Today in America, 9 million children do not have health care. More than 5.5 million of those children, however, are eligible for either Medicaid or the state Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), yet they're not enrolled, says Sally Jo Snyder of the Washington, DC-based Children's Defense Fund (CDF).

To raise awareness about this and other issues facing children in poverty today, CDF sponsored "A Call to Prayer and Public Witness" on Saturday, July 8, that included a call to action by the organization's president and founder, Marian Wright Edelman on the steps of the capitol building.  

The event prepared participants for the 2006 Children's Sabbaths weekend planned in churches nationwide later this year. Through the event—"Congregations Stand for Healthy Children: Bringing Hope and Healing" in what CDF calls "A Season of Prayer and Action"—churches got the opportunity to gather in the capitol city for instruction combined with inspiration, channeled towards helping children everywhere.

"The event will rally and provide resources for persons who, energized and inspired, will return to their places of worship and continue in their celebrations of Children's Sabbaths and their service actions, to grow the movement that will truly leave no child behind," Snyder said prior to the July 8 event. "The faithful of every tradition are called to be a source of healing, hope and wholeness."

The reasons why children are eligible but not enrolled in CHIP and other such programs are that "either persons don't know about the programs, don't think they qualify, don't know how to apply, or don't know the importance," said Snyder. She feels that churches can help this problem by offering programs informing people about the state CHIP.

The rally related directly to National Ministries' Children in Poverty Initiative, which seeks to encourage and equip American Baptists to respond to the needs of children in poverty through ministries of caring and prophetic justice.

"The National Observance of Children's Sabbaths event," Snyder says, "is the program best suited to engage communities of faith in raising awareness of the needs of children; to remind the faithful of the Divine command for us to meet the needs of society's most vulnerable members; to engage in action and participate in service efforts that directly meet the needs of children; and to commit ourselves and our congregations to be aware, alert, and active in our advocacy for children."

A 2006 National Observance of Children's Sabbaths manual, provides step-by-step instruction about how congregations can offer programs about CHIP, as well as other service events such as community health fairs. To order the manual, contact the Reverend Sally Jo Snyder at 202-662-3579 or ssnyder@chidrensdefense.org.