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General
Assembly convenes in NJ and NY
Iselin, N.J., November 5, 2007 –
More than 200 delegates from 35
Christian communions meet this week near and in New York City. The
annual General Assembly of the National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the USA (NCC) and Church World Service has chosen its theme,
"Journeys: for we walk by faith..." taken from the New Testament
book of 2nd Corinthians 5:7.
Delegates begin their work at a New Jersey hotel outside New York City.
On Thursday they move to Manhattan's St. Vartan's Armenian Orthodox
Cathedral for the installation of elected officers and the new general
secretary.
 The
new NCC president, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and
ecumenical officer, Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church of America,
will begin his two year term. He succeeds the Rev. Michael
Livingston, executive director, International Council of Community
Churches.
The delegates are expected to affirm the nomination of the Rev. Dr.
Michael Kinnamon to be the next general secretary of the NCC.
No General Assembly in NCC's history has refused approval of a general
secretary nomination. If affirmed, Kinnamon will also be installed
at the Thursday service. Kinnamon is a member of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) and has worked on ecumenical matters
nationally and internationally for decades. His four year term will
begin January 1, 2008.
The delegates are expected to hear reports from each of the NCC's five
program commissions. There will also be a report on the church's
post-Katrina work from the NCC's Special Commission for the Just
Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. A presentation on the NCC women's
delegation to Lebanon, Israel/Palestine will also be made. The
latest agenda for the assembly may be found online at http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/ga2007.sched6.pdf.
The plenary sessions all begin with worship and Bible study. This
year's study leaders of the sacred Scriptures are: the Rev. Elizabeth S.
Tapia, Ph.D., a Filipina theologian, educator and pastor trained both in
the Philippines and the United States; and the Rev. Dr. Randall C. Bailey
is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Hebrew Bible at Interdenominational
Theological Center in Atlanta and an ordained Baptist minister.
Wednesday's Women's Caucus luncheon speaker is Harriett Jane Olson, the
newly elected chief executive of the Women's Division, United Methodist
Board of Global Ministries. Olson is a board member of the Protestant
Church Owned Publishers Association and NCC's Bible Translation and
Utilization Committee. The luncheon will honor the life and work of
Claire Randall, former NCC general secretary, who died in September.
Award presentations to individuals who best exemplify the work of
Christian ecumenists will be made Wednesday evening.
The National Council of Churches USA is the ecumenical voice of 35 of
America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American and
traditional peace churches. These NCC member communions have 45
million faithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states.
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On site media contacts: Ann Walle, Church World Service; Mr. Pat
Pattillo, NCC.
Church World Service contact: Ms. Lesley Crosson, 212.870.2676
lcrosson@churchworldservice.org.
NCC News contact: Philip Jenks, 212.870.2228, pjenks@councilofchurches.org
or Dan Webster, 212.870.2252, NCCnews@ncccusa.org
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