by the Rev. Dr. Christy Lohr Sapp, Pastor of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Hickory and member of the North Carolina Council of Churches Governing Board. As shoes for your […]
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 […]
The annual HKonJ (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) Moral March and People’s Assembly 2021 is happening virtually and online this year. Due to Covid, we cannot gather on Fayetteville Street, but there […]
This August and September, NCIPL will host an eight-week forum series detailing the important issues facing us this election. These events will highlight our voter reflection guide, feature expert speakers, […]
This August and September, NCIPL will host an eight-week forum series detailing the important issues facing us this election. These events will highlight our voter reflection guide, feature expert speakers, […]
In light of recent protests and rallies from some pastors and politicians in North Carolina calling for reopening our places of worship, the North Carolina Council of Churches states unequivocally […]
Join us from 12pm-1pm on Wednesday, May 27th, for a policy training and conversation. NCIPL Director, Susannah Tuttle, will lead this discussion. She will cover how to write an effective […]
Join us from 12pm-1pm on Wednesday, May 27th, for a policy training and conversation. NCIPL Director, Susannah Tuttle, will lead this discussion. She will cover how to write an effective […]
In solidarity with our neighbors around the world who are calling aloud from their balconies and rooftops across their neighborhoods and cities each evening, the N.C. Council of Churches invites […]
During both the pre- and post-Civil War eras, lynching was used with impunity by patrols of KKK members to intimidate, terrorize, incarcerate and kill black people. Then as now, unpunished […]
Written by Vivian Taylor, Public Policy Intern with Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director The United States of America is on the verge of war with Iran. Long-standing tensions have been exacerbated […]
While the headlines tell us about very real instances of violence against faith communities (a synagogue in Pittsburgh, a mosque in New Zealand, a sikh temple in Wisconsin, a church […]
Remarks delivered at the Witness for Peace footwashing ceremony at the gates of Aero Contractors earlier today. Every year, all over the world, millions of Christians spend six intense weeks […]
The event has been canceled. Learn – Reflect – Act The convocation will explore North Carolina’s connection, through the use of its public airports, a local airline (Aero Contractors), and […]
INTRODUCED BILLS CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PRISON REFORM HB 460/SB 545 – Fair Chance Hiring would require state agencies to reduce barriers to hiring people with a criminal history. Specific provisions include: Prohibits […]
The convocation will explore North Carolina’s connection, through the use of its public airports, a local airline (Aero Contractors), and locally based employees of the airline, to the CIA’s Rendition, […]
North Carolina’s role in torture has come in the form of a government-private contract with a jet service located in Johnston County. When people hear about it for the first […]
In response to the recent uptick in gun violence in Durham, Moms Demand Action is holding a community meeting to explore how we, as a community, can end gun violence. […]
The decade-long struggle for truth and justice got a welcome boost this weekend with a powerful opinion piece in the News & Observer. The writer, former N.C. resident and Capitol […]
Monday, December 10 marked the 70th anniversary of the United Nation’s International Human Rights Day. As we wait for the incarnation of God during this Advent season, we must also […]
Every seat in the North Carolina General Assembly is being challenged in the upcoming election. Every person qualified to vote has a responsibility to show up at the polls on […]
The following remarks were delivered by Executive Director Jennifer Copeland at the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture’s press conference on Thursday, September 27. The press conference marked the […]
Recently, two stalwart champions of justice, Christina Cowger and Allyson Caison, received the annual Joshua Heintz Humanitarian Award from the Robert H. Jackson Center in Syracuse, NY. The mission of […]
You’re invited to an interfaith gathering to remember the victims of the CIA’s rendition and torture program. The vigils will offer an opportunity to hear speakers from several faith traditions, […]
You’re invited to a gathering of people of faith to remember victims of the U.S. torture program. The vigil will offer an opportunity to meditate, hear speakers from several traditions, […]
You’re invited to an interfaith gathering to remember victims of the U.S. torture program. The vigil will offer an opportunity to meditate, hear speakers from several traditions, and join voices, […]
The North Carolina Council of Churches announces a new peace initiative, N.C. No Torture, to encourage people of faith and seekers of justice to step into the role of “The […]
