We can all relate to the desire to drink more water. However, the reality is that it just doesn’t happen for most of us. We forget it. Or some of […]
If you haven’t had a chance to take a look at the Council’s curriculum, “Eating Well: For Ourselves, For Our Neighbors, For Our Planet,” I urge you to do so. You […]
This year, the NC Council of Churches is continuing its successful statewide series of “Clergy Breakfasts” on immigration. These events are geared towards busy religious professionals and faith leaders, and they […]
Our time to choose North Carolina’s 2014 general election will be held on Tuesday, November 4. Although this is an “off-year” election, without contests for president or governor, many important […]
The NC Council of Churches’ 2014 Faith and Health Summit is now less than a month away, and we are delighted to have people of faith, public health professionals, faith […]
Partners in Health and Wholeness and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation partnered together to offer twenty churches Healthy Eating Equipment Grants. These churches received up to $5,000 […]
There are some exciting advances happening in the world of public health, and these are in the form of policies created by major corporations. Although it is right to hold […]
North Carolina Council of Churches Executive Director George Reed has announced that he will retire at the end of June, 2015. George informed the Governing Board of his decision at […]
Forget the yoga mats and fitness tapes, and step your way to health in your home, while using less toxic products. I enjoy the work of Partners in Health and […]
A 12-year study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that Americans improved their eating habits slightly over the years, but that was not the case for America’s […]
As a teenage girl, pop culture, especially music, is seemingly everything. As a teenage girl growing up in the Presbyterian Church, David LaMotte was the epitome of cool. I was introduced […]
By taking care of your teeth, you can gain a beautiful smile, fewer cavities, fresh breath, and possibly, according to increasing scientific evidence, better heart functioning…did I surprise you with […]
The Bible states in Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise the day of small things.” I have been constantly reminded of that verse lately. I saw it on Facebook, then I heard […]
Savannah Missionary Baptist Church is committed to developing a holistic ministry. For the past six years our congregation has made a concerted effort to improve the health of our members […]
When most people think of 5K, they think of running. Well, this time, not so much. This 5K challenge has to do with raising awareness of health and faith through driving. […]
As Labor Day weekend quickly approaches, many people are thinking about beaches and barbeques. Amy Laura Hall, however, wants people to be thinking about something different: labor unions. Hall, a professor […]
I was not granted the gift of creativity, so I am always in awe when I come across ideas like that of Healing Ceilings. This month at West Raleigh Presbyterian […]
As you may remember, I pledged to make some healthy lifestyle changes of my own. I stated that these changes would be incremental so as not to be overwhelming and make me contemplate giving […]
The recent trial of Alamance County Sheriff Andrew Johnson has focused on alleged profiling abuses against Latinos. He is accused of detaining and arresting Latino drivers without probable cause. During the […]
I had the pleasure of serving on the North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s (NCIOM) Task Force on Rural Health, which was charged with creating a roadmap for better health in […]
The N.C. General Assembly during its 2014 session – a session so rife with disputes among the majority Republicans that it smoldered on and on – has left many sour […]
The Watershed Discipleship Course was held June 16-20 at in Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa. This conference was sponsored by the Food, Faith, and Religious Leadership Initiative at Wake Divinity with […]
I am already mourning the loss of the abundance of fresh produce that has been available this summer. It is a sort of anticipatory grief, particularly for those warm summer […]
I am roughly halfway through my internship with Partners in Health and Wholeness, and the pressure is on. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes activities that make PHW successful. For instance, it can […]
“There is nothing but a lack of social vision to prevent us from paying an adequate wage to every American whether he [or she] is a hospital worker, laundry worker, […]
The People’s Climate March is bringing together people with the urgency and power needed to address the climate crisis. Read more here. It is happening in New York and simultaneously in […]
Meet one of our community leaders, Helen Livingston, of Scotland County. I first met Helen through the phone when I started with PHW, and almost instantly we were kindred spirits. She […]
We have all been touched by news of the growing Ebola crisis in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Nigeria, a crisis that so far has resisted efforts at containment. Those […]
Please join the North Carolina Council of Churches at the 2014 Faith and Health Summit, which will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 at Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem (501 […]
Partners in Health and Wholeness continues to amaze me. I had a chance to visit Laurinburg Presbyterian Church where PHW is incorporating their program for healthier lifestyles. Of course this […]
Do you have people in your congregation with type 2 diabetes? Have you considered creating an emergency kit especially for them? PHW liaison, Dr. Renee Lea-Currie of Philadelphia Seventh Day Adventist […]
News about children at the border – what’s happening to them, what politicians believe or say about them, where they are going, what will happen to them — continues and […]
The debate is familiar: State government is too big. No, it’s too small. People in the too-big camp typically think government – the state agencies and institutions that North Carolinians […]
The human body naturally seeks homeostasis or balance. This course does not need any thought or action from the individual; it is a natural process. Recently, I took the Partners […]
