Over 25 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders will be gathering on Tuesday to press leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) to press for action – not just words -- on behalf of impoverished people.

"The most important indicator of economic recovery should be what happens to hungry and poor people -- the many families who are struggling in our own country and the tens of millions who have been driven into hunger around the world," said Rev. David Beckmann, president of U.S. based charity Bread for the World, which helped organize the faith leaders gathering.

"Our world is facing not just a financial crisis, but a moral crisis," said the Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in North America and an attendee of the summit. "Shall we create a world based upon economically and ecologically sustainable principles which will result in abundance, dignity and security for all? That is the great moral question of our time."

Christian leaders attending the summit alongside Beckmann and Jackson include Bishop Ron Cunningham, ecumenical officer of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; and Ruth Farrel, coordinator of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Also joining the discussion will be Carol Welch of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Naeem Baig of the Islamic Circle of North America, and Rabbi Steve Cutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, among others.

Following the Sept. 22-23 gathering, the religious leaders will go to the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh to meet with representatives of the U.S. delegation to the G-20 summit, in which details on a new initiative to reduce hunger and poverty around the world are scheduled to be released.