A national coalition of civil rights organizations is teaming with the Archdiocese of Miami to encourage members of religious communities in South Florida to participate in the upcoming 2010 Census.

The Washington, D.C.-based group, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, kicked off its campaign Wednesday morning at the archdiocese's Notre Dame d'Haiti Mission church in Miami by unveiling a poster that will be distributed to 113 Catholic churches and a handful of non-Catholic churches in South Florida during the Christmas season.

"This is how Jesus was born" reads a headline on poster depicting Mary and Joseph traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem to participate in a Roman census. "Joseph and Mary participated in the census. Don't be afraid," reads a line next to the picture.

"Joseph and Mary understood the importance of being counted and today I want you to also understand the importance of being counted," Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Estevez of the Archdiocese of Miami said in a statement.

The campaign is part of a national faith-based effort to push for census participation.

The drive is particularly targeting hard-to-reach communities, such as immigrants who fear that census forms will be used to check people's immigration status.

Read more at MiamiHerald.com