Forum 1: Gospel, Culture and Music: The Impact of Rock and Roll Culture on America 
Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Forum 2: The Churches' Commitment to Public Education at the Edge of a New Century
Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Forum 3: Theology and Ecumenism
Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 4: Living Faithfully in America: A Multifaith Conversation
Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 5: Jubilee 2000
Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 6:  The Living Word: Translating the Good Book at the NCC
Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 7: Campaign 2000
Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 8: The Prison-Industrial Complex: Modern Slave Trade
Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 9: 20/20 Vision: The Practice of Ecumenism in the New Millennium
Wednesday, November 10, Noon to 3:00 p.m.

Forum 10: Justice for Women: Beyond the Ecumenical Decade
Wednesday, November 10, 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Forum 11: Ending Poverty as We Know It at Home and Around the World
Wednesday, November 10, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

Forum 12:  Reading the Good Book Today and in the New Millennium
Wednesday, November 10, 3:15 to 5:00 p.m.

Forum 13:  Challenging Racism
Thursday, November 11, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 14: The Faith Communities and Universal Health Care Summit
Thursday, November 11, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Includes luncheon.

Forum 15: Welcoming Strangers: The Ministry of Entertaining Angels Unawares
Thursday, November 11, 10:00. a.m. to noon.

Forum 16:  Inclusiveness and Justice
Thursday, November 11, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Forum 17:  Pillars of Peace for the 21st Century: The O. Frederick Nolde Memorial Lecture on Human Rights
Thursday, November 11, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

Forum 18:  The Church in the City: A Symposium and Update
Friday, November 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 19:  Faith and Public Action: Perspectives on Faith-Based Organizing
Friday, November 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Forum 1: Gospel, Culture and Music: The Impact of Rock and Roll Culture on America

Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, One Key Plaza. Includes luncheon.

There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on. And not just on the dance floor. Music can be a force for social change. Explore the connections among Gospel, culture and music at an experiential seminar that makes use of the resources of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the world's first museum dedicated to the living heritage of rock and roll. A self-guided interactive tour of the seven-level facility during the morning introduces important themes. An afternoon panel discussion with communicators who have studied our cultural environment will reflect on how the Gospel has influenced this genre and how 50 years of rock and roll have changed the way many understand the Gospel.

Forum 2: The Churches' Commitment to Public Education at the Edge of a New Century

Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Includes luncheon.

Keynoter David Hornbeck, Superintendent of the Philadelphia Public Schools, will address Public Education: Challenges and Opportunities for the Faith Community. An update on pending legal and judicial matters related to public education, by Oliver Thomas, NCC Special Counsel on Religious and Civil Liberty, will round out the morning. The afternoon segment, Public Education: Toward a Renewed Partnership, focuses on appropriate ways local faith communities can work with public schools. Among presenters, the Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (CHEF), located in Seattle, will share its learnings on partnership. And representatives of Cleveland-area congregations will speak from their experience working with neighborhood schools. CHEF will reimburse participants who register for and attend this forum.

Forum 3: Theology and Ecumenism

Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

The past few years have seen significant theological advances, including, for example, the evolution of the Consultation on Church Union toward a new relationship of Churches Uniting in Christ, last fall's celebration of the Formula of Agreement among four communions, the Lutheran-Roman Catholic agreement on justification, the NCC's Ecclesiology Study reflecting on the meaning of conciliar ecumenism, and more. Against this rich backdrop, the NCC anniversary event provides an ideal opportunity to discuss the interaction between theology and the ecumenical movement, the theological problems that continue to separate the churches, as well as our successes, and how churches might fully receive and own the ecumenical progress that has been made.

Forum 4: Living Faithfully in America: A Multifaith Conversation

Tuesday, November 9, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

America is in the process of reinventing itself as a multifaith society. Muslims, Jews, Hindus, practitioners of traditional Native American religion and many others strive to live faithful lives in a nation where Christianity has been the dominant influence for centuries. The real-life situations they face are prompting change. As Christians and adherents of other religions deal with issues of diversity, we also become aware of our common struggle as people of faith in a highly materialistic and violence-prone society. In this workshop setting, members of a multifaith panel will talk about what living faithfully in America means to them.

Forum 5: Jubilee 2000

Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

The moral force and great good common sense of Jubilee 2000 is energizing many people around this global campaign—an initiative to cancel the crushing debt of impoverished countries, giving them a "fresh start" in the new millennium. What struck some as a noble but impractical idea, when first introduced, is now seen by many as both right and achievable, with surprising benefits for all. Come and learn more. Carole Collins, coordinator of Jubilee 2000/USA, has been asked to equip us for effective involvement as momentum builds toward the Year of Jubilee. Church World Service Executive Director Rodney Page moderates this exciting and participatory forum.

Forum 6: The Living Word: Translating the Good Book at the NCC

Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

The publication of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible in 1952, an NCC inaugural project, was a cultural watershed. The success of the RSV, despite intense controversy surrounding it, brought to a close a period of more than 300 years in which the beloved King James Version was the dominant translation of the Bible. Several factors combined to help the RSV succeed where other attempts had failed: the rise of American biblical scholarship, the growth of the ecumenical movement, and mounting interest in learnings about biblical times from a series of dramatic archeological discoveries. The New Revised Standard Version (1989) built on the RSV foundation, but staked new ground in the area of gender and language, reflecting in yet another way the interplay of culture and the Bible. Learn more about the history of the NCC's Bible translation work through a premier screening of a new video prepared for airing on Odyssey Cable TV, and through live presentation.

Forum 7: Campaign 2000

Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

With national elections coming up next year, what public policy issues are the candidates promoting? What do churches think the issues should be? How should the NCC prioritize and frame issues for the coming year, leading up to and setting the stage for the elections? What are legal ways for churches to become involved in the elections (voter registration drives, candidate forums, issue advocacy, etc.)? And where is the shifting line that marks the boundary between church and state? In this interactive conversation, representatives of the NCC Washington Office will share current approaches, in dialogue with concerns of church constituency around the country.

Forum 8: The Prison-Industrial Complex: Modern Slave Trade

Wednesday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

During his presidency, Eisenhower warned of an emerging "military-industrial complex" an intertwining network of government officials and those who research, design, produce and sell arms, all of whom benefited from the arms race. Decades later, many of the resources previously used for war are used for prisons. A U.S. prison-industrial complex has emerged in which business interests and government officials benefit from the spiraling number of prisoners—at two million, the largest prison population in the world. The system yields misery and suffering without significant rehabilitation for this population, who are disproportionately African American, Latino and Indigenous. Just as confronting the military was a moral imperative in past decades, so today must we confront the prison-industrial complex. Learn about this emerging business, which has been called a modern slave trade, and explore the churches' moral responsibility to address this urgent issue.

Forum 9: 20/20 Vision: The Practice of Ecumenism in the New Millennium

Wednesday, November 10, Noon to 3:00 p.m. Includes luncheon.

Ecumenical and interreligious organizations at the grassroots are in a position to get a clear view of problems and potentials in their communities. And they bring to their work a clear vision of what God wills for Creation. How can we tap their experience and creativity as we seek a renewed ecumenical vision? Examples of the successful innovation that abounds among local, state and regional ecumenical organizations will be recognized at the Ecumenical Service Awards presentation, as a part of this forum. The awards ceremony sets the stage for a major presentation and dynamic discussion on visions of 21st century ecumenism that challenge and inspire. The forum is designed to lift up ecumenical perspectives to feed into The Great Conversation in the evening.

Forum 10: Justice for Women: Beyond the Ecumenical Decade

Wednesday, November 10, 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.

