North Carolina has the largest Native American population east of the Mississippi River – over 115,000 by the US Census’ 2008 estimate. NC has the fifth highest Native American population in the U.S.
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 NC State students are back. I, for one, am delighted. Sure, there are longer lines at the grocery and a lot more beer being sold. Sure, there is more traffic. Sure, you have to be more careful about pedestrians. But the good news for me is that the Wolfline bus system is back running […]
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.
Penny Hooper and Richard Fireman, both with the Council’s NC Interfaith Power & Light program, have collaborated to write a powerful op-ed on coal ash which has just appeared in the Wilmington StarNews. I was most intrigued by how they framed their piece, noting that, from the beginning of time, there has been “only one […]
Urgent calls to North Carolina senators are needed concerning the New START treaty, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act and the DREAM Act.
The passing of health care reform legislation earlier this year has sparked a number of questions from both opponents of the new law and those who have supported it from the outset. What will it cover? When will different parts of the law take effect? What types of insurance, including those provided by the U.S. […]
Fifty years after “Harvest of Shame,” not much has changed. Farm work remains one of the nation’s most dangerous industries. Here in North Carolina, dangerous conditions in the fields, poverty wages and substandard housing continue to threaten workers’ health and well-being. For example, workers often put in 14-hour days in bad weather – including extreme heat and rain. In North Carolina, 7 farmworkers died of heat stroke in a recent five-year span. They were literally worked to death. And heat stroke isn’t the only problem in the fields.
Qué Pasa Media Network
Although public opinion concerning immigration reform remains divided across the country, the NC Council of Churches is working to create a more welcoming environment and to inform the public about the situation facing millions of people without papers.Beginning in October, the Council will start screening the new film Brother Towns, a documentary by filmmaker Charles Thompson. The film describes the journey taken by Mayan populations from Jacaltenango, Guatemala to the city of Jupiter, Florida where these immigrants have brought their culture and settled over the years.
Qué Pasa Media Network
Raleigh – Aunque el tema de la reforma migratoria mantiene dividido a la opinión pública del país, el Concilio de Iglesias de Carolina del Norte sigue trabajando para crear un efecto positivo entre los residentes del estado y sensibilizarlos sobre la situación que atraviesan millones de personas sin papeles.A partir de octubre se proyectará “Pueblos Hermanos”, un documental del cineasta Charles Thompson, que se enfoca en describir la travesía desarrollada por pobladores mayas de Jacaltenango, Guatemala, hacia la ciudad de Júpiter, en el estado de la Florida, donde estos inmigrantes se han ido asentado con el paso de los años y trasladado parte de su cultura.
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.
NC Policy Watch
Three students go on a hunger strike outside a U.S. Senator’s office. Two young children wave a tearful goodbye to their father, not knowing when they will ever see him again. Hundreds march in the streets of Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh. And all of these events occurred because our broken immigration system continues to undermine families across the state. What lessons can we learn from this summer’s immigration debate?Raleigh News & Observer
I appreciated the Aug. 22 article about Ben Roberts, owner of Foundation Fitness in Greensboro, who traveled between Raleigh and Greensboro challenging employees to be physically active.
When working with different groups, Roberts stresses the simplicity of living a healthy, active lifestyle. Small changes during the work day such as taking the stairs, using a pedometer to track the number of steps taken and keeping hydrated can help boost energy levels and overall confidence.
Mallory McDuff, author of “Natural Saints: How People of Faith Are Working to Save God’s Earth” and upcoming presenter at the Council’s Critical Issues Seminar, has been on quite a roll lately. She’s had recent articles published in USA Today and the Huffington Post, including this one entitled: “Top 10 Religious Environmental Saints.” There, she names […]
We were on our tour bus, about to leave the dorm where we had been staying, when a few of us saw her. She looked about sixty years old, and she looked like she could have been my grandmother. She came quietly around the corner of the building, went straight to the big trashcan, and started digging out our thrown-away lunches. She put what she could find in a bag, and she was gone.
Sheltered life that I had led, I had never before seen someone using a trashcan as a food source.
Rev. Jean Newell, Creighton United Methodist Church (Phoenix, Arizona)
As he wrote his letter, I imagine Paul’s hope and prayer was that Philemon’s life had been so changed . . . so transformed . . . by his faith in Christ that the slave owner would not hand out punishment or death to the returned slave but would, instead, live out his faith and accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ. If there was to be any restitution made, Paul assured Philemon, he—Paul—would gladly be held accountable.