Campaign Nonviolence NC invites everyone to connect the dots between individuals, campaigns and movements that have often been working separately for peace, economic equality, and eco-justice. In the lead up […]
UPDATE: This position has been filled. The Council is hiring a half-time (20 hours per week) project coordinator to work with communities of faith to seek confession, repentance, and forgiveness […]
Sermon delivered by Council Governing Board member Isaac S. Villegas on May 28, 2018. Coming and going, leaving and arriving, exit and entrance. That’s the theme permeating these verse from […]
This event will focus on the disastrous impact of the US blockade on the people of Cuba and the need for a new relationship between the two countries. During the […]
Sermon delivered by Jennifer Copeland yesterday, Sunday, February 18 at Millford Hills United Methodist Church in Salisbury, NC. The lectionary texts were Genesis 9:8-17 and Mark 1:9-15. 40 days–rain! 40 […]
Powerful voices have long narrated the story of guns in America. The media. The NRA. Outraged, livid, grief-stricken mothers and fathers. When it comes to the horror of mass shootings, […]
Black History month is North Carolina Council of Churches’ history starting in 1935 because our history is founded on the black experience as seen through the eyes of the white […]
We all do it and well we should–start the new year resolving to do better. Maybe it’s eat better, exercise more, or work less. The resolution itself quickly takes a […]
It has been a rough year for creche sets at our house. For our family, as for many, the Holiday Season is cluttered by rehearsals, recitals, school performances, pageants, holiday […]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen […]
This is my favorite time of the year. I’m a sap about all of it. I love decorating the house, seeing the lights downtown, the music, getting cozy with a […]
Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director of the North Carolina Council of Churches, and Beth Messersmith, North Carolina Campaign Director for MomsRising, received the 2017 Effie Steele Award from North Carolinians Against […]
The solid citizens of Johnston County, N.C. – in a fateful quirk of geography – for several years have faced an unusual dilemma: What to do about the local company […]
Come together with others to remember the half a million Americans killed or injured by guns since the Sandy Hook shooting tragedy. Hundreds of events are being held at locations […]
If we are not angry today, we have no faith. If we are not frustrated today, we have no hope. If we are not bereaved today, we have no love. […]
Approved September 13, 2017 by the Governing Board of the North Carolina Council of Churches As North Carolinians and as people of faith, we recognize the need to uncover and […]
Join the LGBTQ Center of Durham, Alamance County Community Partners, and the North Carolina Council of Churches for a community conversation about how we can work together to resist hate and oppression in […]
Join the LGBTQ Center of Durham, Sampson County Community Partners, and the North Carolina Council of Churches for a community conversation about how we can work together to resist hate and oppression in […]
Join the LGBTQ Center of Durham, Orange County Community Partners, and the North Carolina Council of Churches for a community conversation about how we can work together to resist hate and oppression in […]
On April 26, 1865, my great-great-grandfather was camped a mere five miles from where I now live in Durham, NC. He was from the upstate of South Carolina, as am […]
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12 […]
Today, Friday, August 18, 2017, South Main in Durham, NC, is closed to traffic. Civil employees have been sent home. Some banks and many businesses in the downtown area have […]
By Andrew Hudgins, NCCC Program Associate for Operations, for The Resistance Prays News: In a speech delivered to law enforcement officers last week, President Trump seemed to endorse police brutality […]
Wartime profits are a thing — from the people who make the machines we use to kill other people to the garment factories that provide clothing for the people who […]
With so many issues confronting us, our nation’s involvement in acts of torture is fading from the public’s priorities for concern. Five years and $40 million in the making, the […]
For at least the next month, drivers along I-40 West between Statesville and Hickory will see an important reminder of God’s directive to be a welcoming presence to the most […]
First celebrated in 2001, World Refugee Day is held annually on June 20. The day marks a worldwide effort to raise awareness of the plight of refugees and recognize the contributions of […]
The tragedy of gun violence in this country seems unending. We pray for those impacted, whether in a South Carolina church two years ago, a Florida club one year ago, […]
Representatives in the General Assembly are scheduled to take up H.B. 746 this afternoon. Calls are still needed against this bill. As our friends at NC Policy Watch reported, the […]
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I headed north for my sister’s graduation. Being only a few hours away from Niagara Falls at that point, we decided to […]
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 […]
