When the news reporter approached me, I was milling about in the grass, adjusting my pastoral stole, preparing to be present with some of our local teachers at a press […]
As Mother’s Day approaches, we honor, remember, and celebrate all of the strong women in our lives. Women have proven throughout history that they are the backbone of society. Eleanor […]
It has been a little over a week since our third PHW Faith and Health Summit, themed “Making Connections: We’re Worth It.” The day began with worship and a keynote […]
This week, the Trump administration announced it will end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama initiative protecting hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants from deportation. This protection […]
Two weeks ago, the President endorsed a new bill in the Senate designed to cut legal immigration levels in half over a decade, a potentially extreme change to policies that […]
Five years ago, President Obama created the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program to enable young people brought to this country as children to come out of the shadows […]
The U.S. Senate’s vote this afternoon moves the debate forward to potentially repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. What that will look like is anybody’s guess. Senators Burr and […]
It appears that the U.S. Senate will vote today on some sort of health care action. What they’ll be voting on, however, is unclear even to some of them. This […]
No one seems completely clear on whether the Senate will vote next week on health care or what they will vote on if they do. That might be deliberate in […]
Yesterday, the Senate unveiled a revised version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act. According to a report from our friends at the North Carolina Justice Center the changes, and their […]
Just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus […]
Presented with a new state budget that, whatever its occasional virtues, is mainly about easing tax burdens on the well-off while grinding opponents of legislative Republicans into the dirt, Democratic […]
Late yesterday afternoon the Congressional Budget Office released their score of the Senate’s proposed health care plan and the numbers are extremely troubling. As our friends at the North Carolina […]
Members of the United States Senate have released their proposed health care plan, all 142 pages of the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” developed in secrecy, with a score […]
By now the strategy is familiar – the strategy used by the N.C. General Assembly’s Republican chiefs to try to make a fundamentally flawed state budget appear, well, not that […]
As the Senate continues its secret deliberations on a health care plan that will effect all Americans, the potential impact on one of the most vulnerable groups in our society […]
The Council’s commitment to health care as a basic justice issue dates back decades. Significant progress toward health care for all was made with the Affordable Care Act, progress toward […]
The General Assembly leaders meeting to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget are working with two deeply flawed proposals. As our friend Chris Fitzsimon at […]
We were already living in a time of profound consequence. President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement means that while the needs of our endangered climate are increasing, […]
As was feared, some members of the General Assembly may be bringing back legislation that would roll back existing gun safety laws. A version of the previously introduced H.B. 746 […]
For more than two decades, the NC Council of Churches has called for access to health care for all. The score from the Congressional Budget Office makes it undeniably clear […]
Plenty of analysis is already happening around the 2018 budget proposal out of the White House. The Washington Post provides two helpful graphics here and here. More is being written […]
Last week was a mixed bag for children and youth in terms of activity at the General Assembly. Among accomplishments was further progress on raising the age at which juveniles […]
So, the question as always comes down to one of vision. The elected chieftains who decide how much money North Carolina’s state government will spend, what it will be spent […]
About this time two years ago, I accepted the offer to become the next Executive Director of the NC Council of Churches. We agreed that I would spend two weeks […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director [For more information on bills, including committee referrals and re-referrals, texts of bills, procedural histories, and recorded votes, go to the General Assembly website […]
The passage of the American Health Care Act by the House of Representatives reflects a political choice on a life-or-death matter. If House members truly believed that this was the […]
Our allies at the NC Justice Center have put out the following action alert about efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As people of faith, we believe that we […]
We often struggle to address mental health in our communities of faith. This Mother’s Day, as we honor those who bring forth life and contribute so much to our communities, […]
If you’re part of the Christian tradition then you have probably heard the story of the good Samaritan more times than you can count. A man is traveling along a […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director [The deadlines for the introduction of most new bills have now passed, and we are in Crossover Week. By the end of the week, […]
Two of the most volatile elements on a college campus are alcohol and hormones. These ingredients contribute to sexual assault (23.1 percent of female and 5.4 percent of male undergraduates), […]
The public is opposed to efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act, but some members of the U.S. House of Representatives seem determined to forge ahead anyway. The latest version […]
