The annual conference of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition featured an emotional March 13 session that came close to imitating a religious revival to urge members to participate in a June 11 national Day of Action to pressure politicians, lenders, mortgage servicers, judges and other key actors to accept responsibility for easing the widespread pain caused by mortgage foreclosures, job losses and the resulting deterioration of communities.

It is way too early to predict whether the goodwill that the Obama administration has brought to the table will bear fruit in low- and middle-income communities, but the good feelings evident at the NCRC gathering have long been missing from scene.