Reports from our friends at Faithful Reform in Health Care indicate that Medicaid and Medicare are at risk in the ongoing budget and debt negotiations in Washington. Decisions are believed […]
Growing up in church, it would be fair for me to say that most sermons I heard were either concerned with A) theology or B) decrying certain practices in our contemporary Western culture. Neither of these is wrong or unimportant, as theology is the bedrock of faith, and there is much to decry in the world. The one thing I rarely heard preached on, however, was issues of social justice. And when preached on, it was through standard channels—witnessing/evangelism, donating food and clothing to our church’s pantry, and giving offerings. These are all well and good, but can we do more than these traditional categories?
The Wild Goose has flown, at least for the 2011 season.
The overwhelming consensus among attendees of the inaugural Wild Goose Festival is that it was quite a successful experiment. People traveled from as far away as Scotland and New Zealand to be part of the event, and presenters ranging from Vincent Harding to Jim Wallis, musicians from Michelle Shocked to Beth Nielsen Chapman—each contributed their own sparks to the thousands of spontaneous and rich conversations that arose between the roughly 1500 people who gathered in Silk Hope, North Carolina this weekend.
Recently, the GOP held the first debate between Republican Presidential candidates. The stalwart libertarian from Texas, Ron Paul attended and according to the LA Times, won the debate. He may have […]
There was an important story on NPR’s Morning Edition today called “Climate Change: Public Skeptical, Scientists Sure.” Only 13% of people polled by Yale University knew that 97% of the […]
USA Today
DURHAM, N.C. — It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s the South.
That must mean it’s time for an old-fashioned camp meeting.
Starting Thursday, the bygone staple of the tent revival will be reincarnated on a bucolic North Carolina farm as The Wild Goose Festival. Nearly 10 years in the making, the festival is an attempt to reimagine Christianity for the 21st century under a bigger, wider more inclusive tent.
Sojourners is calling on pastors to challenge the myth that charities and churches can solve the problems of poverty in this country. Six pastors have recently launched an “Open Letter from 1,000 […]
Our religious leaders and people of faith have come together in a prophetic Circle of Protection, reminding us that “budgets are moral documents, and how we reduce future deficits are historic and […]
The Senate’s version of the budget is on the move, and it has been crafted to gain the support of enough House Democrats to overturn a gubernatorial veto. (Senate Republicans […]
As I write this note, it is 12:30PM and I’m sitting comfortably in my office at the NC Council of Churches. At 3PM, though, I will be in the gallery […]
HB115 is expected to come before the NC House for a vote on Wed, May 25, 2011. HB115 establishes the Health Benefits Exchange (where individuals and small businesses in need of health insurance can purchase […]
The office of Rep. Garland Pierce, who is also a Baptist pastor, sent me the following message in italics about an opportunity to come to Raleigh and express your opposition […]
Eastern Wake News
Poverty afflicts thousands in eastern Wake County – not just those without a job or some other source of income, but even those so-called working poor who live from paycheck to paycheck hoping to avoid a single disaster that could turn their worlds upside down.
The News & Observer
All the conflict raging about the Wake schools for the past year and a half came spilling out Wednesday night when a panel of federal civil rights investigators heard testimony – often heated – in an East Raleigh church.The hearing concerned a complaint against Wake Public Schools, filed with the federal education department by the state NAACP. An estimated 200 people nearly filled the fellowship hall at Martin Street Baptist Church, with speakers making emphatic points on both sides of the issues.
Watch highlights from our 2011 Legislative Seminar, including: Distinguished Service Award, Faith Active in Public Life Awards and Closing Session.
In the wake of devastating storms that have affected North Carolina and this region, let us keep in our prayers those who have died and the hearts that mourn them, […]
Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina recently interviewed George Reed about the current legislative session and about the Council’s upcoming Legislative Seminar. Their conversation is an […]
Please join us for the 3rd Annual Jack Crum Conference on Prophetic Ministry: Saturday, April 9, 2011 Avent Ferry United Methodist Church 2700 Avent Ferry Road Raleigh, NC 9:00 a.m. […]
Last week, we received a registration for our Legislative Seminar from Frances Creech. “Mother Creech,” as we refer to her here in the office, is the mother of Jimmy Creech, […]
The Durham News
Experts in theology, religion and human rights will gather in Durham March 25-26 to discuss the use of torture in the U.S. and abroad and to prepare participants for anti-torture advocacy within their own communities.
How should we understand the often painful dissonance between our convictions as Christians and the wild range of values we see in our culture in America today? That question was […]
Sojourners, a leading publication on the intersection of faith, politics and culture, ran a Feb. 16 blog about the upcoming conference opposing torture and being co-sponsored by the Council in […]
The celebration of the Council’s 75th anniversary in 2010 was a timely reminder of the rich history behind this organization and an affirmation of the bright future ahead of it. Program associate Chris Liu-Beers has collected some of both in this slideshow that explains beautifully how the NC Council of Churches got its start as well as where it’s going.
