Faithful Reform in Health Care – an interfaith organization that works to provide people of faith with accurate, timely information on health care reform and to engage us in the […]
I’ll be speaking and singing at several events in the next few weeks, and thought I would let you know the details.
About 150 activists and experts gathered in Greensboro recently for the North Carolina Council of Churches’ Critical Issues Seminar focused on integrating Creation Care with the mission and ministry of faith […]
We’ve had an exciting couple of weeks on the Care of Creation front. Our Critical Issues Seminar in Greensboro last week focused on the issue. About 150 of us gathered […]
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.
More than 60 people gathered at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte last night to watch the local premiere of Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos – a film about family, faith and immigration. This event, which was featured in one of the Charlotte Observer’s blogs, was the first in a statewide series that the Council is sponsoring.
Hello friends, There are a couple of upcoming events I wanted to let you know about in the Raleigh area, Charlotte and Greensboro. •Thursday, October 7 at 5 PM — please join us […]
Last week, comedian Steven Colbert caused a stir by testifying before Congress in support of the AgJOBS bill. Colbert’s larger than life persona brought a record number of cameras to the “Protecting America’s Harvest” hearing held by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security. While pundits and bloggers disagree about the appropriateness of Colbert’s appearance, very little is being said about the substance of the bill he went to Washington to support: AgJOBS.
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.
The NC State students are back. I, for one, am delighted. Sure, there are longer lines at the grocery and a lot more beer being sold. Sure, there is more […]
Penny Hooper and Richard Fireman, both with the Council’s NC Interfaith Power & Light program, have collaborated to write a powerful op-ed on coal ash which has just appeared in […]
Urgent calls to North Carolina senators are needed concerning the New START treaty, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act and the DREAM Act.
The passing of health care reform legislation earlier this year has sparked a number of questions from both opponents of the new law and those who have supported it from […]
Fifty years after “Harvest of Shame,” not much has changed. Farm work remains one of the nation’s most dangerous industries. Here in North Carolina, dangerous conditions in the fields, poverty wages and substandard housing continue to threaten workers’ health and well-being. For example, workers often put in 14-hour days in bad weather – including extreme heat and rain. In North Carolina, 7 farmworkers died of heat stroke in a recent five-year span. They were literally worked to death. And heat stroke isn’t the only problem in the fields.
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.
Mallory McDuff, author of “Natural Saints: How People of Faith Are Working to Save God’s Earth” and upcoming presenter at the Council’s Critical Issues Seminar, has been on quite a roll […]
We’re teaming up with local filmmaker Charlie Thompson to offer screenings of his latest documentary, Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos across the state. If you live in one of these cities, please help us promote this event by putting up movie posters around town. We also have bulletin inserts that can be used to encourage your congregation to attend. Thanks for your help!
The North Carolina Council of Churches held its first-ever Clergy Breakfast on Health on Thursday, August 26 at St. James African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church in Goldsboro. Twenty-five local […]
Faithful Reform in Health Care – an organization dedicated to quality, accessible health care for all – has studied how the new health care reform legislation impacts communities of faith
This week I felt privileged to be one of over 1,500 participants in the NC Latino Coalition’s Statewide Delegates Assembly in Durham calling for comprehensive and compassionate immigration reform. Leaders from religious organizations, organized labor and businesses joined the grassroots audience in making the compelling case for immigration reform now.
The Seminar “Loving God’s Creation: Fully Integrating Creation Care with the Church’s Mission and Ministry” is set for Thursday, October 14, 2010, at the Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. The program for this event has been announced.
In an op-ed, published in USA Today, Mallory McDuff offers an enticing look at the popular book and movie, “Eat, Pray, Love” through the eyes of a Christian environmentalist.
Certainly the BP spill has heightened concern about the environment, but that concern was already growing among many people of faith. It’s an area the Council has been working on for […]
More and more North Carolinians are getting involved with community gardens. Through our Come to the Table program, the Council’s Rural Life Committee has been promoting this work for the past few years. We’ve been visiting gardens, leading workshops, sharing best practices, eating delicious local food and making friends across the state.
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 […]
Disparities in health often mean earlier death and increased morbidity for one group of people versus another. Groups can be defined by race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability status, geography (urban […]
The Council bids farewell to Jill Rios as Director of Interfaith Power & Light. Jill, who has served in that role for two years based out of Asheville, resigned to devote more time to her family, health and other, more locally-based projects.
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?
Over the past year, we’ve been hosting clergy breakfast events on immigration across the state. We’ve met with over 450 faith leaders to talk about how congregations and people of faith can get involved to make our state a better place for our immigrant brothers and sisters. Our work has even drawn the attention of major media outlets. One was highlighted by a local TV station, and more recently we had not just one but two reporters from the Raleigh News & Observer sit in with us at the July 1 breakfast at Fairmont UMC in Raleigh.
Last week’s march and rally to halt re-segregation in Wake County was a powerful experience. Thanks to all of the Council folks who turned out. I saw several current leaders […]
The Council’s redesigned website is up and running with easier navigation, more modern functions, and a cleaner, crisper look. We have been discussing the new site internally for months, and the result is a big step forward for us.
The North Carolina Council of Churches’ Partners in Health and Wholeness program held its 2010 Faith and Health Summit in March, drawing together nearly 250 participants to learn about integrating health practices and strategies within faith communities.
In light of concerns about public school resegregation in counties across the state, the North Carolina Council of Churches has begun work to counter this backward step toward increased racial and economic separation. Issues of resegregation have surfaced in the state’s largest school districts, Wake and Charlotte-Mecklenburg counties, as well Wayne and New Hanover counties and elsewhere.
Some 2009 donors chose to give to the North Carolina Council of Churches in honor or in memory of someone. We are grateful for those gifts which help sustain our work for social justice and Christian unity.
These congregations have demonstrated that, as people of faith, they strive to live an abundant life of health and wholeness by naming a congregational health promoter, serving healthy food and beverage at church meals, and reducing the impact of smoking on themselves and their neighbors.
