Hillary Clinton promotes women's rights in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 26 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State and Hillary Clinton focused on women’s issues and the role of religion in her life during a speech to the United Methodist Women’s Assembly on Saturday.

Despite delivering a mostly apolitical speech, Clinton touched on how policy issues such as minimum wage, paid family leave and education funding influence and are influenced by women’s rights.

Clinton encouraged attendees to be proactive about women's issues in the U.S. and not paint related issues as exclusively a foreign crisis.

"If we're going to be grading and judging other countries, we need to be holding ourselves to very high standards as well," Clinton said. "No country can thrive by holding back any of its people, let alone half of its people."

"The truth is there are too many women in our country today trying to build a life and a family that don't just face ceilings on their aspirations and opportunities; it's as if the floor is collapsing beneath them. These are our sisters, our daughters, granddaughters. Some are hungry, not just for nutritious food but for opportunity, for chance to thrive, for their own piece of the American dream."

Clinton, a lifelong Methodist, also discussed how the church was an integral part of her upbringing and adult life, specifically citing the story of Jesus Christ feeding a large group of followers with just five loaves of bread and two fish.

"In the story, when the hour grows late and the crowd grows hungry, the disciples come to Jesus and suggest they send away the people to find food, to fend for themselves. Jesus said ‘No, you feed them.’ He was teaching a lesson about the responsibly we all share to step up and serve the community, especially to help those with the greatest need and the fewest resources."

At no point did Clinton allude to the 2016 Presidential election or her widely-presumed intentions to run. The speech was met with a standing ovation.