Program Information: Plenary Details
The Anniversary Welcome Luncheon
Tuesday, November 9, Noon, Public Auditorium, Cleveland Convention Center
Representatives of the Cleveland community, which is hosting our anniversary celebration with warm hospitality, will welcome participants with a luncheon event, including greetings from His Honor Michael R. White, Mayor of Cleveland. This occasion also provides an opportunity to recognize ecumenical leaders, including former NCC presidents and staff.
"Inspiration in Music" Concert—The Cleveland Orchestra
Tuesday, November 9, 8:00 p.m., Allen Theater, 1407 Euclid Ave. (at Playhouse Square)
A not-to-be-missed special concert will be followed by a panel discussion highlighting
the significance of music in the life of the spirit and in the life of the church. The
panel will include a resource person from The Cleveland Orchestra and a theologian.
Critically acclaimed the world over, The Cleveland Orchestra has been called "the
best band in the land" by Time magazine, which hailed as unrivaled its
"combination of technique and ensemble playing."
The Great Conversation
Wednesday, November 10, 7:30 p.m., Public Auditorium, Cleveland Convention Center
In 1950, the leadership of American Protestant and Orthodox churches gathered in
Cleveland to bring into being the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA --
an earthen vessel for the ecumenical vision of that day. As we move into our 50th year, we
embrace the challenge to re-envision the call to unity for the new millennium. The Great
Conversation will offer an opportunity for a wider spectrum of churches than ever before
to help bring form and substance to that new vision. Voices from our 35 member communions,
the Roman Catholic Church, Pentecostal churches and the National Association of
Evangelicals will be heard. The Great Conversation will include perspectives from local,
state, regional, national and world ecumenical and interreligious bodies, as well as from
other sectors of our society. The results of this conversation will be carefully processed
with the goal of producing a common vision, a new earthen vessel for new wine. Cleveland
may well again be the birthplace of an ecumenical vision that more fully expresses our
unity in Christ.
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Installation of New NCC President and Anniversary Banquet
Thursday, November 11, 5:30 p.m. (Banquet 8:00 p.m.)
Installation at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 1007 Superior Ave. (at E.
9th St.). Banquet at Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, 24 Public Square.
The NCC will install its 20th president, Ambassador Andrew Young, who will lead the NCC
into the new millennium. Participants in the installation service include the Most Rev. Anthony M.
Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland and a past president of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops (NCCB), who will participate in an ecumenical liturgy. The service, at the Roman
Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, also features special music, formal
greetings from the NCCB, and a symbolic invitation to the next generation to accept the
challenge of reshaping the ecumenical movement. A festive banquet at the Renaissance
Cleveland Hotel follows the service. Black tie optional.
