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January 2008  at St. Simons Island, Georgia: Leaders of the NCC's five ecumenical program commissions met at the beginning of the NCC's new quadrennium (2008-2011) at Epworth By The Sea, a United Methodist conference center on St. Simons Island, GA. After spending a day planning the Communication Commission's work, officers and committee chairs met with leaders of the Education & Leadership, Faith & Order, Interfaith Relations, Justice & Advocacy commissions in an all-day session with Dr. Michael Kinnamon, the NCC's new General Secretary, for discussions and joint visioning.

September 2007 in Chicago, Illinois:  The meeting opened September 9 with a four-hour workshop on media reform, featuring Bob Hackett of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and Robert McChesney (right) of the University of Illinois, jointly sponsored with the North American division of the World Association of Christian Communication. A Monday seminar on Communicating Eco-Justice Issues was led by Cassandra Carmichael (left) of the NCC staff.  And on Tuesday, September 11, a forum on the legacy of the 2001 terrorist attacks featured two prominent faith-based publishers, shown at left: John M. Buchanan, editor of The Christian Century and pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago; and Muslim multimedia producer Imam Malik Mujahid, chair of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. Michael Livingston, president of the National Council of Churches, was moderator. New officers were elected for the next quadrennium. Sessions were held at the Marriott O'Hare Hotel and the offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the Commission's participating communions.

April 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky:  The new downtown Marriott Hotel was the site of the spring meeting April 24-26, during the Kentucky Derby Festival.  An opening media education workshop on "Kids, the Church and the Media," featured Rebecca Randall of Common Sense Media in San Francisco.  The Commission enjoyed a dinner dialogue with Linda Valentine (right), the recently-elected executive director of the Presbyterian Church (USA), headquartered in Louisville. Our first Ecumenical Film Festival featured a sampling of recent productions by the Commission's participating communions.  The annual Religion Communicators Council workshop followed the Commission meeting, concluding with the annual Wilbur Awards at the Muhammad Ali Center.

October 2006 in St. Louis, Missouri:   The fall meeting was held at the Drury Plaza Hotel at the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis, October 22-24. Among the resource persons was Jim Wall (left), former editor of the Christian Century, who serves as "our man in Hollywood" on the Motion Picture Ratings Review Board.  A professional development seminar, "Media Interview Skills and Techniques," featured Melissa Haynes (right) of Issue Dynamics in Washington DC.  Following our sessions on October 24, a bonus one-day Faith Communicators Forum, co-sponsored by the Commission and Faith & Values Media, began with an address by Alan Roxburgh of the Missional Leadership Institute and concluded with Judy Valente, reporter for Religion and Ethics Newsweekly on PBS. Other program guests included Krista Tippett and Trent Gilliss of American Public Media's Speaking of Faith.

March 2006 in Cleveland, Ohio:  The Commission's spring meetings were hosted at the United Church of Christ headquarters March 27-29, and featured a stirring keynote address by new NCC President Michael Livingston, right, who challenged ecumenical communicators to tell their churches' story boldly, with energy and creativity, and to "take on the media machine of a false religion" that has "pounded the mainline and orthodox churches" with a political philosophy masquerading as gospel; an economic principle wrapped in religious rhetoric and painted red, white and blue.   The Commission voted on its strategic goals for the next quadrennium, bid farewell to its retiring chair, Ann Gillies (left), and elected new officers for the coming two years: Bob Chase as chair, Nikki Stephanopoulos as vice chair and Wanda Bryant Wills as secretary.

September 2005 in Washington DC:  The fall Communication Commission meeting was held at the Washington Plaza Hotel Sept. 11-14 as part of the third annual Faith Communicators Forum, co-sponsored by NCC with Religion Communicators Council, United Church of Christ, Faith & Values Media, and Associated Church Press.  Among the highlights of the meeting: The annual  Legislative Issues Breakfast, sponsored by UCC, featured Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, left, a prominent leader in policymaking on media issues, member of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, and a founding member of the Future of American Media Caucus.  The annual UCC Everett C. Parker Luncheon on Ethics in Communication, featured an address by Juan Gonzalez, NY Daily News Columnist and former President, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, right. The Forum's keynote address was by Jim Wallis, author and convenor Call to Renewal, left, on "Ending the Monologue on Moral Values".  The Winston Taylor Awards Luncheon at the National Press Club, sponsored by the DC chapter of Religion Communicators Council, featured Mariane Pearl, right, journalist and filmmaker, sharing her experience of the terrorist kidnapping of her husband Daniel, a Wall Street Journal reporter.

