The FP Interview: Kathleen LeRoy, Christian Alliance for Progress V.P.

FP: Who is Kathleen LeRoy?

KLR: I am currently Vice President of Operations, of the Christian Alliance for Progress. I have 20 years experience in profit and non profit management. I am a licensed mental health therapist, a mother of two and I was raised in the South. I helped to build a women’s center in Jacksonville, have been a member of L’Arche Harbor House for many years. I built a store that marketed artisan's goods from developing nations for fair market value.

FP: What is your own religious background, and how does it relate to your work with the Christian Alliance for Progress?

KLR: I was raised Episcopalian and it was a rich community life for me and my family growing up. I have done lots of outreach work through the church over the years. I have been embarrassed to call myself a Christian for years not because of my faith and beliefs but because the language and the name of Christianity has been usurped to fulfill an agenda that is more about exclusion and power than the values I learned about Jesus’ life. I refuse to roll over any longer but I am going to stand up and speak my beliefs! This organization is a way for me to reach out to what I believe are the millions of Americans that feel the same way I do.

FP: Some people, especially out in the blogosphere, want to know exactly how and why the Christian Alliance for Progress was formed before supporting it. Can you give them some background?

KLR: Christian Alliance for Progress was formed after years of a vision percolating and then sparked the night of the election in 2004. It was formed to reclaim Christianity and to make our nation a more compassionate nation. It was founded in a southern town in a red state in a red county by a remarkable group of progressives that for years have been surrounded by conservatism. I appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of the leadership of this organization. We have a talented corporate strategist, a brilliant theologian with an immense amount of education and a gift for pastoring, and myself. And what I bring to the table is a good deal of experience with creating structures and implementing a vision and a heart for spiritual and personal growth in a corporate setting. At this time we are using contributions to Expand the Movement and Build Field Political structures, to execute a media strategy, to Collaborate with Other Progressive Organizations, to Broaden Web functionality and to expand staff.

FP: You were involved in moderating the Rockridge Institute Forum for Spiritual Progressives--how did that turn out?

KLR: It was a success and the dialogue was very rich. But dialogue is not what progressive lack it’s action and it’s drawing the line in the sand. That is why Christian Alliance for Progress is here.

FP: I understand that you attended the recent Take Back America conference--what speakers impressed or interested you the most? Why?

KLR: The media folks, Bill Moyers and Arianna Huffington. They had a clearer vision than any other, they had the most spark and they did not shy away from calling people out. They demanded better.

FP: I've been asked here in Madison, the birthplace of human stem cell research-- how would the Christian Alliance for Progress approach issues relating to science and healing such as the stem cell debate?

KLR: Well, the theocrats in Jesus’ day attacked him for healing on the Sabbath. According to them, that was a major violation of the religious law. For them, it was more important to uphold a religious dictate than it was to ease the suffering of a human being. We can see that very same mindset in the “no, no, absolutely not” approach to stem cell research. The Radical Right has this position statement: “We stand for life.” Well, you know, who doesn’t? But what an incredibly simplistic way to dismiss complex scientific and ethical questions! It’s a nice, pat religious principle, just like “No healing on the Sabbath.” But while they are standing for life, what happens to the people who are dying from Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s?

The Right says, if you stand for life, then you’ve got to stand against medical research, against science, against human healing. If they succeed, America will no longer lead the world in scientific and medical discoveries.

FP: What is the biggest difference between organizing at the local level and the national level? Why is it important for progressive Christians to be heard on the national level?

KLR: Both are critical. Each and every community needs to identify and call out ways that Christianity has been hijacked in their individual areas and to collect their voices around issues that most matter to them. And from a national level all of us in all of our communities need leadership and a sense of organization, something that the liberal community has lacked. The religious right is so well organized and powerful. Everyday we are reminded of this and it is disempowering to us. In order for progressives to overcome this and feel empowered, we need to be organized with our neighbors-- knowing that we are not alone. And, most importantly, we need to be organized in a national way so that we can collectively make a difference.

As an organizational leader, I recognize the biggest difference between organizing at the local level versus the national level is the importance of remembering more about what we have in common and less about our differences. And that we have to speak a language that is about values, a message that is simple and clear. We have to reach out to all knowing that all may not follow but enough will to make a difference.

It is important for progressive Christians to be heard on a national level because right now the Christian voice in America doesn’t represent values such as compassion, equality, inclusiveness, right use of power, spiritual foundation and responsibility and obligation. And the Christian right has a tremendous amount of influence in our nation and not just on current issues but on decisions that will chart the course of this nation and world for decades to come. The bottom line is our values do inform policy, and our values are developed through our faith so let’s talk about our faith and let’s fight for our values and not just in our living rooms and in small groups in our church but right out in the public square.

FP: Have you ever been involved in any political campaigns? Were you a values voter?

KLR: I was a Howard Dean fan and I participated online.

FP: Who are your favorite thinkers and writers in the area of politics, religion and theology?

KLR: Marcus Borg and Karen Armstrong and Jimmy Carter.

Politically in the blog world, Daily Kos, MyDD, Atrios and of course the Christian Alliance for Progress Bloggers (Fresh Politics, Father Jake, Public Theologian, Jesus Politics & FP)

FP: Many people feel frustrated by both the perception of religious people and the Bush Administration--what can they do to change things?

KLR: Join Our Movement , collect voices and be counted as Christians. Build a movement of 10's of millions of people and let America and the world know that the leaders of religious right to not speak for us them. Learn to speak about our values in a way that Middle America can resonate, tell your stories and reach out to people.