FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Dr. Rebecca Hardcastle, Media Relations, Voices for Civil Dialogue

602-615-1485, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Virginia Cervantes, Media Relations, Voices for Civil Dialogue

301-430-6797, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Immigration Voices for Civil Dialogue Press Conference September 9

Press Conference to introduce Voices for Civil Dialogue:

Creating the Conditions for Immigration Solutions

Phoenix, Arizona (September 5, 2008)—Voices for Civil Dialogue, a coalition led by Annie Loyd, President of The Fusion Foundation and former US Congressional Candidate District 3, is hosting a press conference Tuesday, September 9, 2008, at 1:00 pm at the Arizona Ecumenical Council Conference Center, Room A, located at 4423 North 24th Street, Suite 750 Phoenix, AZ 85016, to propose peaceful reform of immigration and due process of law, holding safety and humanity on equal footing, through transpartisan, open dialogue.

Press Conference Statement

September 9m 2008

Call for Civil Dialogue on Immigration

The Arizona Ecumenical Council is glad to join this press conference and we appreciate all the additional voices that have gathered here to express our common desire to create a better solution that leads to significant and humane immigration reform.

It is important to state that the people who are part of our congregations, which comprises 18 different Christian denominations and accounts for approximately 1.5 million residents of Arizona, are shaped by our tradition of reading and studying the Bible including Jewish prophetic scripture and the words of Jesus. We are also shaped by our history and the many times the Church has spoken out against injustice and any action that takes advantage of the poor for political or economic gain.

September 9, 2008 Phoenix, Arizona - Voices for Civil Dialogue Press Conference

Good morning and thank you for joining us. My name is Annie Loyd I am the founder/president of the FUSION Foundation and the co-founder and chair of Voices for Civil Dialogue, a community collaboration in partnership with: For the Children Foundation, the Arizona Department of Peace, American Muslim Society Arizona Chapter, the Cultural Arts Coalition and The FUSION foundation.

We have gathered today as a community response to the ever increasing dangerous and vitriolic rhetoric regarding Federal immigration reform.

Good Afternoon.

My name is Terri Mansfield.

I am the executive director and co-founder of the inclusive and transpartisan Arizona Dept. of Peace Campaign. www.azdopcampaign.org

What part of the word “peace” do we not understand?

Peace is more than the absence of war or conflict; it is the patient connections and dialogues that we forge with our fellow humans, to find out how our mutual needs can be met for our benefit and for the benefit of all of humanity, as we hold peace as an organizing principle in society.

For over 5 years, we advocates have started civil dialogues with people in all segments of society, inviting them to help us create a culture of peace, and a US cabinet level Dept. of Peace.

The proposed Department of Peace will research, articulate, and facilitate nonviolent solutions for domestic and international conflict, as we create a sustainable and caring culture of peace.