On Tuesday, August 25, Pastor Matt Staniz shared a press conference with Mayor Michael Nutter as Philadelphia was declared a ONE City. Cofounded by U2's Bono and other campaigners, the ONE Campaign was launched five years ago in Philadelphia.
With Mayor Nutter signing the ONE City proclamation, Philadelphia joins more than 130 cities across the nation working to mobilize public support behind initiatives to fight poverty, combat diseases like AIDS and malaria, put children in school and increase opportunity for those living in extreme poverty around the world.
MAYOR NUTTER'S REMARKS
PASTOR MATT'S REMARKS
Transcript of Pastor Matt's Remarks
Today is a good day in the "City of Brotherly Love". Today, Philadelphia once again lives up to that name by placing the name of our city side-by-side with the ONE Campaign, a movement more than 2 million strong committed to to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease. The ONE Campaign is a vital movement in the world today. It reflects the type of love that we must have for each other: a love that is reflected in justice, equality, and action. This is Philadelphia-style "brotherly love" at it finest!
I want thank Deesha Dyer and the volunteers she guided for making this day possible. Every letter, every phone call, every ounce of effort and every second of time that you gave has produced results. Thank you. Everything that begins today, begins because of you.
And thank you to mayor Michael Nutter for hearing Deesha and the volunteers. Thank you, mister mayor, for declaring the city of Philadelphia a ONE city. It really is a natural fit. It was just a few blocks east of this building on Independence Mall where the ONE Campaign was launched in 2004. A year later, it was few blocks up the Benjamin Franklin parkway where over a million of us gathered for "Live 8" and raised our voices to "make poverty history". Philadelphia has been at the heart of this movement. Today we proudly celebrate that this movement reflects the heart of Philadelphia.
This declaration is evidence of visionary leadership rooted in hope: hope for a future shaped by action today. As we celebrate this commitment to fight extreme poverty, mister mayor, we also look forward to working together, every one of us, to keep these promises being made today to our poorest sisters and brothers around the world. I am also convinced that as we make these commitments to the poor around the world, it will also guide our continued efforts to care for our friends and neighbors right here in the city of brotherly love. Raising a voice on behalf of the poor is how faith creates action, it is how compassion creates justice, it is how being concerned leads to changing things.
Today we stand together as ONE. We stand as ONE with the poor. We stand as ONE with the billion people trying to survive on less than a dollar a day. We stand as ONE with the thousands who are dying of preventable and treatable diseases. We stand as ONE with millions of people committed to changing these realities. Today we stand together as ONE Philadelphia. We are the city of brotherly love, and we are a ONE city!
A ONE Family: Pastor Matt Staniz, Monica Staniz, Amber Staniz
