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January 2010
January 7,
2010, New York –
Frances
Smith, 87, a former United Methodist News Service reporter known for her
integrity, encyclopedic knowledge of religious and international issues and
ability to shoot from the hip, died Dec. 30 in Claremont, Calif.
January 7, 2010,
Washington –
The 2010
Earth Day Sunday Resource, Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life: Worship
Spaces as Stewardship is available now to help congregations prepare for
and celebrate stewardship of God’s Creation in their house of worship.
January 11,
2010, New York –
The "Circles of Names" campaign to support women's ministries and gender
justice programs in National Council of Churches member communions has been
extended through Women's History Month, March 2010.
January 14, 2010,
New York
–
The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches is urging an
"immediate and generous response" to calls for aid following earthquake that
devastated Haiti Tuesday.
January 15, 2010,
New York
–
The National Council of Churches USA has sent messages of solidarity and
support to leaders of the Coptic Orthodox Church following attacks on
Christians in Egypt.
January 15, 2010,
New York
–
Attacks on Christian churches in Malaysia following a December 31 high court
ruling that non-Muslims are entitled to use the name "Allah" to refer to God
have been condemned by the National Council of Churches USA.
January 15, 2010,
New York
–
Placing international anguish over Haiti at the cross of Jesus has resulted
in a sadly lyrical hymn by a noted Presbyterian pastor and ecumenist.
February 2010
February 3, 2010, New York ̶
The
earthquake devastation in Haiti creates a painful context for news that
Goldman Sachs has approved a bonus pool of $20 billion. Two of the
nation's leading theologians
̶ George Hunsinger and Michael Kinnamon
̶
have issued a "Modest Proposal" for restoring some balance.
February 4, 2010, New York
̶
U.S. Baptists accused of child trafficking in Haiti are not members of
churches related to American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA).
February 5, 2010, Washington ̶ The National Council of Churches today joined with other faith groups in
calling for the federal budget to address the deep of issues of poverty, and
care for those hit hardest by the economic recession.
February 12, 2010, New York ̶ The National Council of Churches' 2010
Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches reports membership
gains in the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and the Assemblies of God, among others.
February 12, 2010, New York ̶
Forty-five years after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the NCC yearbook of American &
Canadian Churches reports the profound impact of the "new immigration"
on the religious landscape of the United States is still being measured.
February 12, 2010, Washington ̶
The National Council of
Churches and its partner humanitarian agency Church World Service are
urging members of ecumenical congregations to join a March
for America: Change Takes Courage and Faith, at 2 p.m. on
Sunday, March 21, in Washington, D.C.
February 18, 2010, New York ̶ The
government of Turkey may wish to minimize the significance of the Ecumenical
Patriarch in Istanbul, but the National Council of Churches asserts that U.S.
Christians regard Patriarch Bartholomew as "a world leader whose spiritual and
moral authority has influenced us all."
February 18, 2010, New York ̶ The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches has urged
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to look into the detention of
42 Filipino health workers by Philippine military and police forces on
February 6.
February 19, 2010, New York ̶ Responding
to a "divine mandate" and as a "patriotic act," the chief executives of
the National Council of Churches and Church World Service are pressing
"comprehensive immigration reform" in the United States.
February 22, 2010, Chicago
--
Many
who will attend
Religion Communication Congress 2010 here April 7-10 weren't born when
the first congress was held in 1970.
February 23, 2010, Washington
–
As the number of displaced persons
reaches tens of millions around the world, hundreds of persons of faith will
be gathering for Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington March 19-22 under the theme, "A
Place to Call Home: Immigrants, Refugees and Displaced Peoples."
February 23, 2010, New York –
The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches has written to the
Ecumenical Patriarch to express "profound appreciation" for Bartholomew's
encyclical on the unity of the church.
February 23, 2010, Washington
̶
Presidents of five historically African-American Baptist denominations said
they are collaborating to respond more effectively to human need in Haiti.
March 2010
March 3, 2010, Washington ̶
The National Council of Churches, responding to the "pressing needs of Haiti
and the deep sense of call to respond," is calling representatives of its
member communions to a meeting on April 6 to begin planning for "our long
term engagement with the renewal and recovery of the people and nation of
Haiti."
March 3, 2010, New York ̶
In its annual commemoration of Women's History Month, the National Council
of Churches is paying particular attention to 20 special women whose
contributions made
̶ and are
continuing to make
̶ a powerful
impact on our lives and faith.
Washington, March 12, 2010 ̶
A
coalition of Christian groups from across denominations sent a letter
today to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for immediate
action to stop further mountaintop removal coal mining.
Washington, March 16, 2010
̶
In
a "straightforward" message to the U.S. Congress,
National Council of Churches
General Secretary Michael Kinnamon said it is time to
pass "a desperately-needed reform of this country's
health care system."
Washington,
March 19, 2010
̶
The ninth annual
Ecumenical Advocacy Days
commenced tonight with a call to confess that God is at work for the world's
transformation in the direction of justice and peace.
Washington,
March 20, 2010
̶
On the eve of a historic immigration rally on Capitol
Hill, hundreds of delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy Days were fired up
Saturday morning by testimonies from immigration activists and immigrants.
Washington,
March 21, 2010
̶
As more than 700 delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy Days continued to pursue
their hope for just immigration laws, the Rev. Dr. Sharon
Watkins preached about the oneness of the human family.
Washington,
March 21, 2010
̶
As delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy days re-gathered in their hotel after
returning from the March for America on Capitol Hill, Sister Helen Prejean
told them a personal commitment to social activism doesn't come naturally:
it's a gift from God.
New York, March 22, 2010 ̶
The General Secretary of the National Council of
Churches, who last week sent a "straight forward" message to Congress that
it is time to pass
"a desperately-needed
reform of this country's health care system," today expressed his
gratitude that health care reform will become law.
New York, March 22, 2010 ̶
The
National Council of Churches is asking the Israeli government to provide
access for Palestinian Christians who wish to visit Christian sites in
Jerusalem during Holy Week. (Update)
April 2010
New York, April 8, 2010 --
The NCC hailed the signing of the START treaty as an omen of hope for a
nuclear free world.
Washington, April 15, 2010
̶
Tax Justice
As millions joined the last-minute frenzy
to file federal income taxes Thursday, religious groups urged Congress to
craft tax policies to help low-income working families.
New York, April 16, 2010
̶
The Rev. Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, an American Baptist minister who preached
church unity and human harmony, was hailed Thursday as an eloquent leader
whose life exemplified Christ's love of the poor and passion for justice.
New York, April 16, 2010
̶
NCC President Peg Chemberlin said today that President Obama's memorandum to Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius
requiring hospitals to "respect the rights of patients to designate
visitors" will be "affirmed by most Americans."
Washington, April 20, 2010 ̶
Dorothy
Irene
Height, who began her activist career as a teenager marching in New York's
Times Square shouting, "Stop the lynching," was remembered Tuesday as one of
the last great voices of the American Civil Rights Movement.
New York, April 26, 2010 ̶
The National Council of Churches and other
religious organizations have sharply criticized Arizona's new
immigration law as fundamentally unjust, dangerous to citizens and
non-citizens alike, and a rejection of centuries-old biblical precepts
of justice and neighborliness.
New York, April 26, 2010 ̶ Recent attacks
in Iraq on Christians and other minority groups have prompted the National
Council of Churches to ask U.S. government officials to communicate with
Iraqi authorities in an effort to bring the violence to an end.
New York, April 30, 2010 ̶
The Mar Thoma Church Diocese of North America and Europe has raised
$131,775 for Church World Service recovery efforts in earthquake-devastated Haiti.
May 2010
New York, May 2, 2010
̶
On the eve of the United Nations historic review conference of parties to
the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty,
the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches told gatherings in New York's Times Square
and at the Church Center for the UN that nuclear
weapons "are a crime against humanity" and must be removed from the face of
the earth.
New
York, May 5, 2010 --
The staff heads of the NCC and CWS have written to the
president to ask for an end to restrictions on religious travel to Cuba.
Washington, May 7, 2010 ̶
The National Council of Churches (NCC) Washington
Office Director Cassandra Carmichael today applauded President Obama's Cancer Panel for highlighting
the connections between chemical exposure and cancer
Washington, May 14, 2010 --
The NCC commented on climate legislation introduced
today in the Senate and called on Congress to take action to address climate
change in order to protect persons living in poverty in the U.S. and abroad.
New York, May 14, 2010 -
A delegation from the National Council of Churches was
warmly welcomed May 6 by His Eminence Demetrios of America, Archbishop
of the Green Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
New York, May 19, 2010
--
Alarmed by statistics that 100,000 Americans annually
are victims of gun violence, the NCC Governing Board unanimously called for
legislation to limit access to assault weapons and hand guns.
New York, May 19, 2010
-
The Governing Board of the National Council of Churches has urged President
Obama and members of Congress not to lose sight of the fact that public
schools are the basic institution for educating the nation's children, and
the government must support public schools as guarantors of each child's
right to an education.
New
York, May 20, 2010 --
Five representatives of the China Christian Council
joined NCC and WCC staff this month to exchange greetings and to affirm a
memo of understanding between the Chinese and American church groups that
was forged in February 2009 when the NCC general secretary and president
visited China.
New
York, May 25, 2010 --
War, natural disasters and humanity's furry friends,
These topics are no strangers o television viewers, but programming
presented by the NCC adds new dimensions to familiar themes.
New York, May 26, 2010 -
NCC Women's
Ministries has announced an expansion of its curriculum on fistula.
Around the
globe, a woman dies in childbirth
or from pregnancy-related complications every 90 seconds. One
of those injuries is Obstetric Fistula.
New York, May 26, 2010 - The
Interchurch Center in New York's Morningside Heights, once envisioned as a
"Protestant Vatican on the Hudson," has evolved over fifty years into an
interfaith, multi-ethnic community of non-profit, educational and church
agencies.
June 2010
New York, June 2, 2010 --
A delegation of the National Council of Churches met
with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other officials Monday to
express concerns about the Education Department's "Race to the Top"
initiative and the Obama Administration's "blueprint" for the
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
New York, June 3, 2010
--The National Council of Churches and other faith groups have expressed alarm
and concern over the Israeli action May 31 against an international flotilla
on the high seas that led to the deaths of nine persons and the wounding of
many others.
Edinburgh, Scotland,
June 7, 2010
--
A Century after the gathering that marked the birth of
the modern ecumenical movement, ecumenists returned to Edinburgh under the
theme of "Witnessing to Christ Today."
Washington, June 9, 2010
--
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture
(NRCAT) has released a new video, Accounting
for Torture, featuring the voices of religious
leaders who supporting the message of the Physicians for Human Rights
report,
Experiments
in Torture: Human Subject Research and Evidence in the ‘Enhanced’
Interrogation Program.
New York, June 9, 2010 --
A World Council of Churches delegation, including NCC
General Secretary Michael Kinnamon, has met with a cross-section of the
governments at the conference to promote first steps toward a legal ban on
nuclear weapons
New York, June 9, 2010
--
Former NCC President Michael Livingston participated in an ecumenical
delegation to Vietnam to study the effects of Agent Orange and Dioxin. He
filed this report.
Washington,
June 29, 2010 --
Faith-based organizations at the national and state level
are calling on Congress to establish a comprehensive chemical policy to
protect both people and the environment.
Washington, June 29, 2010
--
The
Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, a former member of the National Council of
Churches Governing Board and immediate past president of the National
Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., has been named to the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom by President Obama.
Washington, June 30, 2010
--
The NCC finds the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision on gun
ownership to be "disappointing," but stresses that the ruling does not
negate the possibility of enacting laws to reduce gun violence.
July 2010
New York, July 1, 2010
--
A little known 2000-year-old Christian prayer is the
subject of a documentary film and book slated for early 2011.
Washington, July 1, 2010
--
Jordan Blevens strarts July 1 as the NCC and Church of
the brethren staff officer for peace.
New Orleans, July 6, 2010
--
When the NCC and CWS gather here November 9-11, the
meeting will mark a historic milestone for the ecumenical movement.
New
York, July 13, 2010 --
The National Council of Churches' 2010
Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, one of the most
respected records of church membership and financial data, is on sale this
week at a discounted price of $50 per copy.
New
York, July 14, 2010 --
The Rev. Dr. George W. "Bill" Webber, 90, died July 10
in Maplewood, N.J.
Washington, July 14, 2010 --
The NCC Eco-Justice team is circulating a prayer
petition urging government agencies to turn away from partisan politics and
seek a just and moral response to the crisis caused by the oil spill in the
Gulf.
Elkhart, Ind., July 15, 2010 --
"Peace Among the Peoples," a Decade to Overcome
Violence related ecumenical peace conference, is slated July 28-31 at
Associated Mennonite Bible Seminary here.
Atlanta, July 21, 2010 --
The U.S. Student Christian Movement (SCM) will be
reborn October 8-11 at a historic gathering in Morehouse College.
New
York, July 21, 2010 --
Hymn Writer Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has produced a
new text dealing with immigration.
Chicago, July 26, 2010 --
A diverse group of Christians will gather here August
9-11 to talk about the language people use to talk about God and faith.
Washington,
July 30, 2010 --
Faith leaders applauded the U.S. Congress' approval
July 29
of legislation to reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder
cocaine offenses.
August 2010
New York, August 11, 2010 --
The NCC, its Interfaith Relations Commission and participants in the
National Muslin-Christian Initiative, have issued a statement the eve
of Ramadan calling on Christians to respect their Muslim neighbors.
New York, August 12, 2010
-- NCC General Secretary Michael Kinnamon said in a
strongly worded editorial that it is appropriate and important to build
Cordoba House and Mosque at Ground Zero.
Chicago,
August 18, 2010 --
A diverse group of Christians gathered in
Chicago, August 9-11 to explore the power of language
Christians use to talk about God and one another.
New Orleans, August 18, 2010 --
Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the
Gulf Coast, the NCC is presenting on August 29 an NBC special produced by
the Presbyterian Church (USA) on displaced families that are slowly
returning home.
Chicago, August 20, 2010
--
His Eminence Christopher, Metropolitan of
Libertyville-Chicago and Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.
and Canada, died Wednesday at the age of 82.
New Orleans, August 25, 2010 --
Actress Khandi Alexander of HBO's Treme is narrator
of an NBC special on the aftermath of Katrina presented by the NCC and
produced by the Presbyterian Church (USA) on NBC stations beginning August
29.
September 2010
New York, September 2, 2010 --
The NCC today reiterated its statement of August 11,
deploring threats in Florida to burn the Qur'an on September 11.
Washington, September 7, 2010 --
A high ranking group of U.S. interfaith leaders,
including the general secretary of the National Council of Churches,
assembled here today to condemn plans in Florida to burn the Holy Qu'ran on
Saturday, and to decry incidents of violence committed against innocent
Muslims.
New York, September 9, 2010
--
Letter to Churches
The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 changed millions of lives forever, and the General
Secretary of the National Council of Churches is calling on churches to hold
all the victims in prayer -- families of the dead and injured as well as
millions of Muslims who continue to be targets of Islamophobic rhetoric and
attacks.
New York, September 9, 2010 --
The NCC's Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos offers an op-ed to
express a lament
for the religious
ignorance, bigotry and ill will that has been generated by threats in
Florida to burn the Qur'an on September 11.
Use the essay as you see fit.
New York, September 14, 2010
Fistula
Stories, a project of Women’s Ministries at the National Council of the
Churches of Christ, USA,
will expand its curriculum to include studies of texts from other faiths.
New York, September 14, 2010 --
The Rev. Dr. Lucius Walker, 80, a former member
of the National Council of Churches staff who became a controversial and
beloved activist for human rights in the 1960s and 70s and later founded an
organization that sent hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to Latin
America, including Cuba, died September 7 in his home in Demarest, N.J.
New York, September 22, 2010
For the second time in two years, the National Council of Churches Governing
Board has issued a call to government officials and church leaders to take
action on "comprehensive immigration reform."
New York, September 22,
2010 --
For the third consecutive year, the NCC will join
"Fighting Poverty With Faith" to speak fo national political leaders while
also addressing the needs of those in poverty in local communities, with the
goal of cutting poverty in half by 2010.
New York, September 23,
2010 --
The NCC Interfaith Relations Commission has issued
theological resources to guide clergy and laity through the basic issues of
engagement with other faiths.
Washington, September 28, 2010
The Rev. Michael Livingston, executive director of the International Council
of Community Churches and President of the National Council of Churches from
2006 to 2007, has been named to direct the council's poverty initiative.
Washington, September 28, 2010
This Sunday, October 3, is a day to seek God's grace for the Gulf in
thousands of congregations related to the 36 member communions of the
National Council of Churches.
Washington, September 29, 2010 --
In visits to the White House and the State
Department today, religious leaders representing the Christian, Jewish and
Muslim communities offered support for the Obama administration’s efforts to
continue peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
October 2010
Washington, October 4, 2010 --
Churches
from California to Florida participated
yesterday in a day of prayer, reflection and healing for the Gulf Coast
while people of faith joined together in a petition calling upon Congress to
address the Gulf oil spill.
