Scrambling for the Bench
Scrambling for the Bench
Are judges politicians? And why – even in a state such as North Carolina, where judges are elected by the public – does the concept of judges who also function as […]
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate
by Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
by Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
By Marnie Cooper Priest, Former Project Director for the Breastfeeding Collaborative
by Marnie Cooper Priest, Former Project Director for the Breastfeeding Collaborative
By Susannah Tuttle, Eco-Justice Connection Director
by Susannah Tuttle, Eco-Justice Connection Director
By chris
by chris
Date: Easter 3 – May 4, 2014
Topic: Immigration
Focus Text: Luke 24:13-35
The story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, unique to Luke’s Gospel, is central to the evangelist’s message about the resurrection of Jesus and its meaning. It is one of the more unusual stories we hear about encountering Jesus, but it is Luke’s way of conveying that the surprising and the unexpected are to be found in the wake of Jesus’ resurrection. One of the most surprising things, at least for those disciples within the story, is that the stranger they meet on the road turns out to be the risen Christ. At every turn this story is about revealing and discovering Jesus—through scripture, through the breaking of bread, and even through encountering a stranger on the road.
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By chris
by chris
Here at the North Carolina Council of Churches, I’ve had the distinct privilege of working alongside immigrant families, faith leaders, lay activists, and immigrant rights organizations across the state in pursuit of humane fixes to our broken immigration system. While my time at the Council is drawing to a close, I know that immigration reform for our country is not a matter of if, it’s when. How long will we let political games take precedence over real human suffering? I believe that in 20 or 30 years issues that seem controversial today – like whether immigrants deserve human rights, due process, and the chance to become a part of society – will be obvious.
By John Zambenini, Former Duke Divinity School Intern
by John Zambenini, Former Duke Divinity School Intern
By Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
by Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration
by Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By chris
by chris
Date: Good Friday – Apr. 18, 2014
Topic: The Death Penalty
Focus Text: John 18:1-19:42
Because Christians have come to understand the cross as a rich symbol of all that God has accomplished in Jesus it is sometimes easy to forget that the symbol of our faith is (or was) also an instrument of torture and execution (it is certainly more than that, but not less). The details of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion are a reminder that Jesus did in fact receive a form of capital punishment. As ethicist Glen Stassen writes, “Christians who remember that their Lord was unjustly and cruelly given the death penalty have a hard time being enthusiastic about imposing the death penalty on others.”
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By chris
by chris
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By Susannah Tuttle, Eco-Justice Connection Director
by Susannah Tuttle, Eco-Justice Connection Director
By Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
by Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate
by Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Marnie Cooper Priest, Former Project Director for the Breastfeeding Collaborative
by Marnie Cooper Priest, Former Project Director for the Breastfeeding Collaborative
By chris
by chris
I’ll never forget how it felt to serve dinner to this group. About 30 hungry, tired farmworkers arrived back at their camp just as it was getting dark, and they were kind enough to welcome us into their humble space for a shared meal. This group of mostly young men had been busy harvesting sweet potatoes down East. Most were indigenous Mexicans who learned Spanish as a second language, who didn’t know any English.
As we spooned out rice and beans and poured soda from two-liter bottles, I was struck at how rare it is for any of us to meet the people who actually produce and harvest the food we eat. From our history of slavery to our modern industrial context, our society has not really reckoned with the grim reality of those at the bottom of our food chain.
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
Shannon Axtell Martin, Regional Consultant, Partners in Health & Wholeness
There is nothing like the aroma of bread baking, and the incredibly comforting and satisfying taste of warm, fresh bread. From “give us this day our daily bread” to “I am the bread of heaven” to the feeding of the 5,000 to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, this seemingly simple food is so theologically rich. It is used to represent Christ’s body, God’s provision of manna in the wilderness, and livelihood in general.By chris
by chris
Date: 5th Sunday in Lent – Apr. 6, 2014
Topic: Restorative Justice
Focus Text: Psalm 130
If there were such a thing as a six o’clock news cast in the first century, Jesus the felon would appear walking down the street escorted by the police of his day—handcuffed—if you will. The announcer would tell us that the vandal who destroyed Temple property and repeatedly broke Jewish laws; the welfare king who relied on the generosity of unsuspecting middle class women to promote his suspicious doctrine; the man known to frequent the establishments of tax collectors and prostitutes—and claimed to be God, had finally been apprehended and was awaiting sentencing. Yes, in the minds of this first century felon’s accusers, he was little more than a common criminal.
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By chris
by chris
Date: 4th Sunday in Lent – March 30, 2014
Topic: Awareness of Those with Disabilities
Focus Text: John 9:1-41
Jesus’ concrete actions in response to the man’s situation call into question not only the self-righteous judgment of the religious leaders, but also the comfortable distance maintained by the disciples. When they encounter this man in the city, they see it as an opportunity for theological reflection. But Jesus changes the nature of the conversation altogether. The disciples want to speculate; Jesus decides to act – to welcome the man as a person and a child of God, to offer those unique gifts that he has been given to heal the man’s suffering, that the glory of God might be revealed.