Wednesday, August 12, 1-2 p.m. Partnership for Children Building 404 North Main Street, #A, Troy One of our stellar volunteers for Montgomery County is hosting a curriculum demonstration two weeks […]
On Saturday I had the chance to attend the 5th Annual Great Tomato Festival, which is a collaboration between the Cooperative Extension of Guilford County and NC A&T University. Extension master […]
UPDATE: After this blog was posted, the final budget was unveiled and passed by the House and Senate. The large reductions in Medicaid reimbursement rates mentioned in the blog below […]
The Lord raised up Laquanda Bowden of Empowering Word Ministries and her church crew to organize an incredible 2014 Youth Conference. Yes, Partners in Health and Wholeness co-hosted this event, […]
People of faith are coming together in more and more impactful ways to help create the future that we want with clean air, clean water, clean energy, and with greater […]
“How is this equal?!” I often articulate this simple phrase whenever I take a look at the world these days. Sometimes I mutter the sentence under my breath in disbelief, […]
Local North Carolina organizations are joining the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in celebrating World Breastfeeding Week, August 1-7. According to the WHO website, […]
This past week I have been focusing on the crisis of the thousands of refugee children at the border who are being held in detention centers. I have blogged about praying for […]
Partners in Health and Wholeness co-hosted a youth conference on Saturday, July 12, with Empowering Word Ministries in Wadesboro. I was honored to be able to participate as a PHW intern. […]
We wanted to share Rev. Richard Eden’s words of welcome from the hearing hosted by United Church of Chapel Hill: “First, welcome to United Church of Chapel Hill and the […]
Courtney Ward is a summer intern with the Alliance of Baptists, working with Pullen Memorial Baptist Church and lending her aid to the Partners in Health and Wholeness Initiative. Born […]
With the Sidewalk Prophets singing “Keep Making Me” in the background, I sit here contemplating how to start the many blog posts running through my head. I am overcome with […]
The issue of unaccompanied children at the border has caused great concern about the thousands of refugee children who have fled violence and poverty to seek a safe haven here in […]
“Inequality for All,” a documentary with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, considers the priorities of the US over the last century and offers some interesting observations. When has our country […]
It is my pleasure to introduce you to PHW Intern Johnny Rogers. He is a UNC-Pembroke student, and you can read more about him in the staff section of the Council’s […]
From this internship with Partners in Health and Wholeness, my main expectations were to strengthen my employment applications after graduation by adding additional experiences. However, after my first day in […]
North Carolina legislators faced with vexing conflicts over a new state budget spent a solid week pawing and snorting at each other without a lot of movement on the main […]
Mount Nebo Pentecostal Holiness Church in Ramseur, NC received a grant earlier this year from the Randolph Hospital Community Health Foundation to build a walking track, which has since been […]
If this year’s session of the N.C. General Assembly were a work of drama for stage or screen, the plot would be coming to a head. And we in the […]
Blueberries, blackberries, persimmons and plums! What is your local fruit IQ? Do you know when local fruit is in season and where to get it? The blog below, written by […]
As we head into a long Independence Day weekend, most Americans are anticipating a Friday off from work and a time to spend with their families celebrating the largest secular […]
Cyrus Baldwin King, a gentle spirit with an iron resolve, was a hero of North Carolina’s peace and justice movement. The Council of Churches is honored to join in the […]
Date: Proper 13 – Aug. 3, 2014
Topic: Ending Hunger
Focus Text: Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus’ feeding the multitudes is found in all four gospels. Both Matthew and Mark include two feeding stories. While Luke includes only the feeding of the five thousand, his gospel is filled with significant events surrounding meals. John’s extended account of the feeding of the multitude is interwoven with his account of the Eucharist. All of the evangelists saw in this story something crucial to the identity of Jesus and the life of the church.
The Lake Chatuge GreenFaith Team, a group of environmentally concerned churches from Northern Georgia and Western North Carolina will be publishing environmental tips in local papers and radio outlets as […]
I hope that you have saved the date for the 2014 Youth Conference in Wadesboro. Partners in Health and Wholeness is joining Empowering Word Ministries to create a spectacular day […]
This past Tuesday evening, the Council co-sponsored an event on the topic “Coming to Terms with Torture: Truth, Accountability, and Renunciation” at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh. The primary speaker […]
With one final gathering that on June 25 drew more than 1,000 people to the heart of North Carolina’s state government, the NC NAACP and its allies say they have concluded […]
Tune in to WUNC’s “The State of Things” on Tuesday, June 24, to hear David Gushee ahead of his evening presentation in Raleigh. “The State of Things” airs at noon, and […]
On June 21, the longest day of the year, Interfaith Power & Light is joining a coalition of groups to come together for a National Day of Action to show support for switching […]
The NC Council of Churches aims to exert a positive influence on public policies that have implications for what is commonly known as social justice. What this often boils down […]
I am admittedly a person who does not care about sports. However, the World Cup is one event that can even make a sports observer as apathetic as myself tune […]
Anita will be performing her show, “Mama Juggs,” at 3 p.m.on Sunday, June 22, at Martin Street Baptist Church, 1001 E Martin St, Raleigh. This funny and informative show will be a kickoff event for the Breastfeeding Collaborative, an initiative of the NC Council of Churches that helps congregations to be breastfeeding friendly. Interviewed by Marnie Cooper Priest, project director for the Breastfeeding Collaborative. How long have you been performing the “Mama Juggs” show? On June 20 it will be the fifth anniversary of the “Mama Juggs” show. Did you have another show before…