What: Clergy Breakfast on Immigration
When: July 1, 8:30-10:00am Where: St. Patrick Catholic Church (2844 Village Drive, Fayetteville) Why: Come learn more about how immigration is affecting North Carolina and how you and your congregation can get involved. Rev. John Richardson, Regional Minister for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will be speaking.
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.
We’re teaming up with local filmmaker Charlie Thompson to offer screenings of his latest documentary, Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos across the state. If you live in one of these cities, please help us promote this event by putting up movie posters around town. We also have bulletin inserts that can be used to encourage your congregation to attend. Thanks for your help!
The North Carolina Council of Churches held its first-ever Clergy Breakfast on Health on Thursday, August 26 at St. James African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church in Goldsboro. Twenty-five local pastors and health professionals were in attendance. Rev. Joseph C. Brown, Sr., Presiding Elder of the A.M.E. Zion Dunn-Lillington District and current member of the […]
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.
The biblical writers were, indeed, no strangers to the most painful kinds of suffering: they experienced it, they gave voice to it and often denounced oppressive systems which caused it, and they witnessed to a God who could hear their most heartfelt cries and still remain their God.
Faithful Reform in Health Care – an organization dedicated to quality, accessible health care for all – has studied how the new health care reform legislation impacts communities of faith
News 14 Carolina
Outside a closed door meeting with fellow clergy and attorneys at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber, a representative from the North Carolina Council of Churches and fellow Wake school board protest arrestees talked future tactics on how they plan to take on the changing policies of the board.Independent Weekly
Leaders in the pro-diversity movement who are battling the Wake school board majority to stop resegregation of the county’s school system, have called a prayer meeting for Monday, August 30 at 7 p.m. in Pullen Memorial Baptist Church.
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary evening in Charlotte as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010
This week I felt privileged to be one of over 1,500 participants in the NC Latino Coalition’s Statewide Delegates Assembly in Durham calling for comprehensive and compassionate immigration reform. Leaders from religious organizations, organized labor and businesses joined the grassroots audience in making the compelling case for immigration reform now.
The Seminar “Loving God’s Creation: Fully Integrating Creation Care with the Church’s Mission and Ministry” is set for Thursday, October 14, 2010, at the Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. The program for this event has been announced.
In an op-ed, published in USA Today, Mallory McDuff offers an enticing look at the popular book and movie, “Eat, Pray, Love” through the eyes of a Christian environmentalist.
Yesterday was the deadline for Governor Perdue to sign or veto bills passed by the General Assembly in the last weeks of the session. Interestingly, yesterday she let a bill become law without her signature.
Also in this Raleigh Report: Domestic Violence, Environment, Gambling, and more.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.
Certainly the BP spill has heightened concern about the environment, but that concern was already growing among many people of faith. It’s an area the Council has been working on for decades, most recently through our program North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light. In October, our Critical Issues Seminar in Greensboro will focus on Creation Care with […]
More and more North Carolinians are getting involved with community gardens. Through our Come to the Table program, the Council’s Rural Life Committee has been promoting this work for the past few years. We’ve been visiting gardens, leading workshops, sharing best practices, eating delicious local food and making friends across the state.
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 on the future of Mainline Protestantism. I was a bit intimidated by the short list of “prominent thinkers and writers” who were also being asked, […]
Disparities in health often mean earlier death and increased morbidity for one group of people versus another. Groups can be defined by race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability status, geography (urban vs. rural), or socioeconomic status. In the case of health disparities defined by race and ethnicity, non-Hispanic Whites tend to experience better health than African […]
The Council bids farewell to Jill Rios as Director of Interfaith Power & Light. Jill, who has served in that role for two years based out of Asheville, resigned to devote more time to her family, health and other, more locally-based projects.
Farmworkers play a vital role in cultivating the food we eat everyday, and North Carolina has one of the largest farmworker populations in the nation. Even though 85% of our fruits and vegetables are harvested by hand, farmworkers remain largely invisible. This colorful and easy-to-read fact sheet was designed for congregations and community groups. Download a copy today.
The curriculum was written with the help of many individuals for churches to examine and reflect on farmworker issues in North Carolina in a biblical context. It is our hope that through the use of this curriculum, your congregation will lift up farmworkers and become a part of the North Carolina movement to improve the living and working conditions of those who harvest our crops.
