Council Voices

How is it with your soul? This was the question asked weekly of those who gathered in the first Methodist societies organized by John and Charles Wesley while they were still college students. It’s a good question that invites us to think deeper and respond more honestly than we might to the typical, “How are […]

The staff of the NC Council of Churches is delighted to welcome Sharon Jarrells and Brandy Murray to our team of social justice advocates. Sharon Jarrells has just joined our Council team as Office Manager. Sharon was raised in NYC in the South Bronx. She has 20 years of office management experience, mostly in the legal field. She […]

The following remarks were presented by the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director, during the public gathering and clergy march in Elizabeth City after the recent death of Andrew Brown, Jr on May 8th. Click here for the full recording. I greet you on behalf of the N.C. Council of Churches and the 18 denominations […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Acts 10:34-43 Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?      Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;    and by […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. John 13: 1-17, 31b-35 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 118:1-2 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His steadfast love endures forever.  Give thanks because there has been enough for all in the past, give thanks because there is enough for all […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. John 12:20-33 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Ephesians 2:1-10 You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Exodus 20:1-17 Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 22:23-31 You who fear the Lord, praise him!    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;    stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!For he did not despise or abhor    the […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 25:1-10 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.Do not let those […]

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Written by Andrew Whitworth, Duke Divinity School Intern, Summer of 2020 to Spring 2021 Isaiah 58:1-12 Shout out, do not hold back!   Lift up your voice like a trumpet!Announce to my people their rebellion,   to the house of […]

How much is enough? Scripture has a treasure trove of advice for defining enough and even more advice on how to make sure everyone has enough. And not merely enough to survive; rather, enough to thrive. To thrive we need enough food, nutritious food. To thrive we need enough space to live, safe, warm, and […]

No doubt, all of us have watched multiple recaps of events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Epiphany. Perhaps it was calendar coincidence that counting and certifying the electoral votes for the most recent presidential election happened on the day named by Christians as the “manifestation” of Jesus as Christ to the world. We […]

The following remarks were delivered by Jennifer Copeland at a press conference at the General Assembly on Healthcare for all this morning. There’s a story in the Gospel of Luke (5:17-39) about a man who couldn’t walk. As usual, there was a crowd around Jesus and even people who could walk were having a hard […]

There was no recognizable democracy for the people and places reflected in the Old and New Testaments. It was mostly clans and tribes eventually giving way to monarch rule. In the 1st century, Jesus lived in an occupied territory, Palestine occupied by Rome.  Yet, throughout scripture we see the fabric of democracy weaving together salvation […]

In his poem, “Harlem,” Langston Hughes asked, “what is a dream deferred?” He offers some unsettling answers and concludes that a dream deferred is a dream that ultimately explodes.  Pentecost, celebrated yesterday throughout Christianity, also exposes us to explosiveness. It is about newness: new ways of existing, new communities of faith, new ways of relating […]

The North Carolina Council of Churches is offering a modification to the typical National Day of Prayer, celebrated each year on the first Thursday of May. Borrowing an idea from residents around the world who call aloud from their balconies and rooftops across their neighborhoods and cities each evening, the Council invites churches and individuals to […]

Excerpted from Power Made Perfect in Weakness, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year A from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 130 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.    Lord, hear my voice!Let your ears be attentive    to the voice of my supplications!If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,    Lord, who could stand?But there […]

The work of faith-based climate action is important to us because we know that we cannot Iove our neighbors without addressing climate change and environmental injustice. The same can be said for COVID-19. We know we cannot love, and stand with, the vulnerable in our society without taking the coronavirus seriously. That means following the guidelines issued by […]

The following remarks were delivered by Executive Director, Jennifer Copeland, on Sunday, January 12 at Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill focusing on Isaiah 42:1-9. What are the images that come to mind when you hear Isaiah announce God’s justice? If you’re like me, it might conjure up pictures of: Every child going to sleep […]