Torture conference logoOn March 25 and 26, 2011, the Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina will be hosting a conference on torture. This two-day event aims to equip participants to understand the arguments against torture and to prepare them for anti-torture advocacy within their own communities, trusting that the greatest protection against the U.S. government’s use of torture is a shared understanding that torture is always wrong.
You are invited to attend “Christian Conviction and Cultural Accommodation on February 21 in Greensboro, NC.
On February 21, 2011, a conference on “Christian Conviction and Cultural Accommodation” will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Greensboro. The conference will begin with Dr. Robert T. Osborn, former professor at Duke University, speaking on The Barmen Declaration, a theological protest against German National Socialism. Then there will be conversation on Christian witness, in the public arena, without accommodating to the prevailing culture.
Letters to the Editor, Raleigh News & Observer
I have the pleasure of serving on the board of the N.C. Council of Churches. I agreed to serve on the board because the council reflects many of my life’s values. The council’s website states: “The Council enables denominations, congregations and people of faith to individually and collectively impact our state on issues such as economic justice and development, human well-being, equality, compassion and peace, following the example and mission of Jesus Christ.”
I hope you had a chance to see NC People this past weekend. I was honored to be invited to be one of Bill Friday’s “people.” It actually started as part of the Council’s 75th anniversary last year, though it didn’t make it to the airwaves (an outdated term, if ever there were one) until now. Bill Friday celebrated his 90th birthday last summer. Even if you are new to the state, the hoopla surrounding his birthday would have made you aware that he is one of the state’s giants. I don’t know that there’s anybody alive today who is more respected or beloved or who has had more impact on the state for a longer period of time.
NC Council of Churches Executive Director George Reed appeared as Bill Friday’s guest on UNC-TV’s NC People on Friday, January 7. The program also aired Sunday, January 9. George spoke with Mr. Friday about the Council’s past as well as its future, discussing the Council’s work for social justice and the role faith communities and people of faith can play.
Stan Kimer, newly elected Council president, was interviewed on WUNC’s The State of Things on January 6. In his conversation with host Frank Stasio, Stan spoke about the Council and its work, including priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Listen to the interview by clicking here.
Friends, We look ahead to 2011 knowing we face many challenges and that our commitment to the work we believe in must be fortified and renewed. The environment in which […]
Join us on Tuesday, April 5 in Raleigh for our 2011 Legislative Seminar. Complete information, including workshops and online registration, will be available soon.
Star-Child Star-Child, earth-Child, go-between of God, love Child, Christ Child, heaven’s lightning rod, Street child, beat child, no place left to go, hurt child, used child, no one wants to […]
Thank you. More than 900 of you stood with us, adding your names to the call for light over darkness, love over hate. And we have no idea how many […]
We have been overwhelmed at the response to our brief statement regarding the protest planned for tomorrow’s service for Elizabeth Edwards. Already, as of midday on Friday, we’ve heard from more […]
The protesters from Kansas have come many miles to spread their hatred at Elizabeth Edwards’ memorial service. Let us be clear: the Bible calls us to kindness and respect for one another, and Jesus Christ preached throughout his life that we should love one another. The protesters’ appalling and repeated violation of the sacred services by which we honor our dead, along with their representation of themselves as messengers of Christ, are offensive and misrepresent Christian faith.
Faithful Reform in Health Care is still working hard to try to prevent the health care reform bill that has already passed from being dismantled by the new Congress (through […]
Raleigh News & Observer
On Christ the King Sunday, when many Roman Catholic and Protestant churches celebrate their allegiance to God rather than country, some Triangle congregations talked about a subject rarely mentioned these days: war. They discussed the rising suicide rate among U.S. Army veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We knew when David LaMotte joined the NC Council of Churches’ staff in July as program associate for peace that we were gaining someone with an international reputation for his […]
In light of data recently released in the Wikileaks documents regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a group of pastors, priests, theologians and seminarians has issued a call to preachers to address the acts of violence detailed in those documents, and their failure to live up even to the standards of Just War theory.
I was struck, as I listened to remembrances from the past, that we really are seeing progress on issues of social justice. But it happens over a period of years or even decades. The issues we heard about at the Anniversary are difficult ones. They have produced years of frustration and sometimes what looked like complete failure. And yet . . .
I’ll be speaking and singing at several events in the next few weeks, and thought I would let you know the details.
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.
On behalf of the North Carolina Council of Churches (NCCC) and North Carolina State University, please join us for a half-day gathering of Triangle-area campus ministers, which we believe will […]
The American Independent
The NC Council of Churches on Thursday strongly endorsed the right of Muslims to build a community center near the site of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City. “We stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters in affirming their right to build on a site two-and-a-half blocks from Ground Zero,” the council said in statement unanimously adopted by its governing board at its meeting this week in Greensboro. The statement comes as controversy flares around a TV ad being aired by North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Renee Ellmers.
The North Carolina Council of Churches represents 6,200 congregations in 17 denominations statewide. The North Carolina Council of Churches condemns all religious violence. As people of Christian faith, we value a teaching common to the Abrahamic faiths, which in the Christian tradition is expressed as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” As Christians in a nation largely founded by religious refugees, we value the freedom of religion guaranteed by our Constitution and proudly proclaimed worldwide as a foundational principle of United States government and society. For freedom of religion to have substance and integrity, it must extend to people of all faiths.
Rabbi Mark Strauss-Cohn, Temple Emanuel (Winston-Salem)
What is it about the rear side of a car that they are a primary location to display our affiliations: sports, political groups, rock bands, restaurants, ideologies, personal interests, vacation spots, synagogues (a very popular one here in Winston-Salem)… You see these signs everywhere.
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.
In seeking to capture the essence of the past 25 years, this history brings the Council’s story up to the present as we celebrate 75 years of ecumenical service in the cause of justice and peace. Nothing has changed in the basic purposes of the Council. However, the manner in which these ministries have taken place shows a keen awareness of the changing times and the need to be current in the most effective ways to address the issues of the day in our witness to the people of this state.
The NCCC encourages member congregations to celebrate and promote the International Day of Prayer for Peace on September 21. A bulletin insert for your use is linked here, as well as further resources.
What: Clergy Breakfast on Health
When: Thursday, Aug. 26, 8:30-10am
Where: St. James AME Zion Church, Goldsboro (206 S. George St.)
Why: Discuss opportunities for clergy to improve their health as well as the health of their congregants through PHW and other faith-based health initiatives.
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 […]
NC Policy Watch
In the 21st Century, we must no longer view Church as a semiweekly activity that occurs within the confines of a physical structure with four walls and a pulpit. Instead, we must take our message of hope, justice, unity and peace to the wider community, and, yes, even Capitol Hill! I believe that real change happens when various groups – public and private, secular and religious, progressive and conservative, privileged and disadvantaged, old and young, black and white – work together to achieve a common goal.
Rev. Jonah Kendall, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church (Durham)
Where are we with this? Have we ever used our faith to challenge and disrupt? For on this Ascension Sunday when we’ve been called by Christ to proclaim a message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, that is God’s love for all, when we have heard in Acts about Paul and Silas, about how the proclamation of this love can lead to imprisonment, we’re invited to ask ourselves how our lives show forth Christ’s Gospel, a Gospel that precisely because it proclaims a love and well-being for all is radical and disruptive.
Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker, Myers Park Baptist Church
For the love of Christ controls us, lays claim to us, compels us, grasps us at our deepest being. This is the heart of Christianity for Paul: the love of Christ permeating and shaping our lives, sweeping through us as breath carrying oxygen to every cell in the body. Paul’s words in this passage are more than prose; they are incantation.Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker, Myers Park Baptist Church
For the love of Christ controls us, lays claim to us, compels us, grasps us at our deepest being. This is the heart of Christianity for Paul: the love of Christ permeating and shaping our lives, sweeping through us as breath carrying oxygen to every cell in the body. Paul’s words in this passage are more than prose; they are incantation.Religious liberty is sometimes called the “first freedom.” While this is not the place to debate the relative worth of our many freedoms, the simple fact is that, when you begin to read our Bill of Rights, what you read first are the religious liberty clauses of the First Amendment. Many of us in the religious community feel that religious freedom is a hallmark of American liberty and that it has made possible a vibrancy and diversity in religious life unlike that in most other countries, without the religious turmoil found in many parts of the world.
Disagreements about the proper role of religion in public schools divide local communities and fuel national controversies. Across North Carolina and the United States battles are being fought over school prayer, the celebration of religious holidays, sex education, Bible courses, evolution and creationism. The voucher movement is fueled, in large part, by the opposition of religious conservatives to public education. Many members of Congress are pressing for a constitutional amendment that would permit organized prayer in public schools.
Fifteen years ago the N. C. Council of Churches’ House of Delegates adopted a statement on the subject of Christians, churches, and politics. This statement is an update of that earlier one, repeating some of the same points but also elaborating on some new ones. Once again we raise the question, should church groups be involved in politics? What is appropriate or inappropriate in this area?
The statement sets forth some guidelines on some aspects of religion and politics which reflect the perspective of the N. C. Council of Churches and which we commended to the denominational bodies which comprise the Council’s membership. The guidelines offered do not cover every aspect of the subject, but touch upon several which seem urgent at the current time.
The history of the North Carolina Council of Churches is the story of persons, religious leaders struggling to respond in faith to the signs of their times. Sometimes the signs could be clearly read; at other times they had to be discerned through a glass darkly. The records show that the leaders would prefer to be measured in terms of the fullheartedness of their responses rather than the accuracy of their discernment, in terms of their deeds rather than their words. This document outlines the first fifty years of the Council’s work in North Carolina.