Agriculture serves as the economic backbone for North Carolina, and farmworkers’ hand labor is needed to produce crops that bring in billions of dollars to the state’s economy each year. Despite this fact, farmworkers remain one of the state’s most economically disadvantaged and unprotected group of laborers. This colorful and easy-to-read fact sheet was designed for congregations and community groups. Download a copy today.
Farm labor ranks as one of the top three most dangerous occupations in the United States. In addition to hazards in the fields, farmworkers and their families face unique burdens on their physical and mental health. North Carolina’s leading industry is agriculture, yet farmworkers are among the most underserved residents in the state. This colorful and easy-to-read fact sheet was designed for congregations and community groups. Download a copy today.
Not all immigrants are farmworkers, and not all farmworkers are immigrants. Yet as the following facts show, our agricultural system has always relied on the labor of displaced people that do not have the benefit of full citizenship in this country—whether indentured servants, slaves, sharecroppers, or undocumented immigrants. This colorful and easy-to-read fact sheet was designed for congregations and community groups. Download a copy today.
Farmworkers are some of our nation’s most vital workers, as their labor enables us to enjoy high quality, low-cost, fresh fruits and vegetables all year round. Despite farmworkers’ economic and cultural contributions to the communities where they live and work, they continue to be the some of the lowest paid, least protected, and unhealthiest workers in the United States. This colorful and easy-to-read fact sheet was designed for congregations and community groups.
As I move forward in trying to clarify my calling here, I welcome the input of friends of the Council. Peace is a big job description. What does it mean to you?
Over the past year, we’ve been hosting clergy breakfast events on immigration across the state. We’ve met with over 450 faith leaders to talk about how congregations and people of faith can get involved to make our state a better place for our immigrant brothers and sisters. Our work has even drawn the attention of major media outlets. One was highlighted by a local TV station, and more recently we had not just one but two reporters from the Raleigh News & Observer sit in with us at the July 1 breakfast at Fairmont UMC in Raleigh.
Last week’s march and rally to halt re-segregation in Wake County was a powerful experience. Thanks to all of the Council folks who turned out. I saw several current leaders of Council member bodies (Bishop Richard Thompson, Bishop George Walker, Bishop Al Gwinn, Bishop Michael Curry, President Greg Moss, Pastor Nancy Petty), one retired bishop […]
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary day in Wilmington as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: November 13, 2010
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary evening in Greenville as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: Thursday, November 4, 2010
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary evening in Asheville as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: Thursday, November 11, 2010
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary evening in Chapel Hill as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: Friday, October 15, 2010Qué Pasa Media Network
The Methodists appear to be one step ahead of other religious congregations in North Carolina when it comes to the work of promoting immigration reform. One of the denomination’s main statewide leaders, Bishop Al Gwinn, was one of the keynote speakers at a breakfast this past Thursday organized by the North Carolina Council of Churches in Raleigh.Qué Pasa Media Network
Su principal líder a nivel estatal, el obispo Al Gwinn, fue uno de los principales oradores en el desayuno que organizó el Concilio de Iglesias de Carolina del Norte en Raleigh, el pasado jueves. El clérigo destacó las iniciativas y esfuerzos que realizan distintas agrupaciones de su denominación religiosa, pero aclaró que todavía falta seguir educando a más metodistas estadounidenses sobre un tema tan controversial.Greensboro News & Record
According to Trust for America’s Health, as reported in the News & Record on June 29, North Carolina is now the 10th-heaviest state, after ranking No. 12 just one year ago. This signifies a reduced quality of life for more North Carolinians, as research shows that persons who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for heart disease and stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. It also means additional financial costs for our state.
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary evening in Durham as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: Monday, November 1, 2010
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary evening in Boone as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Join the NC Council of Churches and local filmmaker Charles Thompson for an extraordinary evening in Greensboro as we premiere the new film Brother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos.
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010Raleigh News & Observer
The young women who went on a hunger strike in downtown Raleigh should be commended for their courage. They only want the chance to go to college and earn legal status in this country in order to contribute fully to society.The Council’s redesigned website is up and running with easier navigation, more modern functions, and a cleaner, crisper look. We have been discussing the new site internally for months, and the result is a big step forward for us.
Asheville Citizen-Times
The title on David Lamotte’s business card sounds a little audacious: “peace associate.” But that’s Lamotte’s job with the North Carolina Council of Churches, and he’s serious about the work. Lamotte just spent two years living abroad and studying rigorously to earn a master’s degree in international relations and peace and conflict resolution. Now the former singer-songwriter who was once a fixture on the local music scene is ready to apply what he’s learned.What: Critical Issues Conference 2010: Climate Change & Faith
When: October 14
Where: Congregational UCC (400 W. Radiance Dr., Greensboro)
Why: Come learn about climate change and how congregations can make a difference.