A change in New York law earlier this month leaves North Carolina alone in a place 49 other states have found to be indefensible: only NC automatically prosecutes 16- and […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director [For the latest committee referrals and re-referrals, go to the General Assembly website www.ncleg.net. There you can also find the texts of bills, procedural […]
Congressional leaders are still in their home states for their spring recess, but your voices are still important. Please attend town halls held by our elected leaders, and please request […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Newly Introduced Bills BUDGET AND TAXES H 540, Teachers & State Employees Pay Raise, would give annual raises of $2,400 to teachers and other […]
In the final hours of the first day of the Triduum, these intense three days when Christians rehearse the events between Maundy Thursday and the Easter Vigil, the juxtaposition of […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Bills are being introduced at a rapid pace as the Senate’s deadline for new bills has passed and the House’s deadline on non-money approaches. […]
Every state legislator should be required to listen to the stories shared at a press conference organized this week by North Carolina advocates for health care. Anyone opposed to Medicaid […]
Sermon preached by the Rev. Jennifer Copeland on April 1, 2017 at First United Methodist Church, Mocksville for the Western North Carolina Conference United Methodist Women’s Legislative Day. For God’s […]
For those who could not be with us at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Raleigh, video from portions of the day is available on our Facebook page. The morning […]
Our friends at North Carolinians Against Gun Violence have issued the alert below. Please note that it requires action before this evening, Monday, March 27. _________________________________________________________________________ We are continuing to […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Newly Introduced Bills BUDGET AND TAXATION H 356, Tax Reduction Act of 2017, would increase the standard deduction for state income taxes from $17,500 […]
Thank you for every call, email, and letter to Congressional leaders that led to today’s decision to pull the American Health Care Act without a vote. Those committed to a […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Newly Introduced Bills BUDGET AND TAXATION HB 329, Home School Education Tax Credit, would give a $1,250-per-student-per-semester income tax credit to the parents of […]
With a House vote on the plan to appeal the Affordable Care Act as early as this week, the NC Justice Center has released a series of fact sheets that […]
If you think organized religion has lost its appeal (25% of Americans do; most of them under 40), then it might be time to look again. Look at the Wild […]
The budget blueprint for 2018 released by President Trump on Thursday cuts a wide swath through programs that serve women, people of color, those of low income (for poor women […]
Around the release of the alt-health plan currently making its way through Congress, several elected leaders have gone where elected leaders sometimes go – blaming the poor for being poor. […]
Remarks delivered by Executive Director Jennifer Copeland at a press conference on fair wages on March 8, 2017. Today is a day without women. Across the world women have been […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Newly Introduced Bills BUDGET AND TAXES S 147, Reenact School Sales Tax Holiday. The school sales tax holiday was a three-day weekend shortly before […]
The political situation at the national level has occupied the time and attention of many faithful progressives. Each day has brought with it more reasons to be concerned for our […]
We are pleased to introduce the PHW Collaborative. Mostly, it is a change in the name, so if your congregation has been a part of the Partners in Health and […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Newly Introduced Bills ENVIRONMENTAL CARE H 171, Change Exclusion for Solar Energy Systems. Current law provides an 80% exclusion from property taxation for the […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Newly Introduced Bills BUDGET AND TAXES S 75, Constitutional Amendment – Maximum Income Tax Rate of 5.5%. The Constitution currently sets a maximum rate […]
Sometimes God whispers. Whether through hymns or homilies or kids dancing their way down the aisle to children’s chapel. Sometimes God shouts. Through the amplified suffering of others, known or […]
Last in a series of three blogs. Above all, these strangers bring to us the Christ. When we welcome a stranger we welcome Jesus, and when we welcome Jesus we […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director The 2017 General Assembly has begun its work. Elected in November, it came to Raleigh for a day in early January in order to […]
This Sunday’s Gospel reading was the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-12. Jesus says blessed nine times, but he never says blocked or banned. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the […]
Enabling good health is a community restoration project. It’s really not about prescription plans, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses, or any other cost-benefit analysis. It’s about community. When people are sick or […]
The Council has had a busy weekend. Much of the staff was helping with the Beyond Gun Violence Conference at United Church of Chapel Hill, but we also had folks […]
Our friend Rob Schofield over at Policy Watch wrote a column on Tuesday that was as vitally important in its truth-telling as it was hard to read for the future […]
The Affordable Care Act is still in place for 2017, and as our friends at the NC Justice Center remind us, nothing has changed for this year. Plans, prices, deadlines, […]
At another time in my life, I would not have spent most of Saturday occupying my tiny square of personal space in the heart of Washington DC, literally shoulder to […]
Dear Mr. Trump, You ARE my president. I did not vote for you, but you were elected, and that makes you my president because I am a citizen of these […]
Pizazz. Laughter. Friends. Singing. These words describe the Healthy Churches 2020 National Conference. But, did you know that a faith and health national conference even exists? Healthy Churches 2020 held […]
In the past Partners in Health and Wholeness had a program dedicated to helping worshipping communities promote breastfeeding and support breastfeeding mothers. This week, the most prominent religious leader in the world, the […]
Groups at the state and national level continue to mobilize around concerns about President-Elect Donald Trump’s stated policy objectives and choices for cabinet posts. The NC NAACP, Interfaith Power & […]
We are excited to announce that we are now accepting mini-grant applications. Congregations who were certified in 2016 (and have not already received a grant from the last cycle) are […]
PHW-certified congregations across North Carolina are eligible to apply for a mini-grant to assist in furthering their commitment to health and wholeness. Mini-grant application periods are open twice a year; […]
I recently heard the song, “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” for the first time in a beautiful recording by Straight No Chaser. For days the lines, “We didn’t know who you […]
Earlier this month, the North Carolina Conference hosted its annual Pilgrimage event, a time when several thousand middle and high school students come together for a weekend to hear from […]
As the 2016 campaign season grinds along the final stretch toward Election Day on Nov. 8 – and with thousands of North Carolinians already having cast their ballots – we […]
Remarks delivered by Executive Director Jennifer Copeland at a press conference with the NC NAACP in Raleigh on October 13. Vote your values is a rallying cry issued early and […]
By Kaitlyn Brodar, PHW Intern I recently had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Norma Boone, the health lead at Corinth AME Zion Church in Siler City, NC. The church […]
A Sustainable Race: Opening New Streams of Justice in our Environmental and Food Systems will be held September 16-17 2016 at the Franklinton Center at Bricks in Whitakers, NC. Hanging […]
Did you know that August is National Breastfeeding Month and that this week is World Breastfeeding Week? Breastfeeding has some important health implications for both mom and baby. It also […]
All children deserve to have a strong start in life and the chance to become a happy, healthy, productive adults. Infant mortality rates, or the number of infants who die […]
This past week has been filled with what feels like a continuous barrage of tragic news: the shootings in Orlando and subsequent lack of gun control measures by Congress, World […]
There wasn’t a lot to like about what occurred the other day in a state Senate committee. First, legislative rules – notoriously rubberized – were stretched to the point where […]
Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day, a day when people all over the world celebrate the courage, strength and resiliency of our neighbors who were forced to flee their home […]
Let’s assume the worst, which for the moment would mean that the N.C. Senate’s version of a new state budget sails through to enactment without change or compromise. The sun, […]
NC advocates in orange at the General Assembly last year. Photo provided by Beth Messersmith, NC Campaign Director, MomsRising. Less than a month ago, our middle son sat with his classmates under […]
At the beginning of 2016, ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) stepped up deportations of undocumented Central Americans in North Carolina. Last week it was announced that another wave of deportations […]
The update is compiled on a volunteer basis by George Reed, the Council’s retired executive director. Weekly Update May 25, 2016 (Legislators’ identifications are listed only the first time they […]
Registration for 2016 Critical Issues Seminar workshops is now available online. If you have not yet registered, please use the form below to do so and include your selection for […]
Join us for the Council’s 2016 Critical Issues Seminar, focused on Race, Power, and Privilege, on Saturday, April 23 at St. Matthew United Methodist Church, 600 East Florida Street, Greensboro. […]
Join the NAACP, NC Council of Churches, and other coalition partners for the Tenth Annual Moral March on Raleigh. Historic Thousands on Jones Street 2016 takes place on Saturday, February 13; […]
For those of us who want to see North Carolina governed with the interests of all its residents in mind – not mainly the interests of the well-off and privileged […]
Excerpted from In Those Days and In These, an Advent Devotional Guide from the NC Council of Churches In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all […]
Excerpted from In Those Days and In These, an Advent Devotional Guide from the NC Council of Churches In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a […]
Excerpted from In Those Days and In These, an Advent Devotional Guide from the NC Council of Churches John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by […]
Excerpted from In Those Days and In These, an Advent Devotional Guide from the NC Council of Churches In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius […]
Excerpted from In Those Days and In These, an Advent Devotional Guide from the NC Council of Churches Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and […]
How desperate would your life need to be for you to leave everyone and everything you knew in pursuit of a better one? To venture into a new place where […]
The notably dapper Thom Goolsby, member of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, made a mark of sorts with his put-down of the NAACP-led Moral Monday protest movement […]
Last week, the European refugee crisis reached a tragic peak. More than 11 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes due to violence and persecution. Many of these people […]
I was talking with colleagues, friends, and co-laborers who strive for better health on a population level and discovered that many of us had the same problem within our faith […]