The Council has published two new resources for people of faith interested in supporting North Carolina’s public schools. One is an abbreviated version of the Council’s materials for holding a […]
First it was Gov. Pat McCrory who tried to fashion a state budget giving teachers a badly needed raise while hamstrung by large tax cuts. Then the N.C. Senate took […]
The June 9 Moral Monday sent a powerful message to state leaders about the value North Carolinians place on strong public schools. If you couldn’t be there, our friends at […]
On June 2, the EPA acted on our moral obligation to address unlimited carbon pollution coming from the nation’s power plants, the single largest source of global warming pollution in the country. The […]
Workers in tobacco fields suffer the same injustices that other farmworkers face, including the low wages, weak workplace protections, and harsh conditions. However, their work is even more unhealthy and […]
There’s lots to celebrate this month. Besides my birthday (smile), the month of June is when we observe Men’s Health Week and National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month. These two issues, each important enough on their own, also overlap as men are encouraged to eat nutritious, well-balanced meals in order to remain healthy and strong. Our nation’s dietary guidelines are updated every five years, with the most recent set of guidelines released in 2010. In this report, the US Department of Agriculture advises both men and women to…
Registration for the Council’s 2014 Critical Issues Seminar on Public Education with a guaranteed lunch has been extended for those who do not require a gluten-free or vegan meal. Those […]
The full program for the our 2014 Critical Issues Seminar on Public Education is now available on the website. It includes registration information, the schedule for the day, and a complete […]
Sandy is on the right. Her friend, Susan Cummings, is pictured on the left. I am pleased to announce that the Council’s 2014 Distinguished Service Award will be […]
For most North Carolinians, the myriad choices that comprise the state budget may affect the quality of their children’s education, or whether their favorite state park is kept in good […]
One of the most harmful parts of last year’s voter suppression bill was the limitation on early voting. There had been 17 days of it. Last year’s bill, adopted by […]
Program Associate Jennie Wilburn has created a worship resource for Pentecost as an opportunity to break down linguistic and cultural barriers through the Holy Spirit. Jennie writes: This collection of […]
Say this much for the leaders of the North Carolina Senate and House: When they make up their minds on a course of action, they don’t mess around. The General […]
A few weeks ago, Human Rights Watch published a report on child labor in tobacco farming. Below, former NCCC intern John Zambenini comments on the large amount of media attention […]
June is Torture Awareness Month, and we are gearing up for a presentation by David Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and the Director of the Center for Theology and Public […]
United Progressive Baptist Church has had many successes improving the health of the members of our congregation. During our Vacation Bible School, we were able to engage the youth of […]
On Saturday, May 17, at noon, about 30 people gathered at the Atlantic Beach/Fort Macon Swimming Beach for the nation-wide “Hands Across the Sand Demonstration” to promote clean energy and […]
The Partners in Health and Wholeness Breastfeeding Collaborative kicks off with a performance by Anita Woodley of her one-woman show, “Mama Juggs.” Woodley is a nationally renowned local performer and […]
The North Carolina Senate could have gotten its 2014 session under way with a show of resolve to repair some of the damage from last year’s debacle. Just as one […]
District 38 representative Yvonne Holley recently visited the offices of the North Carolina Council of Churches. She came to express her support for one of the Council’s newest initiatives, The […]
If a session of the NC General Assembly can be compared to an opera — comedy, farce or tragedy yet to be determined – then the governor’s recommended budget might […]
Education figured prominently in the news over the past few days, both nationally and locally. As a country, we marked the 60th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, the […]
North Carolina legislators may think they have their hands full trying to defuse the hot political issue of the moment – the state’s woeful pay levels for its public school […]
“This nation admits its errors, as painful as they may be.” — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, April 3, 2014. On June 24, noted theologian David P. Gushee will speak at Raleigh’s […]
In conjunction with the Critical Issues Seminar on Public Education in June, the NC Council of Churches will be collecting non-perishable items to support Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s Backpack Buddies program. […]
The motto of North Carolina’s General Assembly during the past few years could well have been something like “Never a dull moment!” That’s especially been the case as the economy […]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Wait, isn’t that a line from a Christmas song? Well, yes. But, when it comes to living a healthy life, what time […]
Did you know it is Screen-Free Week? During this annual, international celebration, schools, families, and community groups pledge to spend seven days without entertainment screen media. Instead of watching TV, surfing […]
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the […]
The turmoil in North Carolina’s public schools, caused by budget cuts and ill-advised policy choices, has gotten people’s attention. On Saturday, May 3, there’ll be an opportunity to take a […]
I was baptized a Baptist as a child, confirmed an Episcopalian as an adult. I stood by as three of my own dozed through being “marked as Christ’s own forever” […]
North Carolina’s public school classrooms these days seem to be running short of happy campers where they’re most needed — among the teachers whose noble job it is to lead […]
As we enter Easter Season, the time when Christians celebrate the greatest mystery of our faith, we find ourselves poised to meet the greatest challenge in humanity’s history. Climate change is […]
