from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and all across the nation, representing the unique backgrounds and communities that together will help Joe Biden restore the soul of America.
“Next week, the world will see what Joe Biden’s America will look like: a nation united, not divided, by our differences,” said Josh Dickson, National Faith Engagement Director at Biden for President. “As we set that future in our sights, it’s more important than ever that we come together in spirit and purpose around the critical task of making him the next president of the United States.”
The service will take place Sunday, August 16 from 1:00-2:00pm Eastern —the day before the 2020 Democratic National Convention: “Uniting America” begins. The service will stream live on the convention’s YouTube page at Youtube.com/DemConvention.
If you’d like to view this Sunday’s service, please RSVP on our website.
Participants include:
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Pardeep Kaleka – Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kaleka serves as Executive Director of Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, Founder of Serve2Unite, Published Author of “The Gifts of Our Wounds,” former Police Officer and Educator, and Clinician specializing in utilizing a trauma-informed approach to treat survivors and perpetrators of assault, abuse and acts of violence.
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Rex Lee Jim – Rock Point, Arizona: Jim is of the Diné (Navajo) tribe, a former Vice President of the Navajo Nation, a poet, a playwright, and Medicine Man.
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Marin Webster Denning – Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Denning is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. He is also a descendent of Menominee, Stockbridge-Munsee, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, French and English. He is a former director of Southeast Oneida Tribal Services and director, board member and chair of the Indian Community School and is currently an adjunct lecturer with the University of Wisconsin, Continuing Education Department.
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Neelima Gonuguntla – Irving, Texas: Neelima Gonuguntla is an international business professional and attorney in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She is a community leader promoting initiatives in education, women’s empowerment, and international trade with organizations such as Communities in Schools and the US Global Leadership Coalition. She serves the Indian American community as a board member of Chinmaya Mission Dallas Fort Worth, an affiliate of one of the largest Hindu organizations in the United States.
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Bishop William Murphy III – Atlanta, Georgia: Bishop Murphy is Lead Pastor of The dReam Center Church of Atlanta, one of Atlanta’s favorite places to worship. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, William Murphy, proceeds from a lineage of preachers, affectionately known as the Murphy Dynasty. A musical composer and perennial worship leader, his albums have appeared on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart and the Billboard 200.
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Imam Noman Hussain – Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hussain is the Islamic Studies Instructor at Salam School and Founder & CEO at Ilm Oasis, a nonprofit educational establishment dedicated to providing sound, authentic teachings of various Islamic disciplines.
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Bishop Samuel Green – Columbia, South Carolina: Bishop Green is one of the 21 active elected and consecrated bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, served as the Presiding Bishop of the 12th District, which encompasses Arkansas and Oklahoma, and now serves as the appointed Presiding Bishop of the 7th Episcopal District.
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CAPITA Productions “We Are the Drum” – Milwaukee, Wisconsin: City at Peace in the Arts (CAPITA) is a diverse theater company that engages and motivates individuals through a variety of theatrical productions and intensive training. The “We are the Drum” program of CAPITA is designed to engage individuals in a variety of theatrical classes and intensive training during evenings and weekends. This program is designed to attract underrepresented talent, and provide participants opportunities to work with artists and professionals from our local community.
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Reverend Jeanette Salguero – Orlando, Florida: Rev. Jeanette Salguero and her husband are the co-lead pastors of the Gathering Place in Orlando, Florida. Rev. Salguero is also the Vice President and co-founder the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.
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Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum – New York, New York: Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum serves as spiritual leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. Under her leadership as Senior Rabbi, CBST has become a powerful voice in the movement for equality and justice for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions and a significant force challenging the radical right’s dominance over religious and political life in the United States and around the world.
