NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Speech, pastors across Tennessee respond with their thoughts on the speech and the president’s policy objectives.
“I’m so grateful for much of the policy promoted by President Joe Biden in the State of the Union speech,” said Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings, Retired Pastor in the Disciples of Christ denomination in Nashville. “President Biden is in touch with the needs and aspirations of American citizens. As pastors, we have been calling out Governor Bill Lee for promoting policies that fail our families. I was glad to hear the contrast that President Biden is prioritizing families by calling to make the child tax credit permanent, expand PreK programs, along with paid family medical leave, ban assault weapons, lowering healthcare and prescription costs (especially Insulin), ensure affordable high-speed internet for all Americans, and getting rid of junk fees that burden our families across the country.”
“Jesus said in Matthew 25 that the nations of the world will be judged by how well we take care of each other, especially the least fortunate, the poor, the sick, the hungry, the imprisoned,” said Rev. Gordon Myers, Retired Pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of American denomination in Arlington. “Jesus always prioritized the needs of the vulnerable members of the human family. Jesus always recommended lifting from the bottom up because when you lift from the bottom up, everyone rises, so I’m grateful that President Biden wants to build the economy from the bottom up and not the top down and made that an ongoing theme and priority in his State of the State.”
“It’s absolutely imperative that President Biden continue to prioritize the passage of the George Floyd Act that would ensure police reform in police departments across the country,” responded Rev. Dr. Lillian Lammers, Pastor in the United Church of Christ denomination in Memphis. “We have seen first hand in Memphis how heartbreaking it is when police brutality leads to death of an innocent citizen and we must bring reform and accountability to every law enforcement agency across the country. Seeing the parents of Tyre Nichols as a guest of President Biden at the State of the Union was meaningful to me as a Tennesseans and Memphian and I hope and pray that the words of RowVaughan, Tyre’s mother, bring the reality that something good in the form of true reform and comes from her son’s death and that future lives will be saved.”
