As people of faith, we proclaim our belief that our world is God’s creation, that God sees it as good, and that it is ours to protect and maintain. As […]
The optics, as they say, are terrible. But in a state whose motto is “To Be Rather Than to Seem,” it’s even more important to look at the substance. And […]
Governor Roy Cooper has announced his strong opposition to offshore drilling and seismic blasting along North Carolina’s coast. “Our coast is part of our identity,” he said, speaking to the […]
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, […]
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 […]
This week, Donald Trump issued an executive order to turn back the clock on the climate progress we have made over the past decade. In addition to directing the EPA to […]
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 […]
Thank you to those who have registered for the 2017 Legislative Seminar. We are looking forward to having you join us this Monday, March 27, at St. Mark’s United Methodist […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 & […]
Remarks delivered by Jennifer Copeland at a November 15 press conference in Fayetteville opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Roughly half the people in this country, give or take six hundred […]
On May 11, NCIPL hosted the Second Annual Faith Voices for Clean Energy Advocacy Day. Members of faith communities from across the state met with representatives of the NC General […]
By Wayde Marsh, Duke Divinity School Intern “[Pope] Francis almost makes me want to convert to Catholicism.” This is the sentiment generally expressed by many of my colleagues at Duke […]
What do Tuesday’s elections mean for North Carolina? How can people of faith in the state continue to affect positive change? Join the staff of the North Carolina Council of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Last week Rev. Sally Bingham, founder of Interfaith Power & Light, simply asked: “Do you remember what it was like to be a child and play in the great outdoors?” […]
The Council helped organize a Service of Repentance and Consecration in front of the General Assembly Building prior to the Moral March and HKonJ People’s Assembly held earlier this month in Raleigh. […]
A cross-section of North Carolinians and progressives from other states flooded downtown Raleigh on Saturday as part of HKonJ 2014. Longtime activists from across the state walked with college students, parents […]
It’s now just four weeks until this year’s HKonJ People’s Assembly. There is nothing more important for people of faith to do this winter as we work for prophetic social justice than […]
At the close of a momentous year for politics and public policy in North Carolina – a year that challenged many people of faith to act on their beliefs — […]
The controversial issue of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, or fracking, has many angles here in North Carolina. One of the most important and least talked about components deeply affects […]
Salon
Every week prayers and gospel songs infuse the air and participants offer blessings to the latest batch of 100 or so activists entering the Raleigh General Assembly building to commit civil disobedience. If you’re not from here, it may all seem a little counter-intuitive: A movement for inclusive and just secular governance that is deeply inflected with Christian ethics and arguments.
The General Assembly has adjourned its 2013 session after a final cascade of disappointing and disturbing bills that now await review by Gov. Pat McCrory. Among the bills approved are ones that will make it less convenient for many citizens to vote and that weaken regulatory oversight of the environment.
There was at least one bright spot, as the House rejected a last-minute push by the Senate to speed up the environmentally risky natural gas extraction process known as fracking. But on the whole, legislators succeeded in putting the crowning touches on a session devoted to a conservative agenda the likes of which modern North Carolina has never before seen.
I finally had the chance to go my first Moral Monday earlier this week. Walking around Halifax Mall with our Executive Director, George Reed, I was struck by how many people we both knew. I’m deeply proud of the involvement by clergy and faith communities in particular. So many of our members are represented not only in the crowd but also in the faces of those participating in civil disobedience and getting arrested. As we celebrate Independence Day this week, we give thanks not only for the many freedoms our country offers, but in particular for the countless faithful voices speaking up and speaking out for those who are being pushed to the margins by this General Assembly.
“Outside agitators.” The very term reminds those of us of a certain age of the Civil Rights Movement, when anybody coming from outside the South to suggest that the South’s […]
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out NCIPL’s success story map. The stories you read are diverse in faith, demographics, geography, themes, and approaches. Each congregation responds to climate […]
Faith leaders from across the state and from different traditions continue to speak out in support of Moral Mondays, the weekly NC NAACP-led demonstrations in Raleigh. Within days of each […]
Faith leaders in Asheville are adding their voices to those outraged by the actions of NC legislators. Rev. Joe Hoffman, pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ and an […]
As many of you already know, Rev. William Barber and the state NAACP are organizing weekly protests at the General Assembly, voicing opposition to the direction our state is being […]
This workshop on agricultural policy, from our 2013 Legislative Seminar on April 11, covers a wide range of topics – from the US Farm Bill to fracking to the meaning of “local” and “sustainable” food. Scott Marlow led the workshop. Scott currently serves as Executive Director of the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI). His specialty is financial infrastructure, including access to credit and risk management for value-added producers. He previously directed RAFI’s Farm Sustainability program, providing in-depth financial counseling to farmers in crisis, education on disaster assistance programs and access to credit, and addressing the needs of mid-scale farmers who are increasing the sustainability of their farms by transitioning to higher-value specialty markets.