Washington, October 5, 2010 –
Religious, civic, and community-service organizations
nationwide are mobilizing to reduce poverty by 50 percent over the next ten
years, beginning today with a national teleconference to discuss the role of
faith-based organizations in fighting poverty.
Harrisonburg, Va., October 6, 2010
--
The issues and
uncertainties of aging are the focus of a National Council of Churches
documentary produced by Third Way Media and slated for broadcast on the ABC
television network beginning October 17.
New York, October 8, 2010 --
The Justice
for Women Working Group (J4WWG) of the National Council of Churches is issuing an open call for art to help expand our imagination of
ecumenical cooperation reflecting on Luke 24:48, “You are witnesses of these
things.” (NRSV)
New York, October 20, 2010 --
A Place for All: faith and community for persons with disabilities
New Orleans, October 29, 2010 --
Gillette hymn captures the spirit of the Centennial Gathering
November 2010
Washington, November 1, 2010 --
Ecumenical leaders meet with Obama.
Boston, November 1, 2010--
Boston women meet to celebrate Circles of Names
New Orleans,
November 10, 2010 --
NOLA Archbishop Aymond: We were all strangers once.
New Orleans,
November 10, 2010 --
NCC Governing Board re-elects Kinnamon, calls for end to the War in
Afghanistan
New Orleans, November 11, 2010
--
Ecumenical Women are a powerful presence at the Centennial
Gathering.
New Orleans, November 11, 2010
--
Ecumenical Gathering studies, worships, speaks out on issues and
adds a member.
New Orleans,
November 11, 2010 --
Young adults hold third annual NewFire gathering in New Orleans.
New Orleans,
November 11, 2010
--
Kinnamon calls Bush defense of torture 'incomprehensible'
New Orleans,
November 15, 2010 --
Centennial Gathering ends as it began -- in worship.
New York, November 18, 2010
--
The staff leaders of the National Council of Churches and Church
World Service have sent messages to U.S. senators urging the
ratification this year of the New Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START II) signed by President Obama and Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev.
New Orleans, November 18, 2010--
Representatives from Orthodox, evangelical, mainline Protestant,
historic African American and living peace churches were united last
week as they spoke out issues concerning peace, justice and human
rights.
Washington, November 22, 2010 --
As
millions of Americans begin to prepare their Thanksgiving meals, faith
leaders representing organizations from across the country convened on
Capitol Hill this week to remind Congress and the Administration that there
are many Americans who don’t know when their next meal may be and that there
are reforms Congress and the Administration can implement today that will go
a long way towards cutting poverty in half over the next ten years.
Washington, November 24, 2010 --
A diverse group of 56 leading denominations and faith-based
organizations today released a joint letter calling on the U.S.
Senate to leave intact the power of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to protect the environment and public’s
health.
Washington, November 29, 2010 --
Representatives of 19 Christian church bodies today called upon the
U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Senate approved child
nutrition bill.
New Orleans, November 30, 2010
--
The Centennial Ecumenical Gathering is now over, but NCC
photographer Kathleen Cameron has created indelible electronic
images of the New Orleans meeting.
December 2010
Santo Domingo, D.R., December 2, 1010
--
Historic peace church representatives from 17 countries have
been gathering here November 27 - December 2.
Kottayam, India, December 6, 2010 --
The
Indian concept of family sanctity is noble and one that should be emulated
throughout the world, said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, National
Council of Churches general secretary, in a reception here.
New York,
December 7, 2010 --
The long anticipated Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer, a
documentary film on a 2000-year-old Christian prayer, will begin
distribution December 15 for a three-month run in the SnagFilms
Collection on Comcast and Verizon FIOS.
New York,
December 8, 2010 --
Friendship press, which has distributed many of the ecumenical
movement's major publications over the past sixty years, can be
found online at
www.friendshippress.org.
Washington,
December 10, 2010 --
More than 75 women and men gathered at Wesley Theological Seminary
here November 18 to honor the Rev. Drema McAllister-Wilson and other women
who have made significant contributions to the ecumenical movement and the
lives of the individuals they encountered.
New York.
December 14, 2010 --
Back from a two week journey to churches in India, Kinnamon reports
to the NCC.
Washington,
December 15, 2010 --
With perhaps unintended irony, two U.S. senators have declared that
Christmas is not the time to move toward peace by reducing the
number of nuclear arms in the arsenals of the United States and
Russia.
Washington,
December 16, 2010--
Op.Ed: Not every toy beneath the tree brings health or joy.
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