On the Re-establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

We are delighted that President Joe Biden has restored the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Significantly, it is aligned to work the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Office of Public Engagement, helping fulfill President Biden’s commitments to be the “president of all Americans” and to “build back better.” First established twenty years ago as the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives by President George W. Bush, the Partnership Office has helped churches and community organizations “lift where they stand” in tackling local and national challenges. As President Bush said at the time, government cannot be replaced by the efforts of religious and other community organizations, but the government “can and should welcome [such organizations] as partners.” And as President Biden said today, “this is not a nation that can, or will, simply stand by and watch the suffering around us. That is not who we are. That is not what faith calls us to be.”

We congratulate Melissa Rogers on her appointment as Executive Director of the Partnerships Office and Josh Dickson on his appointment as Deputy Director. We note that both have a long track record of working with Latter-day Saints in a variety of capacities. Most recently Mr. Dickson, in his capacity as National Faith Engagement Director of Biden for President, conducted multiple community listening sessions with Latter-day Saints and partnered with us in sponsoring three national town halls. We are confident that Ms. Rogers, Mr. Dickson, and Mr. Trey Baker, recently National Director of African American Engagement and now the Partnership Office’s liaison to Black communities, will be partners as we all work to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, address systemic racism, increase economic opportunity, promote humanitarian efforts at home and abroad, and tackle climate change.

Religious liberty is at its strongest when it is a shield that protects and unites people of all faiths and none in defense of civil rights, human dignity, and the common good rather than a shield used to discriminate and divide. We are relieved that the current administration is turning a page on the divisiveness and corruption of the last four years.

We look forward to further appointments of a diverse, inclusive team within the White House Partnership Office and to head agency Centers for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that fulfill President Biden’s promise to have an administration that “looks like America.”