• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
NC Council of Churches

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

Get Involved Donate
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Statements
    • Board
    • Careers
  • Voices
  • Our Priorities
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • The PHW Collaborative
      • Focus Areas
    • Eco-Justice Connection
      • Faith
      • Advocacy
      • Energy
      • Environmental Justice
      • Food
      • Global
      • Health
      • Resiliency and Restoration
    • Racial Justice
      • Confederate Monument Removal
      • Reparations to Restoration
    • Criminal Justice Reform
      • Cash Bail Reform
      • Death Penalty Abolition
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Workers’ Rights
      • Paid Sick Leave / Paid Family Leave
      • Raising Wages
    • Overdose Response
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Healthcare Justice
    • Farmworkers
    • Public Education
  • In the News
    • NCCC in the News
    • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Resources

Search NC Council of Churches

Welcome Mary Elizabeth

December 21, 2017 by Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach

My name is Mary Elizabeth Hanchey and I joined the staff of the NC Council of Churches as Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach on November 1. I have long been committed to the work of the Council and the spirit with which it is accomplished. Soon after I graduated from law school in 2003, I served on the Governing Board for several years. I was grateful for this opportunity to plan, and dream, and work with such a diverse group of concerned Christians.   

I grew up in NC, the daughter of two ministers. As a child I lived in Mars Hill, Winston-Salem, Elizabeth City, Kinston, and Durham. Though I love the mountains and the beach with equal devotion, I do take a stand on behalf of Eastern BBQ and I believe cornbread should be sweet.

I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 1999 with a double major in English Literature and Political Science and a minor in Music, and from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2003. In May 2017, I graduated from Duke Divinity School. This storyline always yields questions about basketball loyalty, so let me be clear: I am a Tarheel. Nevertheless, because my husband and son are Duke fans, I have been known to root for the Blue Devils against certain non-ACC teams.

I have now lived in Durham for nearly 30 years, and I am proud to call the Bull City “home.” I have been a member at Watts Street Baptist Church for most of that time, and have served as the Director of Children’s Music Ministries since 2012. We appreciate the opportunity to raise our children in this city where I spent so much of my childhood, and to support their education in the Durham Public Schools from which I also graduated.

My life in communities across NC, my education in public schools and public universities, my life as a Baptist, my law degree, my life in the church, and my involvement in my children’s public school education all ground the work I will be doing for the Council.

In my new role at the Council, I will be taking on work that has long been important to the Council as well as program areas into which the Council is expanding. My job title is long, but it describes two significant aspects of my work. Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach will sometimes coincide as the Council joins with other faith groups to advocate for conditions and outcomes in our state that are more just and more equitable. But each will sometimes stand alone, ministries to which I am called as a follower of Jesus. I look forward to serving as an additional presence for the Council at the Legislature and in policy discussions; to learning about the work that our constituent congregations are already doing and to dreaming with them and our devoted team about the ministries that await; and to participating pastorally in discussions about religious liberty and interfaith dialogue.

I am particularly excited about bolstering the Council’s already robust efforts to impact the conversation happening in this state about religious liberty. I have been formed by Baptist history and by my long relationship with the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs. I have long worked, studied, and written about religious liberty in legal and theological arenas. I also know the important connection between religious liberty for all and interfaith dialogue and interfaith relationship-building. The Council has a long history of advocating for the separation of church and state, and I appreciate the opportunity to carry this conversation forward.  

As I find myself at the beginning of this invigorating new opportunity, I am grateful, once again, for this opportunity to plan, and dream, and work with such a diverse group of concerned Christians.

Filed Under: Blog, Homepage Featured Tagged With: Council News

About Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach

Mary Elizabeth Hanchey is a Tarheel in every sense of the word. She was born in the mountains of North Carolina and has also lived down east and in the Tidewater region. But she has spent most of her life in the triangle. Mary Elizabeth moved to Durham in 1989 and attended college at UNC Chapel Hill.
Mary Elizabeth has earned a law degree from UNC and a Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. (The cognitive dissonance is real, but she remains a light blue Tarheel). She is thrilled to bring together her legal training, theological education, and yearning for mercy, justice, and soul freedom in her work on behalf of the NC Council of Churches.
Mary Elizabeth lives in Durham with her husband and three children. In her spare time she looks for permission forms, homework, and activity information for said children, all of whom attend Durham Public Schools. She also enjoys gardening, yard work, and cooking. She attends Watts Street Baptist Church where she has taught music to children for nearly two decades.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandy Irving says

    January 9, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    Welcome, Mary Elizabeth. I remember you from Governing Board Days . The NCCC is blessed to have you as staff! Sandy Irving

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Subscribe

Click here to subscribe to newsletters and blog updates.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine