A call to prayer for all member communions
Most of the 35 member communions of the National Council of Churches have been striving for nearly a century to live out the call of Jesus to be together. The visible unity of the church is especially evident in local cities and villages where congregations routinely share houses of worship, celebrations and service to the community. Knowing that the life blood of  unity flows at the local level, the Governing Board of the National Council of Churches in February 2008 asked NCC President Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and NCC General Secretary Michael Kinnamon to send a letter to the member communions, inviting their congregations/parishes to engage in prayer and fellowship with other NCC-related churches in their communities. Resources for this time of common prayer – recognizing that the churches also have a rich store of materials that could be used for such gatherings – are linked here.

'Pray Without Ceasing' - Kinnamon keynote address
In a recent keynote address to the National Workshop on Christian Unity, the NCC General Secretary committed the Council to be "both a forum in which conflicting perspectives meet in dialogue and a body that boldly declares the gospel’s partisanship on behalf of the excluded and oppressed." Michael Kinnamon's analysis of the ecumenical future is printed here.

NCC Women's Ministries offer electioneering guides
Your congregation can make your voice heard during this election year with the assistance of  In Times of Great Decision: How Congregations Can Take Part in Legal, Non-Partisan Election Activities, and Faith Seeking Peace, new resources developed by WAND Educational Fund for people of faith and available through NCC Women's Ministries and the Justice for Women Working Group. More.

Some Mother's Day tips from U.S. Social Security
People all over the country are helping their moms save as much as $3,600 per year on the cost of prescription drugs.  The high cost of medicine can be a burden on mothers who have limited income and resources.  But help available through Social Security could pay part of her monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments.  The extra help could be worth up of $3,600 per year.  More.

United Methodists honor NCC's Clare J. Chapman
Clare J. Chapman, NCC Chief Operating Officer, has been honored by her denomination for "her exceptional leadership." Chapman, who is attending the United Methodist General Conference here, was presented the 2008 Council of Bishops' ecumenical award April 29 for her work in the NCC and in the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious concerns. More.

The Ecumenical Golden Rule: Listen to one another The NCC General Secretary believes the whole country is the loser when opposing candidates shout but don't listen. As the 2008 campaign heads toward more primaries and major party conventions, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon invites politicians to follow the ecumenical model of listening to arguments with which they disagree. Read it here.

Kinnamon featured in Ecumininet.com interview
An interview with General Secretary Michael Kinnamon is featured this month in Ecumininet.com, a free e-zine edited by Janine C. Hagan. The e-zine, which appears six times a year, was founded by Hagan in 2001 to use interviews, articles and art to "build a stronger ecumenical community to prepare us and our children for a different future." In this month's interview, Kinnamon offers his view of that future. More.

Earth Day Sunday invokes call to protect creation
Using Earth Day resources developed by the National Council of Churches, hundreds of congregations and communities around the country are celebrating Earth Day this year, recognizing their faithful call to protect God’s creation. From sermons on climate change to toxic audits, people of faith around the country are finding ways to further their understanding of and involvement in creation care. More.

NCC resource relates poverty and climate change
This Earth Day, the NCC Eco-Justice Programs are marking Earth Day Sunday (the Sunday closest to Earth Day, which is April 22) by recognizing the interconnectedness of poverty and climate change and offering a resource for worship, adult study, and youth activities. Water scarcity, drought, crop failure, increased disease, and flooding are just a few of the impacts. More

Mennonite chairs NCC Committee on Uniform Series
Mennonites have not rushed to join ecumenical groups like the National Council of Churches (NCC). So when the Rev. James E. Horsch, a Mennonite editor in Goshen, Ind., was elected chair of the NCC's Committee on the Uniform Series (CUS), possibly the oldest ecumenical committee in existence in the U.S., he knew he was part of a truly historic event. Read more.

NCC: all Christians can embrace encyclical on hope Pope Benedict's encyclical, Spe Salvi, addresses important truths for Christians in and outside the Roman Catholic Church, said Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC’s newly elected Senior Program Director for Faith & Order and Interfaith Relations. The encyclical asserts that basic Christian beliefs have been obscured by modern developments. More.

Benedict pleased by hand-lettered NRSV bible
An elegantly hand-lettered edition of the New Revised Standard Version St. John's Bible was presented recently to Pope Benedict XVI. The NRSV was translated under the auspices of the NCC, which owns the copyright. The St. John's Bible, a $4 million project funded by private donations, was commissioned by St. John's Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Collegeville, Minn. More.

NCC urges House to protect the national landscape
Faith groups and individuals from around the country, including the National Council of Churches, sent encouraging messages to Congress yesterday as the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Landscape Conservation System Act by a vote of 278 to 140. A similar bill, S. 1139, which would also protect the 26 million acres of public lands, is awaiting a vote in the Senate. More.

President Elect Peg Chemberlin interviewed on MPR
National Council of Churches President Elect Peg Chemberlin, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio's Midday program about growing up in Minnesota and her life as a religious leader. Peg is in the second half of the program – preceded by four Roman Catholic sisters – on faith and social action. Listen here.

Lindner leaving NCC after three decades of service
The Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, widely known as editor of the Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches and as a tireless leader and chronicler of the ecumenical movement, has announced her departure from the NCC on May 1. "I am deeply appreciative of Eileen's abiding commitment to the Council and its future," said General Secretary Michael Kinnamon. More.

2008 Yearbook: church health ministries abound
The nation's largest study of church health ministries shows a remarkably wide range of services provided by churches, reports the 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. The venerable yearbook is widely regarded as the most reliable source of church membership and growth trends reports on the membership statistics and histories of 224 national church bodies. More

Fond farewells to ones who helped along the way
The ecumenical family is richly diverse and populated with sisters and brothers whose lives were models of faith, fortitude and courage. Some made powerful impacts on the world stage while others lived out God's call in humbler settings. All of them, when they are gone, leave an enormous void. In this page we pause to remember some of them with gratitude and love. More

---