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Photos by Kathleen Cameron  News reports from General Assembly sessions November 8-10, 2005 at Marriott's Hunt Valley Inn, Baltimore, Maryland   Rev. Michael Livingston installed as NCC President   General Assembly declares any and all use of torture is 'unacceptable'   Baltimore's Catholic Cardinal William Keeler tells delegates: Pope Benedict is a committed Ecumenist   Bishop Vicken Aykazian nominated for NCC President-elect, to succeed incoming President Michael Livingston.   'Special Commission on the Just Rebuilding of Gulf Coast' officially launched at Assembly   General Assembly members pledge $32,000 for relief   NCC Assembly pledges to defend civil and religious liberties   Biotechnologies policy received for first reading   Exclamation Point: Sermon by Professor Brian K. Blount at the installation of  NCC President Michael Livingston   General Assembly Resolutions, Statements and Pastoral Messages   Awards Highlight the General Assembly

Recap of Assembly Highlights

Morning Worship

Each day of the General Assembly began with worship to help delegates explore the theme:  A Witness…That the World Might Believe. Public worship is a celebration of the conviction that Christ is in the midst of God’s people. Worship equips and empowers us to act as agents of God’s transformation, and sets the framework for our work as the people of God in community responding to God’s gift of unity through Jesus Christ.

Bible Study

General Assembly delegates were encouraged to encounter and be encountered by the Word. Neither an exegetical study of the text, nor a preaching on the text, this was a collective look at the text using focused questions for discernment, a time for us to be read by the text and to encounter God through scripture.

Wednesday Rotation Forums

The Wednesday Rotation Forum was designed to help delegates grasp the wide array of programmatic efforts of the NCC and CWS. These efforts help us as a Council fulfill our purpose through open discussion on topics of concern and interest to the Church.

Awards of Excellence Banquet, Wednesday Evening

The Awards of Excellence Banquet honors recipients of the J. Irwin Miller Award, the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Award, and Awards of Excellence.

The J. Irwin Miller Award, presented to Dr. Cynthia B. Cohen, an Episcopal laywoman and professor of ethics at Georgetown University, is given to a lay person who has been a witness, through action in the world, to justice and other values affirmed by Christian faith, and who has demonstrated a commitment to church unity.  The award is a tribute to the memory of J. Irwin Miller who worked tirelessly to support the ecumenical movement in the United States and around the world, and who contributed greatly to racial justice and civil rights for all. Cohen, who was one of the "sages" guiding the work of the NCC's Committee on the Biotechnologies Resolution, said astounding developments in the field will force the world to choose whether it wants to preserve humanity as God created it or create a species of non-humans.

The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Award, given to Dr. Walter Harrelson,,Professor Emeritus at Wake Forest University Divinity School and Vanderbilt University and editor of the New Interpreters' Study Bible for the NRSV, is given to a clergy person whose life and work have significantly advanced the cause of unity among the churches in the U.S.A. and internationally by: fostering dialogue and understanding among the Christian churches; demonstrating a commitment to other churches for common service, witness, worship, and study; challenging churches to give visible witness to their covenant with one another to manifest ever more fully the unity of the church; and offering a strong prophetic voice to the Christian community. Professor Harrelson was unable to attend the awards dinner so the award will be presented to him in November 2006.

Installation Dinner and Service

On Thursday evening we celebrated the installation of Rev. Michael E. Livingston as the NCCC President for 2005-2007.  We gather to share a celebratory banquet before traveling to Douglas Memorial Community Church in downtown Baltimore for the installation worship service, which was the concluding event of the Assembly. 

Photos from the Assembly

Check this page during the coming week for news on how you can download photos like the ones above, taken by Kathleen Cameron.