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National Council of Churches and Church World Service Denver, November 12, 2008 -- The annual General Assembly of the National Council of Churches USA and Church World Service convened Tuesday for its three-day annual meeting in the Renaissance Denver Hotel here. "For one hundred years, we have gathered -- or have been gathered -- by God's grace, not to celebrate our achievements but to give thanks for what God has done, is doing, and will do to tear down the dividing walls of hostility that separate even the followers of Christ," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC General Secretary, in his report to the delegates. "May our time together this week build up the church in love and give glory to our Creator!" The Rev. John McCullough, Executive Director of Church World Service, reported the agency's response to a busy year of disasters, natural and human, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Haiti, Cuba and elsewhere, sounded a note of hope.
Presiding over the meeting is H.E. Bishop Vicken Aykazian, President of the National Council of Churches. The General Assembly agenda and program was developed by a planning committee chaired by Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, Chicago. The theme of this year's Assembly is Luke 9: 50: "Jesus said ... Whoever is not against you is for you." The statement is a response by Jesus to his disciples' complaints about a man they didn't know who was casting out demons in Jesus' name. The words invoke the brokenness of a world in which suspicion and distrust govern our relationships and create obstacles to church unity. Dr. Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York and Professor of Religion at Columbia University, addressed the opening session of the Assembly on "Remembering 100 years and anticipating the future." (See story) Topics planned for discussion at the General Assembly raise questions about the universal obligation to be good neighbors, including immigration reform, the meaning of Christian unity in a pluralistic era, and the "phobias" that stand in the way of ecumenical unity, racial justice and interfaith dialogue.
Highlighting the Assembly will be presentations by NCC General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, who was elected to his post at the last General Assembly in November 2007; and by the Rev. John McCullough, Executive Director of Church World Service. The 100th anniversary of the National Council of Churches, which traces its origins to the founding of the Federal Council of Churches in December 1908, will be celebrated at the closing gathering on Thursday, November 13. Preceding the Assembly beginning on the evening of November 7 was a young adult gathering called, "New Fire: Young Adult Ecumenical Formation Days," that featured keynote addresses by Kinnamon and by the Rev. Deborah DeWinter, Program Executive of the U.S. Conference for the World Council of Churches. Bible studies will be led by Dr. Rodney Sadler, Associate Professor of Bible at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Charlotte, N.C., and Dr. Despina Prassas, Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College, R.I.
Photos by Kathleen Cameron |
"My
sisters and brothers in Christ, if we can only decide to work
together despite the limitations of our life together to create a
warm and inviting environment for God's children, and if we are
willing to risk to do even more together than we can ever possibly
do apart, then even they will know the revival of their spirits, the
certainty that God is not only for us, but also for them; and next
year when we gather as Assembly we will truly be able to focus more
on celebrating the goodness of God in the land of the living."
The Rev. Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in
Chicago, will address the assembly on "Reclaiming our focus on
racial justice."