January 2010

January 7, 2010, New York – Frances Smith Frances Smith, 87, a former United Methodist News Service reporter known for her integrity, encyclopedic knowledge of religious and international issues and ability to shoot from the hip, died Dec. 30 in Claremont, Calif.

January 7, 2010, Washington – Earth Day 2010 The 2010 Earth Day Sunday Resource, Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life: Worship Spaces as Stewardship is available now to help congregations prepare for and celebrate stewardship of God’s Creation in their house of worship. 

January 11, 2010, New York – Circles Extended The "Circles of Names" campaign to support women's ministries and gender justice programs in National Council of Churches member communions has been extended through Women's History Month, March 2010.

January 14, 2010, New York – Haiti The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches is urging an "immediate and generous response" to calls for aid following earthquake that devastated Haiti Tuesday.

January 14, 2010, New York – Haiti The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches is urging an "immediate and generous response" to calls for aid following earthquake that devastated Haiti Tuesday.

January 15, 2010, New York – Attacks on Copts The National Council of Churches USA has sent messages of solidarity and support to leaders of the Coptic Orthodox Church following attacks on Christians in Egypt.

January 15, 2010, New York –  Malaysia Attacks on Christian churches in Malaysia following a December 31 high court ruling that non-Muslims are entitled to use the name "Allah" to refer to God have been condemned by the National Council of Churches USA.

January 15, 2010, New York – Hymn for Haiti Placing international anguish over Haiti at the cross of Jesus has resulted in a sadly lyrical hymn by a noted Presbyterian pastor and ecumenist.

February 2010

February 12, 2010, Washington  ̶  Immigration Rally The National Council of Churches and its partner humanitarian agency Church World Service are urging members of ecumenical congregations to join a March for America: Change Takes Courage and Faith, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, in Washington, D.C.  

February 23, 2010, Washington  ̶  Baptists unite for Haiti Presidents of five historically African-American Baptist denominations said they are collaborating to respond more effectively to human need in Haiti.  

March 2010

March 3, 2010, Washington  ̶  Haiti Meeting The National Council of Churches, responding to the "pressing needs of Haiti and the deep sense of call to respond," is calling representatives of its member communions to a meeting on April 6 to begin planning for "our long term engagement with the renewal and recovery of the people and nation of Haiti."

March 3, 2010, New York  ̶  Women's History In its annual commemoration of Women's History Month, the National Council of Churches is paying particular attention to 20 special women whose contributions made  ̶  and are continuing to make  ̶  a powerful impact on our lives and faith.

Washington, March 12, 2010  ̶  Mountaintop Mining A coalition of Christian groups from across denominations sent a letter today to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for immediate action to stop further mountaintop removal coal mining.

Washington, March 16, 2010  ̶  Healthcare In a "straightforward" message to the U.S. Congress, National Council of Churches  General Secretary Michael Kinnamon said it is time to pass "a desperately-needed reform of this country's health care system." \

Washington, March 19, 2010  ̶   EAD opensThe ninth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days commenced tonight with a call to confess that God is at work for the world's transformation in the direction of justice and peace.

Washington, March 20, 2010  ̶  Immigration On the eve of a historic immigration rally on Capitol Hill, hundreds of delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy Days were fired up Saturday morning by testimonies from immigration activists and immigrants.

Washington, March 21, 2010  ̶  EAD Sermon As more than 700 delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy Days continued to pursue their hope for just immigration laws, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins preached about the oneness of the human family.

Washington, March 21, 2010  ̶  Prejean As delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy days re-gathered in their hotel after returning from the March for America on Capitol Hill, Sister Helen Prejean told them a personal commitment to social activism doesn't come naturally: it's a gift from God.

New York, March 22, 2010  ̶  Healthcare The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, who last week sent a "straight forward" message to Congress that it is time to pass "a desperately-needed reform of this country's health care system," today expressed his gratitude that health care reform will become law.

New York, March 22, 2010  ̶  Border Crossings The National Council of Churches is asking the Israeli government to provide access for Palestinian Christians who wish to visit Christian sites in Jerusalem during Holy Week. (Update)

April 2010

New York, April 8, 2010 --START The NCC hailed the signing of the START treaty as an omen of hope for a nuclear free world.

