Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 […]
David LaMotte, the Council’s Consultant for Peace, celebrated Father’s Day last Sunday with his four-year-old son and 82-year-old dad. David then traveled to Raleigh with his father so that the […]
The Abraham Jam, a concert and poetry event, will be happening on Nov. 16 at Duke’s Page Auditorium. The line-up of nationally and internationally known poets has just been announced.
I’m happy to announce that a beautiful new student-designed web site for the Abraham Jam has been launched. Please check it out at www.abrahamjam.com. You can find the updated list […]
Your opinion is valued as we try to pick a title for the upcoming Triangle Interfaith event at Duke. What do you think?
The Wild Goose has flown, at least for the 2011 season.
The overwhelming consensus among attendees of the inaugural Wild Goose Festival is that it was quite a successful experiment. People traveled from as far away as Scotland and New Zealand to be part of the event, and presenters ranging from Vincent Harding to Jim Wallis, musicians from Michelle Shocked to Beth Nielsen Chapman—each contributed their own sparks to the thousands of spontaneous and rich conversations that arose between the roughly 1500 people who gathered in Silk Hope, North Carolina this weekend.
The Reverend Lyndon Harris, Executive Director of Gardens of Forgiveness and the priest in charge of Saint Paul’s Chapel at ground zero will be speaking about his experience during 9/11 and how that led him to create Forgiveness Gardens all over the world.
The Third National Conference on Restorative Justice will bring together academics, community leaders, educators, faith leaders, judges, politicians, policy makers, practitioners and concerned community members to explore the use of […]
As I write this note, it is 12:30PM and I’m sitting comfortably in my office at the NC Council of Churches. At 3PM, though, I will be in the gallery […]
Building community is the most effective (though perhaps least dramatic) way to resist divisive rhetoric that demonizes the ‘other.’ It is much easier to caricature people we don’t know. It is hard not to challenge stereotypes when one’s own personal experience and relationships contradict them.
June 23, the first day of the Wild Goose Festival, is 50 days away, and excitement is definitely building. Tickets are on sale and volunteers are needed. Read on for more information…
Friends of the NC Council of Churches in Western North Carolina will be fasting on Good Friday in solidarity with the poor, and in recognition that budgets are moral documents. They call upon Congressman Shuler to work with his colleagues find a way to balance the federal budget that does not place the burden for doing so on the shoulders of those vulnerable Americans who are least able to bear that burden.
This is an article I wrote for www.patheos.com on why the church needs art… A few months ago, my wife’s grandmother, known to the family as Grandma Polly, came to […]
Please join us for the 3rd Annual Jack Crum Conference on Prophetic Ministry: Saturday, April 9, 2011 Avent Ferry United Methodist Church 2700 Avent Ferry Road Raleigh, NC 9:00 a.m. […]
Three bands, three faiths, three nationalities. This fall there will be a free concert on the campus of NC State University. The Abraham Jam will tentatively feature The Sound of […]
In response to Rep. King’s hearings on the radicalization of Islam in the United States, an organization called Muslim Advocates, based in Washington, DC, created a web site, whatunitesus.us, built […]
The North Carolina Council of Churches is thrilled to co-sponsor the Wild Goose Festival this June, at Shakori Hills Farm, just outside of Pittsboro, NC. The festival celebrates uncommon […]
Please join us and people of faith across North Carolina in committing to diversity in North Carolina schools by signing this statement.
Torture conference logoOn March 25 and 26, 2011, the Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina will be hosting a conference on torture. This two-day event aims to equip participants to understand the arguments against torture and to prepare them for anti-torture advocacy within their own communities, trusting that the greatest protection against the U.S. government’s use of torture is a shared understanding that torture is always wrong.
The Historic Thousands on Jones St. (HK on J) rally and march will take place on February 12 in Raleigh. A coalition of nearly a hundred social justice and community development organizations, including the North Carolina Council of Churches, have banded together to promote this event for the last several years.
A bulletin insert with an excerpt from Dr. King’s prophetic sermon at Riverside Church is available for download here. The Council’s David LaMotte will be preaching at Martin Street Baptist in Raleigh on Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, January 16.
The MIC @ 50 conference will take place on January 14-16, 2011, on the campus of Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. There is no charge to attend. The purpose of the event is to bring the MIC back into the spotlight as a key factor shaping our society and public life.
NC Policy Watch
In recent days, the Internet has been abuzz with revelations brought to us by “Wikileaks” of comments that were never intended to be public. Meanwhile, George W. Bush is touring to promote his new book, enthusiastically admitting that he violated international and US law. As the US government calls for accountability for Mr. Assange of Wikileaks, it must consider the applicability of its own words to other situations.
I strongly encourage people of faith who feel so led to contact your senators and urge them to support ratification of the New START treaty, which will reduce the US and Russian stockpiles by 30% and allow on-the-ground inspections, suspended last year as the START I treaty expired, to resume.
In light of data recently released in the Wikileaks documents regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a group of pastors, priests, theologians and seminarians has issued a call to preachers to address the acts of violence detailed in those documents, and their failure to live up even to the standards of Just War theory.
This is a video blog I shot yesterday while my toddler was taking his nap. Just a few thoughts about voting, not voting and the significance of each.
I’ll be speaking and singing at several events in the next few weeks, and thought I would let you know the details.
Dr. Terrence Rynne is the founder of the Marquette University Center for Peacemaking. His new book “Gandhi and Jesus, the Saving Power of Nonviolence” examines the intersections between the life of Jesus and the teachings of Gandhi. He has three presentations coming up in North Carolina, in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh.
News14 Carolina recently featured a peace vigil held in downtown Raleigh in conjunction with the nine-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. The NC Council of Churches co-sponsored the event, and David LaMotte spoke during the vigil. News coverage of the vigil focused on WWII veteran and longtime peace activist Cy King. In 2009, King accepted the Council’s Distinguished Service Award for his many years of gracious and committed activism for peace.
Raleigh News & Observer
A coalition of North Carolina faith and justice groups marked the passage of nine years in the U.S. war in Afghanistan on Thursday with a call for peace and a vigil for dead servicemen and Afghans. N.C. Peace Action, along with the Muslim American Society and N.C. Council of Churches, held the vigil at Community United Church of Christ in Raleigh, and also rallied to redirect the money spent on war toward domestic initiatives. “We must rethink the war in Afghanistan,” said David LaMotte, program associate for the N.C. Council of Churches, which represents more than 6,200 Christian congregations from 17 denominations throughout the state.
Please use the comments section below this post to let others know where you are traveling from and whether you would be able to transport other passengers, need a ride, or could do either.
Urgent calls to North Carolina senators are needed concerning the New START treaty, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act and the DREAM Act.
There have been no shortage of condemnations of the pastor in Florida who threatened to burn Korans. Those condemnations are effectively demolition work. Sometimes dangerous structures need to be torn down, and I’m not necessarily criticizing that. Demolition is most useful, though, when it makes space to build something new and constructive. I heartily celebrate the building of relationships and the expressions of respect and support that have come in response to this.
The NCCC encourages member congregations to celebrate and promote the International Day of Prayer for Peace on September 21. A bulletin insert for your use is linked here, as well as further resources.
Last month I received an email from Deborah Arca Mooney, a writer and editor with Patheos.com, asking if I would be willing to write an essay for an upcoming series […]
As I move forward in trying to clarify my calling here, I welcome the input of friends of the Council. Peace is a big job description. What does it mean to you?
