On Monday, October 20th, Bishop William J. Barber, II, President and Senior Lecturer, Repairers of the Breach, and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, will lead local impacted people, clergy, and leaders in a one-hour, disciplined, nonviolent witness at Senator Ted Budd’s office in Raleigh, NC. Whether you pray, meditate, sing, or stand in reflective silence—you belong here. We’re showing up for care, dignity, and democracy: inside if admitted; outside if not.

Why We’re Showing Up

• Health care is at risk: Premium aid and Medicaid protections are on the chopping block, putting millions—especially elders and low-income families—at risk.

• Families are hurting: Furloughs, delayed pay, and strained safety-net programs mean real hardship right now.

• Communities are targeted: Detention and deportation tactics are separating families and sowing fear.

On Monday, October 20, poor people and low-wage workers, clergy, advocates, and others will join for Prayer and Vigils at the offices of Senators and Representatives across the U.S. – including Senator Ted Budd – to condemn Washington for codifying our nation’s largest-ever legislative transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich as well as opting to shut down the government rather than to discuss plans to extend tax credits for the ACA and the ongoing detention and deportation of immigrant communities.

Demonstrators will lead a pray-in at Senator Ted Budd’s office in Raleigh, NC, and hear from people directly impacted by the decisions of Congress. North Carolinians are likely to die as a result of the healthcare cuts and slashes in the big, bad, ugly budget, as well as from Congress’s refusal to make plans to extend tax credits for the ACA. Meanwhile, furloughs and delayed pay are creating real hardship for families while detention and deportation tactics are separating families.

This Mass Prayer is part of a coordinated effort across the U.S. Actions are taking place during October, while members of Congress allowed a government shutdown to occur in order to avoid discussing extending tax credits for the 24 million Americans supported by the ACA. These pray-ins and vigils are to call on Senators to stop the violence of of cutting life saving support and the separation of families while also holding the Senators publicly accountable for the violence and harm that is occurring. Rooted in a tradition of Moral Fusion Organizing stretching back to the First and Second Reconstructions, these actions represent a burgeoning Third Reconstruction to demand justice for the poor and disinherited.