Faith Leaders Press For Covid-19 Relief In Neighborhoods & Behind Bars

Free a lot more prisoners — and do a better job keeping the remaining ones safe from Covid-19.

Hold off on reopening up houses of worship for services — but do tap them as Covid-19 testing sites in underserved hot zones.

Two groups of clergy members released that set of demands Monday in separate public pleas.

New Haven and Hamden clergy signed onto a statewide letter to the governor about prison conditions.

And the Greater New Haven Clergy Association held a press conference and released a public letter calling on more support for churches to safely reopen at a later date, and about the role the churches can play to address the dearth of coronavirus testing sites in communities like Newhallville, West Rock and West Hill.

The text of the two letters follows:

Clergy Testing, Worship Letter

As a result of COVID-19, we, the church community, especially in black communities, are experiencing challenges we would never have anticipated. As we plan to reopen our churches and reacclimate our parishioners to returning to our various buildings, considering our logistical path forward is of paramount concern. This situation is quite unprecedented, and we have made concerted efforts to ensure that individuals promptly receive testing and essential Protective Personal Equipment (PPE).

We are here for two main reasons. One, we are urging our churches to exercise restraint in reopening until we have further assurances that the virus and infections has begun to decline through increased testing, and your churches have plans for protecting your parishioners, which includes social distancing and proper protective equipment.

Two, as many churches provide essential services to their communities and are deeply financially impacted by the current pandemic, we are encouraging that the local and state government provide additional testing opportunities and sites for testing. We are especially concerned that sites are not available in Newhallville, West Rock and West Hills, areas where car ownership is the lowest and families have the farthest to travel for testing. Churches can and should be used as testing sites. We are also asking that the government immediately provide Protective Personal Equipment including but not limited to:

· Face Masks/Surgical Masks
· Face Shields
· Gloves
· Non- Touch Thermometers and Thermometer Covers
· Hand Sanitizer
· Disinfectant
The government and churches should work hand in hand in this war. Churches are the foundation of most communities and should become battlegrounds for fighting this plague.

Letter To Lamont

Dear Governor Lamont,
May 18, 2020
We are religious leaders from different faith communities alarmed by the crisis in our state prison system, now a petri dish for the spread of Covid-19. Department of Correction reports that as of May 15th, already 598 of those incarcerated have been infected, six (and by our count seven) people have died, and 369 staff have been infected.
We are writing to add our voices to the many who have already communicated their concerns. You have heard from family members of those incarcerated. You have heard from Yale University faculty from the schools of medicine, nursing and public health. You have heard from advocacy groups: Stop Solitary CT, Katal, the CT Bail Fund, Smart Justice, and more. CT newspapers have published numerous op-eds supporting decarceration as a public health imperative. Senior U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton recently ruled that the class action suit filed by the ACLU of CT against you and Commissioner Cook seeking immediate relief can proceed, due to ​“the life-and-death consequences at stake.”
We applaud the decision to now test all people incarcerated and people who work in state prisons and jails for Covid-19. But that is not nearly enough. You can and must do more. This is a public health crisis necessitating immediate action. And this is a profoundly moral and ethical issue.
We speak from the moral perspective, advocating for the rights, dignity, and humanity of every person, all children of God. Incarceration must not degrade the humanity of those doing time or endanger their lives. Prisons and jails are the most dangerous place to be during a pandemic. There is no possibility for social distancing, access to healthcare is inadequate, conditions are filthy, and dehumanization and abuse are widespread. The current situation in CT’s prisons is unconscionable.
You have options. We implore you to direct Commissioner Rollin Cook and his department to put these options into effect immediately. Our top priorities include:
*Reduce CT’s prison population, decarcerating the hundreds, even thousands, who can be safely released: older and medically at-risk individuals, those who are pre- trial, those close to the end of their sentence, those being held for minor, non- violent offenses simply because they can’t afford bond.
* Immediately discontinue transfer of Covid-19 positive persons to Northern Correctional Institution and only utilize medical facilities or isolated housing units to treat Covid-positive individuals. Solitary confinement must not be confused with or used for medical isolation.
* Ensure that all incarcerated individuals, and staff too, have access to sufficient supplies of soap, hand sanitizer, water for handwashing, and appropriate PPE, without charge.
These are measures you can and should enact immediately. The welfare of those in our state prisons, both those incarcerated and those who work there, requires you to act now. Indeed, the welfare of all in our state requires you to act now in this regard. When you do, we as faith leaders, along with others and, above all, with the families of those incarcerated, will support you.
We pray you will have the compassion and wisdom to act now.

Signed by:
(listed alphabetically, title and faith community for identification purposes)
The Rev. Dr. Heather Arcovitch
Senior Minister, North Madison Congregational Church, United Church of Christ

Imam Omer Bajwa
Director of Muslim Life, Yale University New Haven
Pastor Jerry Barber
The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
Paul Bloom
Senior Dharma Teacher, Zen Center New Haven
The Rev. Dr. Ginger Brasher-Cunningham
Pastor, First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ Guilford
The Rev. Robert Bregner
Priest in Charge, Grace and St Peter’s Church Hamden
The Rev. Hiram L Brett,
Senior Pastor, Whitneyville United Church Hamden
Bishop Charles C. H. Brewer, III
President, The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
Rabbi Dr Herbert Brockman
Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Mishkan Israel Hamden
The Rev. Jocelyn (J.C.) Cadwallader
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of New Haven New Haven
The Rev. Dr. James Campbell, Senior Minister First Congregational Church Cheshire

