No military solution in Iraq, generals agree
A Mennonite "professor of peacebuilding" brought more than 700 religious peace advocates to their feet Saturday morning with a declaration that security is the result of diplomacy and development, not military intervention. Dr. Lisa Schirch, a professor at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va., told attendees at the sixth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference that U.S. military leaders agree with that assessment, including Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the multi-national force in Iraq. "There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq," Petraeus told a news conference when he assumed command a year ago, adding that political negotiations were crucial to forging any lasting peace. Schirch urged peace activists to "build relationships with people in the military," many of whom believe diplomacy and development are the solution to easing the insurgency and removing terrorism from Iraq and other world hot spots. More.

Kinnamon: ecumenists are 'hopeful idealists'
Ecumenical activists are "hopeful idealists," NCC General Secretary Michael Kinnamon told an Ecumenical Advocacy Days gathering Saturday night. Their special insights as Christians can alter the discourse of the presidential campaign, especially on issues like national security and the use of force to protect America's disproportionate use of the world's goods. More.

Ecumenical Advocates begin weekend of witness
More than 700 people are in the Washington area for the sixth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days week-end, nearly all of them determined to make their witness for justice and peace heard in the halls of Congress and in the White House. The ecumenical advocates are Gathered under the theme, "2008: Claiming a Vision of True Security." More.

NCC expresses sorrow at Jerusalem shootings
The General Secretary and heads of National Council of Churches USA member communions have expressed shock and sorrow at the shootings on the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem. "The killing compounds our sadness over the recent violence in Gaza and Israel," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon on behalf of communion leaders. More.

Time to remember: March is Women's History Month
During March – Women’s History Month – we have an opportunity to remember the women who have proclaimed good news to us in our lives and empowered us with the knowledge that we are all created in the image of God. From year to year we tell the stories of women we have loved and how they have impacted our lives – we remember them.  See our special section here.       

Pew religion survey confirms trends, Lindner says
The editor of the NCC's Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches commends the report of the Pew Forum's survey of the U.S. religious landscape, and said the report also raises interesting questions. The Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner said the survey highlights the church membership and religious affiliation trends that researchers have seen for a decade. More.

2008 Yearbook: church health ministries abound
The nation's largest study of church health ministries shows a remarkably wide range of services provided by churches, reports the 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. The venerable yearbook is widely regarded as the most reliable source of church membership and growth trends reports on the membership statistics and histories of 224 national church bodies. More

Faith leaders ask Bush to sign bill ending torture
NCC General Secretary Michael Kinnamon is one of four religious leaders – ecumenical, evangelical, Jewish and Muslim – who have formed a firm consensus that torture must never be used as an interrogation technique. The leaders have written to President Bush asking him to change his mind and sign the Intelligence Authorization Act, which would make torture illegal. More.

William Lazareth, former WCC Faith & Order director
The Rev. William H. Lazareth, 79, director of the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Secretariat from 1980 to 1983 and a principle drafter of the WCC's Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, died February 23. Lazareth was an ELCA pastor and professor. The influential BEM document explores agreements and differences in fundamental areas of the churches’ faith and life. More.

NCC resource relates poverty and climate change
This Earth Day, the NCC Eco-Justice Programs are marking Earth Day Sunday (the Sunday closest to Earth Day, which is April 22) by recognizing the interconnectedness of poverty and climate change and offering a resource for worship, adult study, and youth activities. Water scarcity, drought, crop failure, increased disease, and flooding are just a few of the impacts. More

Father Walter Burghardt, SJ, leading theologian, dies
Father Walter J. Burghardt, 93, an internationally known Jesuit theologian, died February 16. He was best known for his writing on preaching, including 300 magazine articles and more than 25 books over the past 50 years. He also published a memoir in 2000, Long Have I Loved You: A Theologian Reflects on His Church, which was awarded first prize by the Catholic Press Association. More.

NCC joins call to protect poor from climate change
The National Council of Churches has joined Jewish, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Christian leaders in a call to Congress to take action to assist the poor who are facing the brunt of climate change. "It has become clear that global warming is having and will continue to have devastating impacts on those living in poverty," said Past President Michael Livingston. More.

Decision 2008: principles for casting a Christian vote
Christians will have strong opinions on the issues of Campaign '08 but amid the clamor it's helpful to keep focused on views compelled by our relationship to Christ and to one another. The NCC has reissued "Christian Principles in an Election Year," a helpful Christian lens for examining the issues. The principles can be found here, and can be downloaded for bulletin inserts here.

Ieronymos elected to lead Greek Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes and Levadeia was elected  Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, and Prelate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC General Secretary, congratulated the new archbishop, saying, "Please know that the 35 member communions of the NCC are keeping you in our prayers." More

Fond farewells to ones who helped along the way
The ecumenical family is richly diverse and populated with sisters and brothers whose lives were models of faith, fortitude and courage. Some made powerful impacts on the world stage while others lived out God's call in humbler settings. All of them, when they are gone, leave an enormous void. In this page we pause to remember some of them with gratitude and love. More

NCC: all Christians can embrace encyclical on hope Pope Benedict's encyclical, Spe Salvi, addresses important truths for Christians in and outside the Roman Catholic Church, said Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC’s newly elected Senior Program Director for Faith & Order and Interfaith Relations. The encyclical asserts that basic Christian beliefs have been obscured by modern developments. More.