Ryan honors Christian poverty fighters with State of the Union invitations

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Paul Ryan’s State of the Union guest list emphasizes his belief that faith-based, poverty-fighting ministries trump government programs when it comes to helping the poor.

The Wisconsin Republican announced this week that two members of the Little Sisters of the Poor will join him in the speaker’s box for tonight’s address. Other members of his guest list include religious leaders from across the country who specialize in poverty-fighting ministries.

“The answer to poverty isn’t the money in Washington,” Ryan said in a press release announcing his guests. “The answer to poverty is entrepreneurs and innovators.”

One of those poverty fighters is pastor Omar Jahwar, the founder of Dallas-based Vision Regeneration. After a prison stint, Jahwar started the ministry that seeks to assist inner city youth and reform gang culture in the greater Dallas area. Jahwar is the first person to hold a recognized position within the state of Texas as “Gang Interventionist.” In 2000, he helped orchestrate the first gang truce in Dallas between the “Crips” and “Bloods.”

Former gang leader Antong Lucky will join Jahwar in Washington tonight. Lucky started the Dallas chapter of the Bloods but sought to change his life while serving a prison sentence. Jahwar played an instrumental role in Lucky’s reformation, and the two now partner in ministry. Lucky is the founder of We Make Real Music, Inc., a recording studio that seeks to combat the glamorization of violence in music.

Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, the Little Sisters of the Poor’s mother provincial, and Sister Constance Veit will represent the Catholic order of nuns that provides care to the elderly and the poor.

After 170 years of ministry, the nuns found themselves at odds with the Affordable Care Act soon after it became law in 2010. Under Obamacare, the administration ordered the nuns to cover abortifacient and contraceptive drugs with their health insurance plan. Noncompliance posed a threat of $70 million in annual fines. The nuns have taken their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could hear oral arguments as early as March.

“The Little Sisters of the Poor care for the most vulnerable among us, and they should be free to practice their faith without the threat of government interference or intimidation,” Ryan said. “The sisters’ stand in defense of religious liberty—one of our most fundamental rights—is nothing short of courageous, and it’s my privilege to support their cause.”

Ryan’s guest list also includes Bishop Shirley Holloway, founder of House of Help City of Hope. Holloway’s ministry has assisted more than 40,000 people dealing with addiction and homelessness in the Washington, D.C., area.

Additionally, the house speaker will host the Rev. Melvin Hargrove, president of Racine Unified School District in Racine, Wis. Hargrove is the founder of Zoe Outreach Ministries, where he developed programs to combat poverty and drug addiction.

Another poverty fighter from Ryan’s home state, Joanna Wynn, founder of Walkin’ In My Shoes, Inc., also will sit in the speaker’s box. Started in 2005, Wynn’s ministry provides street outreach programs and links homeless people with emergency shelter assistance.

Tonight’s State of the Union is President Barrack Obama’s last and Ryan’s first, as speaker of the House.