President Obama's highly publicized Faith Advisory Council had its first meetings Monday and Tuesday, to discuss ways religious organizations can partner with government. While President Bush's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives was focused on government funding opportunities, the current office head, Joshua Dubois instead emphasized issues that need their help. Michelle Boorstein blogs at the Washington Post about the message coming out of this historic first White House gathering:
The Obama office, Dubois said, is focused not on giving better and more access and money to faith-based groups but on including them in furthering specific goals, including environmental health, boosting fathers and reducing unintended pregnancies. Dubois said the office's success in four years won't be measured by how much money faith-based and other neighborhood groups get or how much access to the White House, but how much those goals improved.