The NC Council of Churches has published 2 free fact sheets that are available for distribution in your congregation or community group. “Faith & Immigration” highlights the religious calling to welcome the stranger, while “Society & Immigration” evaluates common misconceptions about immigrants.
The debate about immigration policy continues to divide people of good will across our nation and our state. Immigration divides us, in part, because of both the breadth and the depth of the issues involved – from powerful global economics to fast-changing local cultures, from the complex world of international politics to family histories intricately woven across borders, from worldwide patterns of migration to the very heart of American identity.
The question of how to respond to the complicated realities of immigration has divided us not only as Americans, but also as people of faith. What do our faith traditions have to say about immigrants and foreigners?
Welcome to our worship resources for Partners in Health and Wholeness (PHW). PHW is an ambitious program of the North Carolina Council of Churches designed to help people of faith to see health — their own health — as an issue of faith and to take action that will lead to healthier and more abundant living.
During the spiritual journey that is the life of a Christian, each one of you involved in this study has come to the conclusion that part of being a follower of Christ is paying attention to the housing needs of all of God’s children. Some of you may be more aware of the problem of inadequate housing in your part of North Carolina than are the people who developed this study. Others of you had your interest peaked simply by the hands-on nature of FaithWorks, the rural home-building project of Habitat for Humanity and the North Carolina Council of Churches. Wherever you come into this study, you will find in its pages and in the discussions that result a biblical witness to the problem of inadequate housing.
At the North Carolina Council of Churches’ Partners in Health and Wholeness Program, we want to help people of faith and congregations become healthier. What better way to help people become healthier than by helping them prepare healthy foods? Not only do we want to show you how to cook healthy foods at home, we want to offer you recipes to use at church events, too. Our objective with this cookbook is to highlight healthy recipes for large groups. Our hope is that you will use these recipes to help feed your parishes, that they might receive spiritual and bodily nourishment at church.
This booklet is an offering to you from the North Carolina Council of Churches. When the Executive Board of the Council met in the Fall of 2002 to determine priorities for the Council’s program work, a prime concern was our North Carolina economy.
We are one of the top states for job loss due to the free trade agreements initiated by the federal government over the past ten years. The earnings gap between those in stable professions and those who serve in jobs such as health aides and childcare workers, farm workers and landscapers, is widening every year. Add to this a recession and wars, tobacco’s demise, flood and hurricane destruction, and a state budget crisis, and we end up with too many individuals and families in stress and fear and pain due to economic hardship.
The North Carolina Council of Churches’ Partners in Health and Wholeness program held its 2010 Faith and Health Summit in March, drawing together nearly 250 participants to learn about integrating health practices and strategies within faith communities.
In light of concerns about public school resegregation in counties across the state, the North Carolina Council of Churches has begun work to counter this backward step toward increased racial and economic separation. Issues of resegregation have surfaced in the state’s largest school districts, Wake and Charlotte-Mecklenburg counties, as well Wayne and New Hanover counties and elsewhere.
Some 2009 donors chose to give to the North Carolina Council of Churches in honor or in memory of someone. We are grateful for those gifts which help sustain our work for social justice and Christian unity.
These congregations have demonstrated that, as people of faith, they strive to live an abundant life of health and wholeness by naming a congregational health promoter, serving healthy food and beverage at church meals, and reducing the impact of smoking on themselves and their neighbors.
Raleigh News & Observer
The Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, has organized a wide range of church groups that have historically been involved in civil rights and social justice issues to oppose the move to neighborhood schools in Wake County. Using language heavy with religious overtones and accompanied by a comparison between ending the diversity policy and the old Jim Crow segregation laws, speakers at a news conference Tuesday at the state Capitol argued that they had the moral high ground in the fight.Unfortunately, the childhood obesity epidemic is drastically affecting North Carolina. In 2009, North Carolina ranked 14th worst in the nation in childhood overweight and obesity for children ages 10-17, with more than one-third (33.5%) of our children being overweight or obese.
Also in this Raleigh Report: Domestic Violence, Environment, Gambling, Health, Housing, People with Disabilities, Public Education, and more.
Let’s get one thing straight: there is no worthwhile distinction to be made between video poker, currently banned in North Carolina with one notable exception, and the electronic “sweepstakes” game parlors sweeping the state.
Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker, Myers Park Baptist Church
This man is scary. To others, probably also to himself. He lived among the tombs. There was no place else to live. He wore no clothes, the text says, and had no home. Does that mean no family too? The diagnosis of the time: He was possessed by demons. We guess today a psychological disorder, but let’s not be armchair psychiatrists, two thousand years away.
Long-time members of the Raleigh Report network will grieve with me the passing this week of Bertha “B.” Holt. From 1975 to 1994, B. represented Alamance County in the state House of Representatives. The Council recognized her service by presenting her with our Faith Active in Public Life Award in 1987, the second year it was given.
Here’s a quick update on the state budget process: the Senate passed its version of the budget on May 20, eight days after the summer session convened. The House finished its version on June 4. A Conference Committee is now putting together the final budget.
Raleigh News & Observer
When hurricanes or earthquakes hit, religious congregations know how to respond with acts of good will and charity. But what about an oil spill?Many Triangle congregations are finding their voice.
Tonight two churches will hold vigils to pray and reflect on the BP oil rig disaster. On Sunday, the two-month anniversary of the oil spill, many Christians will attempt a daylong fast from oil in whatever way they find appropriate.
Rev. Nancy Petty, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church (Raleigh)
It’s an image I can’t get out of my mind: a rescuer washing goo off a pelican. The bird was found alive but coated in the oil slick making its way ashore along the Louisiana coastline. The rescuer, volunteering hours of her time, was gently and compassionately bathing the bird in hopes of giving it another chance in the wild. It is a sad but hopeful image from the Gulf of Mexico. And of all the images I have seen from this, the worst oil spill disaster our country has ever experienced, it is this one that causes me to reach for the remote as fast as I can to change the channel.Charlotte Observer
State clergy will meet in Charlotte tomorrow to discuss the theological and practical sides of the immigration debate. Seeking to encourage constructive dialogue, clergy members are expected to discuss the controversial Arizona immigration law and how they relate with local enforcement efforts such as Mecklenburg County’s 287g program.Wilmington Star-News
How do you fix lunch for a hundred or so fellow worshipers at your hometown church – and still keep the dishes low in calories, salt and cholesterol? The N.C. Council of Churches might have the answer to your problem.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.
Raleigh News & Observer
By the time H. Shelton Smith was hired to teach at Duke University in 1931, the movement to unite Christians of different denominations was under way in New York and other places.But four years later when Smith founded the N.C. Council of Churches, the idea that Christians of various stripes could work together, especially in overcoming racial segregation, was still largely unheard of in the South.
Today, the N.C. Council of Churches is marking 75 years of activism on a broad range of issues, including racial equality, women’s empowerment, children’s health care, prison reform, farmworker rights and environmental conservation.
The summer’s “short session” of the North Carolina General Assembly convened on May 12, a continuation of the 2009 session. Its primary task will be to adjust the 2010-11 budget adopted last year, though it can also take up bills that made it through one house last year, bills coming from study commissions, and bills amending the state Constitution.
In his life and mission, Jesus saw himself as actively preparing and serving the kingdom of God on earth, to
be as it is in heaven. He saw all of his disciples in the same light and as having the same purpose. Nowhere
in the prayer instructions of Jesus is the focus on getting the earth–or ourselves–to heaven. The heart of
the Lord’s Prayer is a request for heaven on earth. While this difference may seem subtle, its truth is at the very center of the call and practice of prayer and discipleship.
Greensboro News & Record
The church is hosting a statewide clergy breakfast on immigration Thursday, the latest in a series of meetings sponsored by the N.C. Council of Churches.The issue is a complicated one, Beverly says, but like a lot of people of faith, she is calling on elected leaders to work on an immigration process that unifies families, protects workers’ rights, and provides a clear pathway to citizenship.
The interfaith breakfast discussion, “From Hostility to Hospitality: Immigration and People of Faith,” examines both the theological and practical sides of the debate.
Associated Press
The North Carolina Council of Churches celebrates Tuesday with an evening of events at the Duke University Divinity School. The council has been a voice for social justice in North Carolina since it was formed in 1935.
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.Raleigh News & Observer
As you reported recently, Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan opposes the new Arizona law targeting immigrants because it undermines public safety. The N.C. Council of Churches agrees with Dolan and other law enforcement agencies that such draconian measures are both impractical and immoral.This law allows any person to be stopped by police if there is reasonable suspicion of being undocumented. Encouraging these fearful sentiments is wrong. It sends us backward as a nation in a time when we need real solutions to move us forward.
Eastern Wake News
RALEIGH – As people of faith, we are greatly disturbed by reports of local law enforcement targeting Spanish-language church services in their misguided hunt for undocumented immigrants in Zebulon. All people – regardless of their immigration status – have the right to worship free from harassment and unconstitutional checkpoints. Just because someone doesn’t have the right papers for the U.S. government does not make him or her any less a child of God. It’s shameful that a country so proud of its religious freedom would unfairly target church-going members of the community.Greensboro News & Record
For 75 years the N.C. Council of Churches has offered a faith voice for progressive social justice and Christian unity in North Carolina. Founded by a group of white church leaders who were opposed to segregation and wanted to speak with a unified voice on issues, the council has continued its work for racial justice, but has expanded to include other areas at the forefront of social advocacy.
A Litany of Lament Over a Despoiled Ocean
Ken Sehested, pastor, Alliance-affiliated
Circle of Mercy, Asheville, N.C.
In the beginning, darkness covered the face of the deep.
Then the Breath of Heaven swept across the waters, blessing the sea with all manner of creatures.
The sea knows its Maker and roars its applause; the fish therein leap at the sound of God’s voice.
Through the baptismal waters of the Red Sea did the Israelites escape their tormentors and emerge to freedom’s demand.
Raleigh News & Observer
The N.C. Council of Churches is among the sponsors of the conference, which will begin with an interfaith meditation led by Rabbi Raachel Jurovics of Raleigh and will include the participation ofAbdullah Antepli, the Muslim chaplain at Duke.“The idea that we would deface the divine figure is repugnant in all our traditions,” said Jurovics. Judaism, Christianity and Islam consider human beings to be made in God’s image.
Raleigh News & Observer
As followers of Jesus Christ, a healer known as the Great Physician, as believers in a God who loves and cares for all of his children equally, we at the N.C. Council of Churches are profoundly grateful for passage of health care reform legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives.God gives people plants and seeds for farming as a gift in the first chapter of Genesis. Genesis tells us God created plants and their seeds, “each according to its kind,” called them good, and gave to humans to eat. For generations, farmers and gardeners have honored this gift, tending and improving their crops.
We, the members of the Rural Life Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches, celebrate God’s gift of agricultural diversity and the good stewardship of that gift by generations of farmers. We support just and fair options for farmers and a secure food supply for those in need. We recognize that our actions affect people across the globe.
When addressing the concentration of ownership in agriculture and the development of genetically modified seeds, we consider: Who benefits? What are those benefits? What are the true costs? Who will pay them? Are there more sustainable, appropriate, cost-effective and just alternatives?
Durham Herald-Sun
Opinion: Many of the noisy detractors who rail against universal access to affordable health care are the same folks who loudly proclaim a pious faith and claim ethical superiority on other issues. Maybe they should listen to other religious voices on faith and ethics, voices of those who spend their lives studying the scriptures and serving people seriously impacted by our current health-care system.Wilmington Star-News
The Faith and Health Summit is March 23 in Raleigh to bring health care providers and faith leaders together to work toward health care reform or just to understand each other a little better.You know, that whole conflict between religion and science? This summit also addresses those big questions in an effort to make North Carolina congregations healthier.
Governor Beverly Perdue is the main speaker at the Summit’s luncheon, and the Rev. Dr. Gary Gunderson of Methodist Healthcare in Memphis, TN will give the keynote address. Churches can check out a series of workshops on mental health, church-sponsored community gardens, health disparities, faith-based emergency preparedness and congregational health.
NC Policy Watch
So, what would comprehensive immigration reform mean for us? Imagine having a system that reflected both the realities of a global economy and our best values. Families would be stronger, enforcement would be more effective, workers would be better paid and protected, and American workers would not face discrimination from unscrupulous employers.Wilmington Star-News
Last week, the council sent an email to all the churches on its New Han over County database titled “Opposing re-segregation in the schools,” that encouraged church leaders to sign petitions being circulated against middle school redistricting. The organization isn’t formally planning an event in the area, said executive director George Reed. The Council is a Raleigh-based group that organizes churches in the state around social justice issues.
In April 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at New York’s Riverside Church about the war being fought by the U.S. in Asia at that time, in Vietnam. His words remind us of the choices we now face about war in Asia and around the world in 2010.
