By Rob Thompson
Pastor James Brigman is walking from Rockingham, NC to Washington, DC to be a voice for Lauren Faith, his medically-fragile daughter who relies on Medicaid for life-saving health care. He’s deeply concerned about the impact of proposed Medicaid cuts on her and other children with similar conditions.
I spent the day with Pastor Brigman as he walked through Raleigh this week. He is extremely good natured—he waves at every car that passes by, even on busy Raleigh Blvd. He’s kind, soft-spoken, and even a little embarrassed about all the attention he’s getting. But more than anything, he’s driven by a spiritual call of duty that outweighs all the discomfort he finds on his journey. From the Fayetteville Observer:
“I was preaching on Abraham, when God told him to bring Isaac, his son, for a sacrifice. And I got to the part where God said to cut his own wood for the altar. I explained that it was our actions that God wanted. We have to help ourselves to find to what God has in mind for us.
“When I said it, I knew God wanted me to speak for all these children and their families who face serious trouble if Medicaid is cut.”
His message of responsibility and community is one that our country is in dire need of hearing.
Pastor Brigman is taking action for children, not just for his child, but for all children who rely on Medicaid for their health care. His sense of collective responsibility and his willingness to put action behind it should be an example for all of us.
Like Pastor Brigman, NC Child also seeks to be a voice for children. To do that, we rely on the voices of people like you—moms, dads, teachers, doctors, and citizens—to speak up for kids. We need you to be a voice for our children, because our elected officials will only listen if we speak together.
Now, Pastor Brigman has set a high bar—please don’t feel like you need to walk more than 350 miles across two states to be a voice for children. The first thing you can do is support Pastor Brigman by joining the Facebook group that’s tracking his progress. The next thing you can do is call Senator Tillis and tell him to oppose any legislation that makes deep cuts to Medicaid—202-224-6342.
I urge you to follow the example set by Pastor Brigman, and take two simple actions to be a voice for our children.