Sens. John
McCain and Barack Obama will
make their
first joint appearance as the
presumptive Republican and
Democratic presidential nominee,
respectively, at Saddleback
Church on Aug. 16 for a
leadership and compassion forum.
In the two-hour event, each
candidate will take the stage
separately for about an hour
to respond
to Pastor Rick Warren's
questions about faith and moral
issues such as poverty,
HIV/AIDS, climate change and
human rights.
"We're
honored that the candidates
chose The Saddleback Civil Forum
on Leadership and Compassion for
their first joint appearance, an
unprecedented opportunity for
America to hear both men
back-to-back on the same
platform," said Warren,
who founded the 22,000-member
Lake Forest, Calif., megachurch.
Warren
will be the only one to pose
questions to the candidates, as
requested by both senators,
although the event will be open
to the media.
Pastor Rick Warren, who wrote
best-seller The Purpose
Driven Life, said
he has known both candidates
before they ran for national
office and had called each man
personally to invite him to the
event.
McCain and Obama, along
with other political leaders,
have endorsed Warren's P.E.A.C.E.
Plan - a 50-year
strategy to mobilize millions of
local churches around the world
to address the five global
problems: spiritual emptiness,
corrupt leadership, poverty,
disease and illiteracy.
In conjunction with the Civil
Forum event,
Warren
will convene an interfaith
meeting with about 30 Christian,
Jewish and Muslim leaders to
discuss joi nt projects that can
benefit all Americans.
The Saddleback Civil Forum
was
established to promote civil
discourse and the common good of
all. The first forum,
held during Passover week this
year, featured five Jewish World
War II Holocaust survivors
sharing their stories.
The next
Saddleback Civil Forum in
September will feature former
British Prime Minister Tony
Blair.
