Vermont’s religious community called on state leaders Sunday to press harder for social equity in the upcoming legislative session.

In a town hall-like setting at Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington, members of Vermont Interfaith Action outlined how old-time values might help re-shape the state’s tax code and funding for housing, education, corrections and job creation.

“The state budget is a moral document,” Rabbi Joshua Chasan said near the end of the meeting — and it was a message well received by the 120 or so in attendance, including Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding, Sens. Tim Ashe, Sally Fox and Anthony Pollina; and Rep. Martha Heath.

The gathering, organized by Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and Unitarian Universalist congregations, advocated for more than good intentions.

Shelburne resident Don Horenstein, a retired financial analyst and self-described “high-income Vermont senior citizen,” said he and other people of wealth are willing to pay higher taxes, “to do our fair share so that my vulnerable neighbors are not asked to do more than theirs.”

Horenstein added that he benefited from generous public investment after World War II, including the GI Bill — and said Vermont leaders should consider bond- and progressive-tax financing for ambitious job creation programs.

Other participants testified to what they saw as a spiraling decline in the quality of life for middle- and lower-income Vermonters.

Burlington resident Kathy Chasan described the frustrating progress through health care by an autistic child. Corrie Wilcox, a recent University of Vermont graduate, outlined her cautious strategies for meeting student loans.

Historian Jeff Potash read from a research report commissioned by VIA and directed to Vermont legislators and the administration of Gov. Peter Shumlin.

From the report’s introduction:

“While the unholy marriage of financial wealth and political power (which reinforce each other) undermines core principles of fairness and well-being elsewhere in the country, we Vermonters must remain committed to our values of freedom and unity.”

The report calls for leaders who are “bold and unafraid to take a moral stand, valuing equity and justice more than the conventional idea that sharing resources is somehow obsolete or a manifestation of class warfare.”

Spaulding said the governor would not embrace the idea until convinced that higher taxes wouldn’t drive the wealthy out-of-state.

Pollina, Ashe, Heath and Fox said they’re prepared to argue in the Statehouse that high-income Vermonters — like Horenstein — value the chance to invest wisely in the future of the state.

Vermont Interfaith Action will hold a news conference to further discuss values-based budgeting at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 19 in the Cedar Creek Room at the Statehouse in Montpelier.