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
by Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate
by Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
by Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
By chris
by chris
Here’s an immigrant congregation in Durham that is giving back to the community and making a real difference. It’s a beautiful story about what it means to be the church together. Do you know any immigrant churches in your neighborhood? How are they fostering community?
This video was produced by Uniting NC, a great organization working to make North Carolina a place in which all people, including immigrants, have the opportunity to thrive and to engage in their communities.
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By chris
by chris
Dear Friends,
I will be leaving the NC Council of Churches at the end of March to focus full-time on Tomatillo Design, my new communications shop that works with nonprofits to create amazing, affordable websites.
Since I began working at the Council as an intern in the summer of 2006, I’ve had the incredible privilege of working with the most dedicated, talented and likable group of coworkers imaginable. From its founding more than 75 years ago to today, the Council has worked on a wide range of progressive causes and I’m proud to be a small part of that legacy. Every day at the office I felt encouraged by the witness of recent saints like Sister Evelyn Mattern and Collins Kilburn.
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
By chris
by chris
Date: Ash Wednesday – March 5, 2014
Topic: Human Rights
Focus Text: Isaiah 58:1-12
There are countless ways in which we can make these passages come to life in our own lives and in our society so that “We can be the change we want to see in the world.” Once again, following Jesus’ example is our best starting point. In Matthew 25, Jesus says the depth of our faith is measured by the depth of our relationship with those society labels “outcasts.” In Jesus’ day, outcasts were lepers, prostitutes and tax collectors to name a few. Today, outcasts include those with HIV and AIDS, gays and lesbians, Latinos, Muslims and prisoners, among others. Each of these groups of people faces scorn and vilification in our culture, but Christians must be different. We are called to provide love to those who are rejected and hated.
By Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By chris
by chris
By Rebecca Cary, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Durham
During the past winter and spring, as I followed the news, I grew increasingly dispirited. Our state government was taking more and more actions that I believed, as a Christian, to be fundamentally unjust. Christ healed the sick and fed the hungry. The legislature was blocking access to Medicaid and taking benefits away from those who had little, and claiming to be helping our state by doing so.
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By chris
by chris
By Dr. Leonard Beeghley, Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Durham
During the summer of 1969, I found myself in Fayette, Mississippi, where I met Mr. Charles Evers. Just elected the first Black mayor of a southern town since reconstruction, he proudly called himself “the most hated man in Mississippi.” His election symbolized the spread of democracy into the South.
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By John Zambenini, Former Duke Divinity School Intern
by John Zambenini, Former Duke Divinity School Intern
By chris
by chris
By Chris Liu-Beers, NC Council of Churches, Raleigh
I felt called to participate in Moral Mondays as a way to “bear witness” in this time and place. I believe that as a society we are judged by how we treat the most vulnerable people among us; and as a North Carolinian, I could not stand silent while the General Assembly passed bill after bill that harmed the marginalized and propped up the powerful.
By Marnie Cooper Priest, Former Project Director for the Breastfeeding Collaborative
by Marnie Cooper Priest, Former Project Director for the Breastfeeding Collaborative
By Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
by Steve Ford, Former Volunteer Program Associate
By chris
by chris
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration
by Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration
By chris
by chris
By Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
by Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness
By George Reed, Former Executive Director
by George Reed, Former Executive Director
By Susannah Tuttle, Eco-Justice Connection Director
by Susannah Tuttle, Eco-Justice Connection Director
By Susannah Tuttle, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light, Raleigh
As Director of NC Interfaith Power & Light, it is both my personal and professional responsibility to draw connections between the spirituality of stewardship and the procedures of policy making. I often lead my presentations with the point that caring for the environment is not just political, it is spiritual doctrine shared by all faith traditions. When the seventh Moral Monday focus was designated as environment, justice, and health, I was absolutely elated.
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
by Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern
By Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
by Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator
By chris
by chris
By Mary Klenz, League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg
League of Women Voters members here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg spent several hours making signs for today’s Moral Monday in our home base. It is inspiring to see the energy, commitment and caring that people have around these issues of social justice, fairness and access to voting. The LWV has been fighting for voting rights for all people since 1920, and we’re not stopping now.
By Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
by Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator
By chris
by chris
Date: Epiphany 4 – Feb. 2, 2014
Topic: The Beatitudes
Focus Text: Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes reflect the eschatological – or ultimate – nature of Jesus’ mission and proclaim the effects of the establishment of God’s rule. They list eschatological reversals for the unfortunate and eschatological rewards for the virtuous. It would be a mistake, however, to see the beatitudes as having only future significance. In fact, the first (5:3) and last (5:10) of the sayings are in the present tense. By bookending these future promises with the present tense, Matthew emphasizes the imminence of the Kingdom.
NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org