As followers of the Prince of Peace, Christians are not always particularly peaceful people, which is what makes North Carolina’s return to the national stage as a foothold for intolerance […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
An ethical debate is a bit of a juxtaposition. As we know, ethics are a set of moral principles. It is how we understand right from wrong. So how can […]
President Trump’s recent executive actions impacting refugees and immigrants have faithful people increasingly interested in how they might support our sisters and brothers being impacted. Court decisions have offered a […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director As the legislative session continues, there’s been a marked increase in the number of bills being introduced. Here are summaries of several which will […]
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 […]
For more than 80 years the NC Council of Churches has stood for essential human rights and common decency grounded in the Gospel imperative to “love God and love neighbor.” […]
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 […]
First in a series of three blogs. God calls people of faith to remember that they once were strangers in a strange land and they must, must welcome the stranger […]
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 […]
Two weeks ago I flew to Florida for a national gathering of state ecumenical leaders and a few days later I flew home. In between my landing and leaving, in […]
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 […]
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 & […]
Excerpted from How Will We Welcome the Prince of Peace? An Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the NC Council of Churches. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John […]
Excerpted from How Will We Welcome the Prince of Peace? An Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the NC Council of Churches. In the time of King Herod, after […]
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Durham and the NC Council of Churches invite you to join us for a brief service to pray for justice and reconciliation in our nation […]
We could not begin the new year without acknowledging the volunteers, grassroots advocates, donors, organizational partners, and all others who helped the Council continue to be a faithful, prophetic voice for justice, […]
Excerpted from How Will We Welcome the Prince of Peace? An Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the NC Council of Churches. Now after they had left, an angel […]
Join us one month from today for a weekend of preaching and teaching about the cost of gun violence to our nation and how we can bring about change. Speakers […]
Looking ahead to 2017, there is much more work for the Council to do than we ever imagined. Please join us. Your financial support helps us continue what began in […]
Excerpted from How Will We Welcome the Prince of Peace? An Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the NC Council of Churches. The people who walked in darkness have […]
The themes of Advent are particularly resonant and difficult this year. For me, this is in light of two major events, the recent election and the recent birth of my […]
We are living in unsettling times. Progress we once thought inviolable now feels threatened. One constant is the NC Council of Churches and our commitment to a more just, united, […]
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 […]
Excerpted from How Will We Welcome the Prince of Peace? An Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the NC Council of Churches. Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, […]
Excerpted from How Will We Welcome the Prince of Peace? An Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the NC Council of Churches. The wilderness and the dry land shall […]
The response to our sign-on ad was overwhelming and inspired the staff of the Council to create the video below. Clergy who would like to have their names included in […]
A full-page ad in Sunday’s Raleigh News & Observer will include the signatures of more than 300 clergy who have added their name to a statement speaking to our shared faithful call […]
Excerpted from How Will We Welcome the Prince of Peace? An Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the NC Council of Churches. The word that Isaiah son of Amoz […]
In the absence of kindness and consideration, we have become less civil and more mean-spirited with one another. Lord have mercy. In the presence of fears and hurts, we have […]
Almost 400 years ago, in what is now Massachusetts, a group of newly arrived immigrants from Europe received lifesaving hospitality from a group of indigenous Americans. Tomorrow, we celebrate and […]
On the weekend of December 2-4, the Council has called on NC faith leaders to shape their worship service around the theme “Love One Another.” On the same weekend, we […]
The NC Council of Churches has never taken peace for granted. Indeed, along with our work in opposition to violence, there has long been the recognition that peace manifests itself […]
We work toward a church that is all-loving. That’s what we’ve always done and that’s what we’re going to keep doing. Stay connected with the Council to learn about opportunities […]