In 1998, the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women concluded with a Festival in Harare, Zimbabwe. Nearly 125 U.S. women joined with 1,200 from across the globe to celebrate and to participate in women-to-women visits in Africa. A year later, this forum will deal in substantive ways with issues emerging from the Ecumenical Decade, as well as from the UN Decade for Women and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, as we approach "Beijing + 5" in the year 2000. We gather at this forum to reflect on the past as it informs our future as women who are spiritually and socially engaged. We seek ways to nurture our whole beings with attention to physical health and wellness. The forum will be participatory with celebration and dialogue in worship, and biblical/theological reflection related to Ecumenical Decade themes: Racism; full participation in church and society; violence against women; economic justice. As we continue to work beyond the Decade, we navigate between "a glass ceiling and a slippery floor." This forum is designed to foster mutual support as we move ahead.

Forum 11: Ending Poverty as We Know It at Home and Around the World

Wednesday, November 10, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

Power, resources and wealth are being concentrated in the hands of a few in the world's richest countries, a trend that is accelerating. At the same time, those who are already impoverished and who are excluded by the dynamics of the present global economy experience a devastating decline in living standards. These fundamental inequities call for correction along the lines of ancient Sabbath and Jubilee cycles. The Jubilee tradition was a basic theme of Jesus' teachings and a practice that he invited his disciples to follow. As people of faith, how do we take the lead today in efforts for equitable global distribution of resources and power, and how do we support the ways of peace, social justice and the integrity of creation? Forum participants will grapple with this set of questions, which defines one of the foremost issues of our day.

Forum 12: Reading the Good Book Today and in the New Millennium

Wednesday, November 10, 3:15 to 5:00 p.m.

What does the ancient wisdom of the Bible have to say to us today in our fast-paced, complex lives? What does it have to say to a society consumed with anxiety about gender and race relations? We know that the Bible addresses such questions, so why do many in our communities neglect Bible reading or turn instead to other traditions or to New Age concepts? Join this forum for reflections on these and related questions, offered by the Rev. Prof. Peter J. Gomes, spiritual head of the Harvard community and a New York Times best-selling author. Much in demand as a speaker, Gomes employs compassion, wit and wisdom, as he equips his audience to find the guidance, joy and inspiration the Bible can bring us every day. Gomes will draw on themes and insights he developed in The Good Book: Reading the Bible With Heart and Mind (Simon and Schuster) and in Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living (William Morrow & Co.).

Forum 13: Challenging Racism

Thursday, November 11, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

A challenge to racism in our times must build on an understanding of new ways in which an old evil is made manifest. How, for example, do we challenge negative media stereotyping in an expanding universe of 100 television channels and the Internet? How do people of every ethnic and racial group get to know each other in a society where even family members often find it hard to find time to connect with each other? And how does our isolation feed racial hatred? How did young members of a privileged sector of society in Littleton become so violent and so racist? Whose values are they absorbing and why? How can white people work today to eradicate racism? How can people of color work to overcome its stigma? In an interactive setting, a diverse group of presenters will help us dig deep for the answers. The invited keynote speaker is the Rev. Dr. George Tinker, a Lutheran theologian, scholar and author.

Forum 14: The Faith Communities and Universal Health Care Summit

Thursday, November 11, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Includes luncheon.

"U2K" is short hand for putting universal health care back on the national agenda in the Year 2000 campaign. That's the message of a three-day Faith Communities and Universal Health Care Summit to be convened during the NCC anniversary celebration. The "summit" will offer its main plenary event as an anniversary forum open to all. The forum will feature representatives of local congregations, community groups and denominations sharing stories of the health-care crisis and models of organizing. The goal: to connect the community health-care mission of local congregations with the national interfaith movement for universal health care—including comprehensive, holistic and public health. Luncheon speakers include the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, speaking on Health Disparities and Universal Health Care. The "summit" will be simulcast to national and regional sites across the country for remote participation, including with the Public Health and Faith Community Caucus and the American Public Health Association at the conclusion of their annual meetings in Chicago.