The Rev. Dr. Jan Carlsson-Bull Unitarian Universalist minister/retired Middletown
The Rev. Alex Carroll
The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
The Rev. Douglas Clark
Retired, United Church of Christ Clergy Guilford
The Rev. Shannon Clarkson
Retired, United Church of Christ Clergy Guilford
The Rev. Judith M. Cooke
Pastor, North Guilford Congregational Church UCC Guilford
The Rev. Dr. John Cotton, Sr.
Chaplain, The Great New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
Pastor Steven Cousin
Outreach, The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
The Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree Retired United Church of Christ Clergy Bloomfield
The Rev Jack Davidson
Senior Pastor, Spring Glen Church, UCC Hamden
The Rev. Michael Dolan Director-Interreligious Affairs Archdiocese of Hartford

The Rev. Kevin Ewing Amistad UCC Hartford
The Rev. Gail Faithfull
Retired Presbyterian Clergy Guilford
The Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager
Associate Pastor, First Church Congregational of Old LymeThe Rev. Vicki Flippin
Pastor, First & Summerfield United Methodist Church New Haven
The Rev. David W. Good
Minister Emeritus
The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Old Lyme
The Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast, ​“The Voice of Criminal Justice” Woodbury
The Rev. Jane E. Hawken
Pastor, The First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ Portland
The Rev. Chris Hempowicz
Vice-President, The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
Rev. Margret Hofmeister
First Church of Christ, Congregational UCC New Britain

Rabbi Brian Immerman
Rabbi, Congregation Mishkan Israel Hamden
The Rev. Dr. Steven Jungkeit
First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Old Lyme
The Rev. Marilyn B. Kendrix
Bridge Conference Minister, Southern New England Conference, UCC North Haven
The Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber
President, The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
The Rev. Gini King
New Sanctuary Congregations CT, Co-cordinator First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ Guilford
The Rev. Dr. Lonnell Lawson
The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
The Rev. John Lewis
Chairperson, Outreach Committee
The Greater New Haven Clergy Association
The Rev. Rev. Barbara Libby
Retired United Church of Christ Clergy New Haven
The Rev. Tony Lorenzen
Minister, The Unitarian Universalist Church in Meriden
and The Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society Meriden

The Rev. Nancy Boldt McLaren Pastor, First Presbyterian Church Hartford
Pastor Tarolyn Moore
Vice-President, The Greater New Haven Clergy Association New Haven
The Rev Scott Morrow
Pastor, North Haven Congregational Church UCC North Haven
Michele Mudrick
Legislative Advocate, Southern New England Conference UCC Glastonbury
The Rev. Mary W. Nelson
Regional Minister, South Central Region of Connecticut
The Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ New Haven
The Rev. Micki Nunn-Miller
Pastor, United Church of Christ in Cornwall, Congregational
The Rev. Sandra Olsen Pastor, First Church of Christ Unionville
The Rev. Josh Pawelek
Minister, Unitarian Universalist Society: East Manchester
The Rev Edwin Perez Manatel de Gracia UCC West Hartford

The Rev. Dr. Allie Perry
Worship Coordinator, Shalom UCC New Haven
The Rev. Suzanne Personette
Interim Senior Minister, First Congregational Church, UCC Branford
Thayer Quoos
New Haven Friends Meeting (Quakers) New Haven
Pastor Mary Ransome
Secretary, The Great New Haven Clergy Association
The Most Rev. Peter A. Rosazza
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus, Archdiocese of Hartford
Hartford
Bishop John Selders, Co-Founder , Moral Monday CT Hartford
Rabbi Rona Shapiro
Rabbi, Congregation B’nai Jacob Woodbridge
The Rev. Kent Siladi
Bridge Conference Minister, Southern New England Conference UCC
Hartford
Pastor Marcia Smith
Outreach, The Greater New Haven Clergy Association

The Rev. Toni Smith
Retired United Church of Christ Clergy Chester
The Rev. Alex da Silva Souto, MDiv.
Pastor/CEO New Milford United Methodist Church New Milford
The Rev. Jocelyn Gardner Spencer
Senior Pastor, United Church on the Green, UCC New Haven
The Rev. Dr. Shelly Stackhouse
Transitional Pastor, First Church of Christ of Hartford Hartford
The Rev. Cathy Rion Starr
Co-Minister, Unitarian Society of Hartford Hartford
The Rev. Heather Rion Starr
Co-Minister, Unitarian Society of Hartford Hartford
The Rev. Dr Frederick J Streets
Senior Pastor, Dixwell Ave Congregational Church New Haven
The Rev. Eileen Sypher
Retired United Church of Christ Clergy Chester
The Rev. David Taylor
Pastor, First Church, United Church of Christ Glastonbury

The Rev. Sarah Vetter
Minister of Community Life
First Congregational Church, UCC Madison
The Rev. Todd Vetter
First Congregational Church, UCC Madison
The Rev. Robert Washabaugh
Pastor, Sts. Peter and Paul Church, St. Mary Church, St. Joseph Church, Norwich
The Rev. Charlotte White
CT Correctional Chaplain, retired Guilford
The Rev. Dr. Sandra Wiens,
Prison, Reentry Minister, First Congregational Church Guilford
Dr Orlando Yarborough Black Church at Yale New Haven