Washington, April 15, 2010  ̶  Tax Justice As millions joined the last-minute frenzy to file federal income taxes Thursday, religious groups urged Congress to craft tax policies to help low-income working families.

New York, April 16, 2010  ̶  Ben Hooks The Rev. Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, an American Baptist minister who preached church unity and human harmony, was hailed Thursday as an eloquent leader whose life exemplified Christ's love of the poor and passion for justice.

New York, April 16, 2010  ̶  Patient Rights NCC President Peg Chemberlin said today that President Obama's memorandum to Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius requiring hospitals to "respect the rights of patients to designate visitors" will be "affirmed by most Americans."

Washington, April 20, 2010  ̶  Dorothy Height  Dorothy Irene Height, who began her activist career as a teenager marching in New York's Times Square shouting, "Stop the lynching," was remembered Tuesday as one of the last great voices of the American Civil Rights Movement.

New York, April 26, 2010  ̶  Arizona Immigration The National Council of Churches and other religious organizations have sharply criticized Arizona's new immigration law as fundamentally unjust, dangerous to citizens and non-citizens alike, and a rejection of centuries-old biblical precepts of justice and neighborliness.

New York, April 26, 2010  ̶  Iraq Christians Recent attacks in Iraq on Christians and other minority groups have prompted the National Council of Churches to ask U.S. government officials to communicate with Iraqi authorities in an effort to bring the violence to an end.

New York, April 30, 2010  ̶   Mar Thoma Gift The Mar Thoma Church Diocese of North America and  Europe has raised $131,775  for Church World Service recovery efforts in earthquake-devastated Haiti.

May 2010

New York, May 2, 2010  ̶  NPT On the eve of the United Nations historic review conference of parties to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty, the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches told gatherings in New York's Times Square and at the Church Center for the UN that nuclear weapons "are a crime against humanity" and must be removed from the face of the earth.

New York, May 5, 2010  ̶  Cuba Travel The staff heads of the National Council of Churches and Church World Service have written to President Obama to ask for an end to restrictions on religious travel to Cuba.

Washington, May 7, 2010  ̶  Cancer Chemicals The National Council of Churches (NCC) Washington Office Director Cassandra Carmichael today applauded President Obama's Cancer Panel for highlighting the connections between chemical exposure and cancer.

Washington, May 14, 2010 - Greenhouse The National Council of Churches commented on climate legislation introduced today in the Senate and called on Congress "to take action to address climate change in order to protect those living in poverty in the U.S. and abroad."

New York, May 14, 2010 - Demetrios A delegation from the National Council of Churches was warmly welcomed May 6 by His Eminence Demetrios of America, Archbishop of the Green Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

New York, May 19, 2010 - Gun Violence  Alarmed by statistics that 100,000 Americans annually are victims of gun violence, the National Council of Churches Governing Board unanimously adopted a resolution calling for legislative action to limit access to assault weapons and hand guns.

New York, May 19, 2010 - Equal Education The Governing Board of the National Council of Churches has urged President Obama and members of Congress not to lose sight of the fact that public schools are the basic institution for educating the nation's children, and the government must support public schools as guarantors of each child's right to an education.

New York, May 20, 2010 - China Churches Five representatives of the China Christian Council joined NCC and WCC staff here this month to exchange greetings and to affirm a memorandum of understanding between the Chinese and American church groups that was forged in February 2009 when the NCC General Secretary and President visited China.

New York, May 25, 2010 NCC Television New York, May 25, 2010 -- War, natural disasters and humanity's furry friends. These topics are no strangers to television viewers, but programming presented by the National Council of Churches adds many new dimensions to familiar themes.

New York, May 26, 2010 - Fistula NCC Women's Ministries has announced an expansion of its curriculum on fistula. Around the globe, a woman dies in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications every 90 seconds. One of those injuries is Obstetric Fistula.

New York, May 26, 2010 - TIC The Interchurch Center in New York's Morningside Heights, once envisioned as a "Protestant Vatican on the Hudson," has evolved over fifty years into an interfaith, multi-ethnic community of non-profit, educational and church agencies.

