Council Voices

by The Rev. Dr. Conrad Pridgen, Governing Board President-elect, Presiding Elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2nd Episcopal District and The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director, North Carolina Council of Churches Words make a world and the world our words are making in this nation these days is pretty ugly. The Tops Supermarket […]

This March, during Women’s History Month, we are highlighting four Community Superstars. These incredible women are local leaders in North Carolina who have been doing amazing work in their communities and with the North Carolina Council of Churches. Our second Community Superstar during Women’s History Month is Penny Hooper, Leadership Council Chair of NC Interfaith Power […]

This March, during Women’s History Month, we are highlighting four Community Superstars. These incredible women are local leaders in North Carolina who have been doing amazing work in their communities and with the North Carolina Council of Churches. Our first Community Superstar is Alberta Hairston, former Council Governing Board President and lifelong advocate for justice […]

This February, during Black History Month, we are highlighting 4 amazing Community Superstars. These incredible people are local Black leaders in North Carolina who have been doing amazing work in their communities! This final week of February, our Community Superstar is Margaret D. Bordeaux. Margaret is an inspiring and committed activist, who has been serving […]

This February, during Black History Month, we are highlighting 4 amazing Community Superstars. These incredible people are local Black leaders in North Carolina who have been doing amazing work in their communities! This week our Community Superstar is Dr. Dawn Baldwin Gibson! Dr. Dawn has served her community in amazing ways, especially around health and […]

The following remarks were delivered by Executive, Jennifer Copeland, during the public launch of the North Carolina — Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (NC-TJRC) on January 20, 2022. To watch the entire launch, click here. To learn more about the commission, click here. The North Carolina Council of Churches affirms the work of this commission […]

The following remarks were delivered by the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director, during a vigil on January 11, 2022 calling on the Biden administration to close the Guantanamo Bay Prison. Did you know, all the people still in prison in Guantanamo Bay are Muslims? And all the people previously imprisoned and tortured there were […]

Americans this first week of January are recalling how close to the brink of disaster our nation’s democratic system came one year ago, when a violent mob seeking to keep Donald Trump in office despite his election loss to Joe Biden invaded the U.S. Capitol. Whether that assault was the capstone of a desperate strategy […]

The Rev. Amelia Stinson-Wesley, PastorMemorial United Methodist Church, Charlotte, N.C.Member, N.C. Council of Churches Governing Board In early November, Memorial United Methodist Church in Charlotte, we were asked if we had any available housing. While I knew we had an empty parsonage, I knew that it was not in very good condition. I learned that […]

How is it with your soul? This was the question asked weekly of those who gathered in the first Methodist societies organized by John and Charles Wesley while they were still college students. It’s a good question that invites us to think deeper and respond more honestly than we might to the typical, “How are […]

The staff of the NC Council of Churches is delighted to welcome Sharon Jarrells and Brandy Murray to our team of social justice advocates. Sharon Jarrells has just joined our Council team as Office Manager. Sharon was raised in NYC in the South Bronx. She has 20 years of office management experience, mostly in the legal field. She […]

The following remarks were presented by the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director, during the public gathering and clergy march in Elizabeth City after the recent death of Andrew Brown, Jr on May 8th. Click here for the full recording. I greet you on behalf of the N.C. Council of Churches and the 18 denominations […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Acts 10:34-43 Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?      Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;    and by […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. John 13: 1-17, 31b-35 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 118:1-2 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His steadfast love endures forever.  Give thanks because there has been enough for all in the past, give thanks because there is enough for all […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. John 12:20-33 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Ephesians 2:1-10 You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Exodus 20:1-17 Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 22:23-31 You who fear the Lord, praise him!    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;    stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!For he did not despise or abhor    the […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 25:1-10 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.Do not let those […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Written by Andrew Whitworth, Duke Divinity School Intern, Summer of 2020 to Spring 2021 Isaiah 58:1-12 Shout out, do not hold back!   Lift up your voice like a trumpet!Announce to my people their rebellion,   to the house of […]

How much is enough? Scripture has a treasure trove of advice for defining enough and even more advice on how to make sure everyone has enough. And not merely enough to survive; rather, enough to thrive. To thrive we need enough food, nutritious food. To thrive we need enough space to live, safe, warm, and […]

No doubt, all of us have watched multiple recaps of events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Epiphany. Perhaps it was calendar coincidence that counting and certifying the electoral votes for the most recent presidential election happened on the day named by Christians as the “manifestation” of Jesus as Christ to the world. We […]