Forum 15: Welcoming Strangers: The Ministry of Entertaining Angels Unawares

Thursday, November 11, 10:00. a.m. to noon.

Participants in this forum on uprooted people are invited to reflect on our Christian calling to "welcome the stranger." To do so is to be faithful to the Gospel message (Matthew 25: 31-46)—a response that also transforms individuals and congregations in wonderful ways, as they engage at a personal level in the ministry of welcoming uprooted people (Hebrews 13:2). Forum participants will have the opportunity to meet local and national partners in ministry to refugees and other uprooted people, and to learn more about how local congregations have helped newcomers become self-sufficient and productive new neighbors throughout the United States. The forum will also provide perspective on global issues involving uprooted people, as well as information on why the U.S. includes refugee resettlement as part of foreign policy. And the forum will offer theological reflections concerning the biblical mandate to welcome the stranger and to love the alien as ourselves (Leviticus 19: 33-34). Finally, participants will have the chance to hear from refugees and church sponsors alike as they tell the stories that brought them together.

Forum 16: Inclusiveness and Justice

Thursday, November 11, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Think of what U.S. society has been through over the last 50 years in terms of race and gender issues. Images quickly come to mind—everything from bra-burning to Anita Hill's testimony on sexual harassment that touched a national nerve; from the bridge at Selma to Martin Luther King Jr.'s I-have-a-dream speech; from "black and white together, we shall overcome" to the realization that, increasingly, diversity is more than a "black-white thing." The NCC was very much a part of these times. We were deeply engaged in the anti-apartheid movement, responded to James Forman and the reparations issue, supported women in ministry, and much more. With the help of a nationally recognized authority on race and gender relations—and with evocative images of our journey toward inclusivity and justice playing in the background—this forum will review our progress and pitfalls, and do some visioning on the brink of a new millennium.

Forum 17: Pillars of Peace for the 21st Century: The O. Frederick Nolde Memorial Lecture on Human Rights

Thursday, November 11, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

A proposed NCC policy statement in support of the United Nations challenges churches to build effective institutions of global governance for the 21st century. Delegates to the November 1999 General Assembly will vote on this update of the original "Six Pillars of Peace," developed by the Federal Council of Churches in 1943, which helped bring into being the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As a contribution to the NCC 50th Anniversary Celebration, as well as to explore contemporary Pillars of Peace, this forum will present the first O. Frederick Nolde Memorial Lecture on Human Rights. The lecture honors the great ecumenical leader who authored Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and who for many years headed the Office of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. Two speakers will share the lecture: Dr. Charles Amjad-Ali from Pakistan, the first non-Swede to hold a tenured position at Uppsala, will focus on human rights and Islam. Dr. Janice Love will speak on the work of the World Council of Churches Board for International Affairs, which she moderates. The forum will include discussion with speakers and other invited guests.

Forum 18: The Church in the City: A Symposium and Update

Friday, November 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

The NCC salutes the fifth anniversary of The Church in the City, a pioneering ecumenical and interfaith initiative originated by the Most Rev. Anthony M. Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland. Representatives of this unique collaborative ministry will share background, resources and anticipated priorities that will shape this ongoing comprehensive spiritual and social project. Stimulating statements of purpose and policy, as well as programs addressing inclusive issues, such as education, environment and redevelopment, will be highlighted in this review and forecast.

Forum 19: Faith and Public Action: Perspectives on Faith-Based Organizing

Friday, November 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Faith-Based Organizing for Northeast Ohio and the Akron Area Association of Churches are collaborating in this discussion and workshop. Presenters will highlight programs such as "United WE-CAN" that train and support clergy and lay leaders in faith-based organizing. The goal: to help move people of faith into the arena of public action to achieve economic and social justice. Dr. Dennis Sparks, director of the Akron Area Association of Churches, will moderate the forum.