I will pour down rain on a thirsty land, showers on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessings on your children. They shall spring up like a green tamarisk, like poplars by a flowing stream. —Isaiah 44:3-4

The promise of God's blessings for children has been affirmed down the generations of faith from the time that God first promised to Abraham and Sarah that their offspring would be as numerous as the stars. Jesus not only welcomed the child, but asked everyone to enter into the eternal realm of God's blessings as children. Children are not only invited, but show us the way.

Children have the right to develop spiritually, intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally, and to live in conditions of freedom and dignity. Because children are powerless and often live with adults who are poor and have little voice, there is a tendency not to see or hear them. Too often, their basic needs go unfulfilled.

- United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

As parents, those of us taking care of kids are entrusted with a precious gift.  As the people of God, all of us are responsible for building up our communities in ways that protect and nurture children. 

That is why I'll be voting this November for Oregon's Measure 50 - a ballot initiative endorsed by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and others that if supported by the voters will provide health care for 100,000 kids.   

From the Yes on 50 website:

Measure 50 on the November 6, 2007 ballot will guarantee health care for 100,000 uninsured Oregon children and strengthen tobacco prevention programs through an 84.5 cent per pack increase in the state’s cigarette tax matching our neighbors to the north in Washington State.

There are currently more than 100,000 Oregon children whose working parents earn too much to qualify for the existing Oregon Health Plan but too little to afford private health insurance on their own.

A simple majority vote of Oregonians can provide access to the kind of health care our children deserve while saving taxpayers money in reduced tobacco-related health costs and expensive emergency room visits by the uninsured for routine medical care.

A broad coalition of dozens of mainstream community leaders have united behind this common-sense plan.

On the other side? Big Tobacco, an industry that has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to defeat similar measures in other states and target our children as their next generation of customers.

A “Yes!” vote on Measure 50 will increase state revenue by an estimated $386 million over the next four years to provide health care for children and low-income adults, and double the amount of money available for proven tobacco-prevention programs.

No child should be without health care.