HARRISBURG -- All across Pennsylvania tomorrow, houses of worship will offer traditional fare such as hymns, prayers and sermons. But in several dozen churches, those will be mixed with a message that is far from traditional -- a political push for Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to extend health insurance to 767,000 Pennsylvania adults who don't have it.

Four churches in the Pittsburgh area will join with churches, synagogues and mosques in other towns to urge parishioners to tell their legislators to support the proposal, named Cover All Pennsylvanians.

Under the plan, Mr. Rendell would use a fund that subsidizes doctors' insurance costs and money from higher tobacco taxes to extend health insurance to those without it.

Pittsburgh churches that will celebrate "CAP Sunday" include Community Presbyterian Church, Joyful Sound Church and Community of Reconciliation, as well as Friendship Community Church in Penn Hills. Worship buildings in Philadelphia, Erie, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Bethlehem and other Lehigh Valley churches also will take part.

The push for Mr. Rendell's health insurance plan is being led by a group called Insure PA Now.org. It's working with a group called the Faith Coalition, led by Pastor Bill Devlin, a Montgomery County social activist.

"It is immoral that nearly 800,000 Pennsylvanians are uninsured,'' said Mr. Devlin. "No matter what creed or color you are, you deserve access to quality, affordable health care.''

His group, described as a "diverse, faith-based effort," said it was asking "members of every church in Pennsylvania to educate their members and encourage them to get involved in the fight for real health care reform.''

Insure PA Now said in a news release yesterday that health insurance "is a social justice issue that affects everyone in your congregation.''

There's even a Biblical verse being used for "CAP Sunday.'' It's from the book of Amos in the Old Testament, Amos 5:24: "Let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.''

Mr. Rendell announced his Cover All Pennsylvanians plan a year ago, but some legislators, especially Republicans, have opposed it, at least in part because of the tax increases it calls for.

The faith coalition that is organizing "CAP Sunday'' hopes for a vote in the House in March on the health insurance plan.

Mr. Rendell wants to increase the cigarette tax by 10 cents per pack (to a total of $1.45 per pack) and wants to extend the sales tax to cigars and smokeless tobacco, which currently aren't taxed in Pennsylvania.

He also wants to use some money in an account called Mcare, which helps doctors pay their medical malpractice insurance. Mcare is funded by an existing 25-cent per pack tax on cigarettes.

Cover All Pennsylvanians is a segment of Mr. Rendell's overall health plan for the state, called Prescription for Pennsylvania. Some parts of it have been approved, but not the section on affordable health insurance.

CAP is expected to cost about $479 million for fiscal 2008-09, which starts July 1, but the cost could increase in the future as more people join. Initially Mr. Rendell wanted to fund CAP by taxing the payrolls of companies that didn't offer health insurance to their workers, but GOP legislators opposed that. Then he switched to using $400 million from Mcare.

The governor has declined to approve the Mcare malpractice abatements for doctors this year until legislators agree to fund his CAP program. If no deal with struck with legislators by March 31, doctors will face hefty, unsubsidized bills.

Beginning July 1, Mr. Rendell would like to use $66 million from the cigarette tax increase and $48 million from the cigar and smokeless tobacco tax to help fund CAP. Some federal funds are also available to help pay for the CAP insurance expansion.