Gun bills that extend the availability and use of guns flood the General Assembly.
Attacks on Struggling North Carolinians Advance Medicaid Coverage Unemployment Insurance Earned Income Tax Credit Fracking Moratorium Gun Violence Raise the Age Refusing to Extend Medicaid Coverage SB 4, which would […]
If you are interested in attending, but have not pre-registered, you may call our office at 919-828-6501 on Tuesday, April 9 until 5:00 p.m. Gene Nichol, Director of the Center […]
If you haven’t discovered The Green Bible yet, you are in for a joyous surprise. This 2008 edition of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is made unique […]
Over the past few months, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light has been a proud part of a coalition of nonprofits and businesses participating in a statewide ad campaign emphasizing […]
NCIPL is all about helping faith communities find positive responses to climate change. It’s a big mission dealing with an extremely complex and rapidly changing problem. Science tells us that the […]
The General Assembly on Monday overrode Governor Perdue’s vetoes of three bills. By doing so they gutted the Racial Justice Act, revised the budget for 2012-13, and moved ahead with fracking. The outcome was not in doubt in the Senate. In fact, several Senate Democrats had excused absences and didn’t even show up for the votes. The drama was in the House.
Please join a broad coalition of concerned citizens, business leaders, local elected officials and people of faith Wednesday, June 27, at 6:15 pm, across the street from the Governor’s Mansion, 200 North […]
The General Assembly has passed S 820 and sent it to the Governor. This is the bill that would move North Carolina farther down the road toward extraction of natural […]
One of my friends just posted this amazing YouTube video of Severn Suzuki who, at age 12, addressed the United Nations at the first Earth Summit in Rio twenty years […]
George Reed, Editor Robert L. Mason, Intern Associate Fracking Clean Energy and Economic Security Act Domestic Energy Policy Underground Injection Ban Fracking Contracts/Against Public Policy Sale of Children Senate’s Budget […]
Two time-sensitive issues for advocates: 1) A vote to override the Governor’s veto of the Racial Justice Act could come up any time. 2) There is a lobby day tomorrow […]
The General Assembly has returned for another mini-session, this one scheduled to last a couple of days. (The one in early November concerned itself with revising the newly re-drawn districts […]
The Rural Life Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches has issued a statement supporting the ban on hydraulic drilling in the state. Citing the lack of research on horizontal hydraulic fracturing, the experiences of rural landowners affected by gas drilling, and the potential impacts on rural communities, the committee warned that the risk posed by “fracking” is unacceptably high. The committee also warned about the dangers of exploitation.
The experiences of landowners in other states indicate that hydraulic fracturing can have profound negative impacts on rural communities. The Rural Life Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches supports the current ban on hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina. The above concerns need to be addressed with careful attention to landowners’ property, landowners’ rights, and the care for creation’s gifts. Furthermore, we call on our member bodies and faith leaders to share reliable information about hydraulic fracturing with their communities. We believe that we are called by God to be good stewards of the good gifts of community, health, water and soil. Trusting in God, we refuse to trade this bountiful inheritance for the empty promises of energy that may be cheap in terms of dollars but which we know will be costly in terms of our livelihoods.
The General Assembly returned to Raleigh in July for what was, in reality, Round Two of its 2011 Long Session. The primary tasks were to take up overrides on bills Governor Perdue had vetoed and to adopt redistricting plans for U.S. Congressional districts and for the state House and Senate.
The 2011 session of the General Assembly adjourned around midday on Saturday, June 18. Legislative leaders and the media are trumpeting the efficiency of the session and the fact that this is the earliest adjournment since 1973. But that is misleading since they aren’t really finished with their work. The adjournment resolution calls them back into a special session on July 13. At that time, they will take up the thorny issue of redistricting as well as controversial bills from the just-ended session which remain in conference committees and any bills vetoed by the Governor.
We are disturbed by increasing reports of NC landowners who are signing over some of their property rights to energy companies looking for new sources of natural gas. In addition to the environmental damage caused by accessing this natural gas, we are concerned that in many cases landowners are not fully aware of their rights and how these contracts will impact the use of their land in the future.
The following information comes from our friends at Rural Advancement Foundation International. Visit this page for more complete information.
