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,
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.
August 2010
New York, August 11, 2010 --
Ramadan Respect
The NCC, its Interfaith Relations Commission and participants in the
National Muslin-Christian Initiative, have issued a statement the eve
of Ramadan calling on Christians to respect their Muslim neighbors.
New York, August 12, 2010
Support for Mosque
NCC General Secretary Michael Kinnamon said in a
strongly worded editorial that it is appropriate and important to build
Cordoba House and Mosque at Ground Zero.
Chicago,
August 18, 2010 -- Language
A diverse group of Christians gathered in
Chicago, August 9-11 to explore the power of language
Christians use to talk about God and one another.
New Orleans, August 18, 2010 --
Coming Home
Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the
Gulf Coast, the NCC is presenting on August 29 an NBC special produced by
the Presbyterian Church (USA) on displaced families that are slowly
returning home.
Chicago, August 20, 2010
-- Christopher Dies
His Eminence Christopher, Metropolitan of
Libertyville-Chicago and Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.
and Canada, died Wednesday at the age of 82.
New Orleans, August 25, 2010 -- Khandi Alexander
Actress Khandi Alexander of HBO's Treme is narrator
of an NBC special on the aftermath of Katrina presented by the NCC and
produced by the Presbyterian Church (USA) on NBC stations beginning August
29.
September 2010
New York, September 2, 2010 -- Deplore Qur'an Burning
The NCC today reiterated its statement of August 11,
deploring threats in Florida to burn the Qur'an on September 11.
Washington, September 7, 2010 --
Interfaith
Summit
A high ranking group of U.S. interfaith leaders,
including the general secretary of the National Council of Churches,
assembled here today to condemn plans in Florida to burn the Holy Qu'ran on
Saturday, and to decry incidents of violence committed against innocent
Muslims.
New York, September 9, 2010 --
Letter to Churches
The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 changed millions of lives forever, and the General
Secretary of the National Council of Churches is calling on churches to hold
all the victims in prayer -- families of the dead and injured as well as
millions of Muslims who continue to be targets of Islamophobic rhetoric and
attacks.
New York, September 9, 2010 --
Kireopoulos
The NCC's Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos offers an op-ed to
express a lament
for the religious
ignorance, bigotry and ill will that has been generated by threats in
Florida to burn the Qur'an on September 11.
Use the essay as you see fit.
New York, September 14, 2010
Fistula Stories
Fistula
Stories, a project of Women’s Ministries at the National Council of the
Churches of Christ, USA,
will expand its curriculum to include studies of texts from other faiths.
New York, September 14, 2010 --
Lucius Walker
The Rev. Dr. Lucius Walker, 80, a former member
of the National Council of Churches staff who became a controversial and
beloved activist for human rights in the 1960s and 70s and later founded an
organization that sent hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to Latin
America, including Cuba, died September 7 in his home in Demarest, N.J.
New York, September 22, 2010
NCC Governing Board
For the second time in two years, the National Council of Churches Governing
Board has issued a call to government officials and church leaders to take
action on "comprehensive immigration reform."
New York, September 22, 2010
Fighting
Poverty
For the third consecutive year, the NCC will join a coalition of interfaith
partners, Fighting Poverty with Faith, to speak to national political
leaders while also addressing the needs of those in poverty in local
communities – with the goal of cutting domestic poverty in half by 2020.
New York, September 23, 2010 Interfaith Brochures
The Interfaith Relations Commission of the National
Council of Churches has issued a series of theological resources to guide
clergy and laity through the basic issues of
engagement with other faiths.
Washington, September 28, 2010
Michael Livingston
The Rev. Michael Livingston, executive director of the International Council
of Community Churches and President of the National Council of Churches from
2006 to 2007, has been named to direct the council's poverty initiative.
Washington, September 28, 2010
Grace for the Gulf
This Sunday, October 3, is a day to seek God's grace for the Gulf in
thousands of congregations related to the 36 member communions of the
National Council of Churches.
Washington, September 29, 2010 --
Mid East Peace
In visits to the White House and the State
Department today, religious leaders representing the Christian, Jewish and
Muslim communities offered support for the Obama administration’s efforts to
continue peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
October 2010
Washington, October 4, 2010 -- Prayer and Petition
Churches
from California to Florida participated
yesterday in a day of prayer, reflection and healing for the Gulf Coast
while people of faith joined together in a petition calling upon Congress to
address the Gulf oil spill.
Washington, October 5, 2010 – Cut Poverty
Religious, civic, and community-service organizations
nationwide are mobilizing to reduce poverty by 50 percent over the next ten
years, beginning today with a national teleconference to discuss the role of
faith-based organizations in fighting poverty.
Harrisonburg, Va., October 6, 2010
--
Aging
The issues and
uncertainties of aging are the focus of a National Council of Churches
documentary produced by Third Way Media and slated for broadcast on the ABC
television network beginning October 17.
New York, October 8, 2010 --
Centennial Art
The Justice
for Women Working Group (J4WWG) of the National Council of Churches is issuing an open call for art to help expand our imagination of
ecumenical cooperation reflecting on Luke 24:48, “You are witnesses of these
things.” (NRSV)
New York, October 12, 2010 -- Rob Huston --
The Rev. Robert W. Huston, a visionary of United
Methodist ecumenism, is remembered as a devout Christian with a fierce
passion for the unity of the church and a humble man who championed the
gifts of women and young adults.
New York, October 14, 2010 -- Sudan
Sudanese church leaders met
Wednesday with officials of the National Council of Churches and Church
World Service to warn that the safety and human rights of millions of
Sudanese continue to be in jeopardy, despite hopes raised by a referendum
slated for January 9 on a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) to end a
decades-old civil war.
Washington, October 18, 2010 -- Net Freedom
Communicators representing a wide range of
national church bodies have called upon the Federal Communications
Commission "to take any and all action" to protect the freedom of the
Internet.
New York, October 19, 2010
--
No Bullying
An
alliance of high-level mainline Christian leaders and faith groups released
a statement Monday calling on "the Church Universal to join us in working to
end the violence and hatred against our lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender brothers and sisters."
Washington, October 20, 2010 –
BPA No
The
National Council of Churches today applauded Canada’s decision to declare Bisphenol A (BPA) to be a toxic substance, and called on the
United States to follow
suit.
New
York, October 20, 2010 -- Faith and Disabled Persons
Making faith communities more accessible to
persons with disabilities is the topic of a unique interfaith documentary
that may air on NBC-TV affiliates nationwide beginning November 14.
New Orleans, October 29, 2010 --
Centennial Hymn
Hymn writer Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, whose earlier
creations have encouraged responsible citizenship or brought the agony of
Haiti into liturgical settings, has written a new hymn to capture the theme
of the Centennial Gathering here this Nov. 9-11.
November 2010
Cambridge,
Mass., November 1, 2010 --
Boston Circles
On a beautiful
New England fall morning, more than 40 women gathered at Harvard Divinity
School to tell their stories about the women who have shaped their lives of
faith, and to build a future for women’s ministries and gender justice in
our churches and society.