NCC Eco-justice team urges government to pursue
'a just and moral response' to oil spill in the Gulf

Washington, July 14, 2010 -- The National Council of Churches Eco-justice team is circulating a prayer petition urging government agencies to turn away from partisan politics and seek "a just and moral response" to the crisis caused by the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The petition, which declares that "the bonds that connect us to one another and to all Creation have been damaged in the Gulf," can be accessed here.                         

"We have failed as a country to protect not only ourselves but the gifts with which we have been blessed," the NCC said in its message to government leaders. "As we begin to move forward and prepare as a nation for our recovery from this spill, we urge you to remember God’s commitment to us and to Creation, and to honor God’s vision of health and wholeness for all."

The language in the petition was taken from a national statement signed by 28 Heads of Communion/Organization and delivered to various stakeholders in July. Click here to read the full statement.

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 36 member faith groups -- from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches -- include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212 (cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org