An estimated 140,000 of people of faith, including thousands from the PICO National Network, gathered yesterday  for a historic national conference call on health care reform with President Barack Obama and the American faith community.   Communities Creating Opportunity is an affiliate of the PICO National Network.
 
The call was one part of an unprecedented grassroots faith-based movement by PICO and other religious organizations to make quality health care affordable to all American families.   The call was co-hosted by PICO along with more than 30 national religious denominations and organizations representing millions of people of faith from the Evangelical, Catholic, Main-line Protestant, Jewish and Muslim traditions.
 
"Religious congregations are safe places where people can have reasoned and informed conversation about an issue that so many people feel so passionate about." said Rev. Jennifer Thomas, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church and CCO leader  On the call with President Obama, she described how her church had helped organize other Evangelical Lutheran churches in her regional synod of Missouri and Kansas to speak out in favor of health care reform.

Thomas is pictured above leading a prayer rally for health reform. The rally was located in front of Sen. Claire McCaskill's Kansas City office.