April 2005 in Nashville, TN:  The Commission met for its spring meeting April 5-7 in the hometown of United Methodist Communications.  Sessions were at the Doubletree Hotel in tandem with meetings of the Religion Communicators Council and North American Region of the World Association of Christian Communication.  The Media Advocacy Committee held its first meeting, and an exploration of a national ecumenical radio project was launched by the Commission.  Keynote speaker for the RCC convention was Tex Sample, right, former Rogers Professor of Church and Society at Saint Paul School of Theology, an active researcher in contemporary lifestyles, based in Arizona.  The Wilbur Awards, coordinated by former Commission chair Eric Shafer, concluded the week in a gala evening at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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September 2004 in Washington, DC: The Commission co-sponsored the second Faith Communicators Forum, along with partners Faith & Values Media, the Washington chapter of Religion Communicators Council, and the UCC's Everett C. Parker Lectures on Ethics in Telecommunications.  Featured speakers for the Sept. 11-14 gathering included Krista Tippett, above left, host of the Minnesota Public Radio series Speaking of Faith; Congress woman Diane Watson of Los Angeles, above center, a leader in media legislation; and Jeffrey Birnbaum, above right, Washington Post columnist and former White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. The Interfaith Alliance's executive director, C. Welton Gaddy,also spoke.  Meetings were at the Wyndham Washington Hotel and the National City Christian Church, both on Thomas Circle, and at the National Press Club.

March 2004 in Birmingham, AL:  The Commission met March 24-25 in tandem with the 75th anniversary convention of the Religion Communicators Council, the annual Wilbur Awards for excellence in public media treatment of faith issues and themes, and the semi-annual gathering of the North American region of the World Association of Christian Communication. Meetings were at the Wynfrey Hotel in the Riverchase Galleria, and the awards ceremony was at the Birmingham Museum of Art.  Dr. Nancy Snow, right, professor of communication at California State University-Fullerton, author of Information War, was a speaker for two sessions. On-site visits took participants to the Eternal Word Television Network studios, Time-Warner's Southern Progress publishing center, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. 

September 2003 in Washington, DC:  On September 14-16, the  Communication Commission co-sponsored the first Faith Communicators Forum, a joint venture of the NCC and Faith & Values Media, Religion Communicators Council, and the United Church of Christ's annual Everett C. Parker Lectures.  Among the personalities were film producer Michael Landon Jr., left; Pew Trust media analyst Diane Winston; Annenberg Chair at University of Southern California Jay Harris; Action for Children's Television founder Peggy Charren, right; American Sufi Muslim leader Daisy Khan; and former FCC chairman Newton Minnow, along with seminars and meetings of the sponsoring groups. Meetings were at the Washington Wyndham Hotel, the National Press Club, and the National City Christian Church.

April 2003 in Indianapolis, IN: The Commission met April 23-24 in the hometown of member communion Disciples of Christ.  Sessions were scheduled in tandem with the annual conventions of Religion Communicators Council and Associated Church Press. Speakers included L.A. Times reporter  Larry Stammer,  NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar, and Dr. Sayyid Syeed, left, Secretary General of the Islamic Society of North America.  The Wilbur Awards were presented in a gala dinner at the all-glass Indianapolis ArtsGarden.  Other sessions were at Embassy Suites and at other sites around Indianapolis.

September 2002 in Washington, DC: The Commission convened at the Wyndham Washington Hotel and the National City Christian Church, both on Thomas Circle.  Sessions included the UCC-sponsored Everett C. Parker Lecture in Telecommunications Ethics by FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps, and a legislative breakfast with a question-and-answer session by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, shown at right.  Seminars were offered on new radio and TVprogramming formats.

April 2002 in New York City: The Commission met in conjunction with the annual Religion Communicators Council convention.  Highlighting the Commission meeting was a special conference on full and fair media coverage of Israeli-Palestinian issues jointly sponsored by NCC and the World Association of Christian Communication.  RCC workshops were held in various locations across the city, including the Church Center for the United Nations, the Latter-Day Saints facilities near Lincoln Center, and at the Schomberg Center in Harlem. The Edison Hotel in midtown was the headquarters hotel.  Dr. Cees Hamelink, left, noted Professor of International Communication at the University of Amsterdam, was a keynote speaker of the convention. The Wilbur Awards ceremony, held at the historic Yale Club, concluded the week's events.

September 2001 in Washington, DC: The Commission met at the Wyndham Washington Hotel in tandem with the Everett C. Parker Lecture in Telecommunication Ethics, held at the National City Christian Church, featuring an address by Scott Simon, right, of National Public Radio.  This meeting occurred  two weeks after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, and provided a helpful "debriefing" by communication personnel who had been reporting the events to denominational constituents across the nation.

April 2001 in Minneapolis, MN:  The Commission met in conjunction with the annual conventions of Religion Communicators Council and the Associated Church Press, and welcomed its new executive director, Wesley "Pat" Pattillo, who had begun his work just a week earlier. Between the RCC and ACP meetings, the Commission sponsored a special day-long seminar on web site hosting and design, featuring experts from several web design and hosting companies.

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