June 2010

New York, June 2, 2010 - Arne Duncan A delegation of the National Council of Churches met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other officials Monday to express concerns about the Education Department's "Race to the Top" initiative and the Obama Administration's "blueprint" for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

New York, June 3, 2010 Flotilla Attack The National Council of Churches and other faith groups have expressed alarm and concern over the Israeli action May 31 against an international flotilla on the high seas that led to the deaths of nine persons and the wounding of many others.

Edinburgh, Scotland, June 7, 2010 Witnessing A Century after the gathering that marked the birth of the modern ecumenical movement, ecumenists returned to Edinburgh under the theme of "Witnessing to Christ Today."

Washington, June 9, 2010 - Stop Torture The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has released a new video, Accounting for Torture, featuring the voices of religious leaders who supporting the message of the Physicians for Human Rights report, Experiments in Torture: Human Subject Research and Evidence in the ‘Enhanced’ Interrogation Program.

New York, June 9, 2010 - No Nukes A World Council of Churches delegation, including NCC General Secretary Michael Kinnamon, has met with a cross-section of the governments at the conference to promote first steps toward a legal ban on nuclear weapons

New York, June 9, 2010 - Agent Orange Former NCC President Michael Livingston participated in an ecumenical delegation to Vietnam to study the effects of Agent Orange and Dioxin. He filed this report.

Washington, June 29, 2010 -- Chemical Safety Faith-based organizations at the national and state level are calling on Congress to establish a comprehensive chemical policy to protect both people and the environment. 

Washington, June 29, 2010 -- Shaw Appointment The Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, a former member of the National Council of Churches Governing Board and immediate past president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., has been named to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom by President Obama.

Washington, June 30, 2010 -- Gun violence The National Council of Churches finds the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision on gun ownership to be "disappointing," but stresses that the ruling does not negate the possibility of enacting laws to reduce gun violence.

July 2010

New York, July 1, 2010 -- Jesus Prayer A little known 2000-year-old Christian prayer, still used by monks and nuns in far away caves and monasteries, is the subject of a documentary feature film and book slated for early 2011.

New York, July 1, 2010 -- Blevins In a joint appointment by the NCC and the Church of the Brethren, Jordan Blevins starts July 1 as the church’s staff for witness in a position also seconded to the NCC to serve as an advocacy officer in Washington. Blevins will lead an ecumenical peacemaking program on behalf of the two organizations.  

New Orleans, July 6, 2010 -- Centennial Gathering When the National Council of Churches and Church World Service gather here in the Marriott New Orleans Convention Center for their General Assembly this November 9-11, the meeting will mark a historic milestone for the ecumenical movement.

New York, July 13, 2010 -- 2010 Yearbook The National Council of Churches' 2010 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, one of the most respected records of church membership and financial data, is on sale this week at a discounted price of $50 per copy.

New York, July 14, 2010 -- George W. Webber The Rev. Dr. George W. "Bill" Webber, 90, one of the vanguard of 20th century Protestant advocates of social justice that included Martin Luther King Jr. and William Sloan Coffin, Jr., died July 10 in Maplewood, N.J.

Washington, July 14, 2010 -- Prayer Petition 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.

Elkhart, Ind., July 15, 2010 -- Peace Conference "Peace Among the Peoples," a Decade to Overcome Violence related ecumenical peace conference, will be held July 28-31 at Associated Mennonite Bible Seminary here.

New York, July 20, 2010 -- EcuLink EcuLink, the National Council of Churches' award-winning tabloid that has been on hiatus since 2006, has re-emerged in electronic form at http://eculink.org.

Atlanta, July 21, 2010 -- Student Movement The U.S. Student Christian Movement (SCM), which has lain dormant for more than 40 years, will be reborn October 8-11 at a historic gathering at Morehouse College in Atlanta. 

New York, July 21, 2010 -- Immigration Hymn Hymn writer Carolyn Winfrey Gillette of Wilmington, Del., has produced a new text dealing with immigration, now on the webpage of the National Council of Churches for free use by congregations.

Chicago, July 26, 2010 -- Language Matters A diverse group of Christians will gather here August 9-11 to talk about the language people use to talk about God and faith. 

Washington, July 30, 2010 -- Crack v. Cocaine Faith leaders applauded the U.S. Congress' approval July 29 of legislation to reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses.