Congressmen will serve as co-leaders of new Congressional Pilgrimage to Mississippi

WHO: Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.)

WHAT: Joint press conference to announce their co-leadership of a new Faith & Politics Institute Congressional Pilgrimage to Mississippi.

WHERE: South steps of the Mississippi State Capitol Building, Jackson, Miss.

Rain location: Galloway United Methodist Church, the Parlor

WHEN: Monday, March 3, 2008, 1:45 p.m.

WHY: Congressmen Thompson and Pickering have come together and asked The Faith & Politics Institute to organize a new congressional pilgrimage to Mississippi entitled “Courage and Creativity”. The Congressmen will discuss the profound impact the trials of Mississippi and the courage of its people have made on their personal and professional lives.

The pilgrimage, which will take place March 28-30, 2008, will allow members of Congress and others to experience first-hand a land of struggle transformed into a place of hope. The journey will begin at the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in Memphis, Tenn. and will continue through Clarksdale, Philadelphia, Jackson and into Waveland, Miss. Stops will include the Delta Blues Museum, Parchman Prison, the Medgar Evers Home Museum, Beth Israel Congregation and Tougaloo College, among others.

Lessons learned through the struggles of Mississippi can be applied in every state and every congressional district in the United States. The courage and creativity that has come out of Mississippi will help members of Congress, congressional staff and the other pilgrims not only learn from history but also be transformed into instruments of courage, reconciliation and renewal themselves.

Since 1998, The Faith & Politics Institute has led eight bipartisan Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimages to Alabama, affording more than 100 members of the U.S. House and Senate an experiential journey through the history of the U.S. Civil Rights movement.

Described by some as one of the most valuable experiences they have had while in Congress, the pilgrimages bring people together across political, religious and racial lines, offering opportunities for engaged and reflective dialogue. The pilgrimage to Mississippi is built on the successful model of The Faith & Politics Institute’s Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimages to Alabama.

More information about The Faith & Politics Institute can be found at www.faithandpolitics.org. Contact for Rep. Bennie Thompson’s office is Lanier Avant (202-225-5876 or lavant@mail.house.gov). Contact for Rep. Chip Pickering’s Office is Brian Perry (601-932-2410 or brian.perry@mail.house.gov).