Concord — Singing hymn-inspired lyrics, such as “Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you moan, under the weight of those student loans,” and “elections should be based on the voting count, not on the size of your bank account,” a group of 20 nuns and their supporters gathered in front of the New Hampshire State House Friday to protest nationwide inequality.

“The Nuns on the Bus,” named after members who tour the country on a 40-foot- long bus, is an organization that seeks to bring attention to social issues such as economic and racial injustice, and immigration and health care reform, through the Catholic faith.

The Nuns on the Bus was founded in 2012 in defiance of criticism of American nuns by the Vatican for being too outspoken on issues of social justice, but silent on issues that the church hierarchy viewed as more important, like abortion and same-sex marriage.

Since 2012, The Nuns on the Bus have organized five bus trips across 10 or so states, each year tackling a different theme and visiting homeless shelters, food pantries, and education and health care facilities run by nuns.

Last year, the chosen theme was “Bridge the Divide” with a focus on transforming politics, coinciding with the visit of Pope Francis in the United States.

The 2016 tour, which commenced July 11 in Wisconsin, focuses on “Mending the Gaps.” The nuns are calling on government officials and candidates to mend the gaps in income and wealth inequality.

The Nuns on the Bus leader, Sister Simone Campell, who is a lawyer and the executive director of the National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, said New Hampshire was an essential stop for the group. This was its first time in the Granite State, and the nuns spent all day here, protesting in Concord at the State House and in the afternoon in Manchester.

“We are spending more time in New Hampshire than a bunch of other places because we think the Senate race here is just so important,” Cambell said. “We’re not endorsing anybody, but we want the candidates to sign onto our platform. ”

The organization handed out pamphlets summarizing the tax, living wage, and parental leave policies of Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, who will be facing off for the open Senate seat this November.

The pamphlets also shared facts on current New Hampshire legislation — like on the minimum wage in New Hampshire, which is $7.25 and has not been increased since the national increase in 2009, or the fact that 48 percent of working parents in the state are not eligible to take unpaid, job protected leave.

Campell said the nuns adopt a bipartisan approach to their activism — they only hope to present personal stories and data about cantidates to help voters make informed decisions.

The organization stopped at the Republican convention last week, and will be ending their tour in Philadelphia at the Democratic convention.

In Cleveland, the nuns participated in what Campell called “lemonade ministry” or a type of street ministry where the group pulled around two red wagons in the shape of their bus and served lemonade out of igloo coolers to the heated crowds.

“We’d engage in conversation, like, ‘what worries you about this election, or what gives you hope for our nation? Who in your family is it difficult to talk to about politics and why?” she said.

Campell found that many people did not have confident answers to these questions.