NCC EXECUTIVE BOARD TO MEET
MAY 18-19, NEW YORK CITY

NEW YORK, May 14 ---- The National Council of Churches’ Executive Board will hold its regular spring meeting Monday and Tuesday, May 18-19, in New York City at The Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive at 120^th St. Among items on the agenda:

• 11:05 a.m. – Report of NCC/Church World Service delegation’s Easter visit to Iraq
• 2:00 p.m. – Actions Related to NCC Administration and Finance
• 3:40 p.m. – Africa Panel: an exploration of the new public energy and attention being focused on Africa, as manifested by progress toward democratization and conflict resolution in Africa; the just-launched National Summit on Africa process; the just-completed African Renaissance conference; President Clinton’s Africa trip, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (currently before the Senate), and more.

Participants: C. Payne Lucas, President, Africare, and among co-chairs of the National Summit on Africa; Judy Gillespie, Trinity Grants Program, among funders of the African Renaissance conference, April 29-30; Carol Capps, Church World Service/Lutheran World Relief Washington Office; Jon Chapman, Chair, NCC/CWSW Africa Committee and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) staff; the Rev. Dr. Joan B. Campbell, NCC General Secretary.

• 9:10 a.m. – Reports by Bishop Craig B. Anderson, NCC President; the Rev. Dr. Joan B. Campbell, NCC General Secretary, and the Council’s Officers
• 10:00 a.m. – Report on the NCC’s Public Witness Including Work on Religious Persecution Legislation
• 11:00 a.m. – Guest Speakers from the South Carolina Burned Churches Coalition
• 1:30 p.m. – National Ministries Unit Report, Including Racial Justice Strategy, Interfaith Health Gathering, Environmental Justice

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YOUNG ADULT MINISTRIES TRAINING EVENT
MAY 22-25, ATLANTA

ATLANTA, Ga., May 14 ---- Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young will headline a first-of-its-kind national training event May 22-25 for specialists in young adult ministries. More than 200 persons representing 10 denominations are expected to attend "Come to the Feast." This ecumenical event is sponsored by the National Council of Churches Young Adult Ministry Team and planned by young adults. The venue is the Marriott Marquis Hotel, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue in downtown Atlanta.

Ambassador Young, an ordained United Church of Christ minister and the president-elect of the National Council of Churches, will keynote a 7 p.m. dinner May 23. He has served three terms in the U.S. Congress and is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Also addressing the gathering (at the 8 p.m. closing worship service May 24) will be the Rev. Minerva G. Carcaņo, a United Methodist minister who is Director of the Mexican American Program at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

The "Come to the Feast" agenda also offers skills workshops for young adult ministry. Interfaith conversions, life transitions, and spiritual nurture are among the issues to be explored by the workshop presenters.

The sponsoring Young Adult Ministry Team includes the following denominations: African Methodist Episcopal Church, American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, General Conference of the Mennonite Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church.

For more information or to arrange interviews with either of the keynote speakers, contact the Rev. Grant Azdell, Associate for Young Adult Ministries, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), phone 317-635-3113, ext. 295. During the training event, Mr. Azdell can be reached at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, phone 404-521-0000.

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NCC WELCOMES "TUNE IN TO KIDS AND FAMILY II WEEK," JUNE 8-14

NEW YORK, May 14 ---- "Tune in to Kids and Family II Week," a week-long cable television programming initiative showcasing family and children’s programming, is a welcome opportunity for building media literacy, affirmed the National Council of Churches. The Week (June 8-14) complements the NCC’s own media awareness efforts, including its Media Awareness Year, which provides curriculum and other resources for teachers, preachers and parents, commented Mary Byrne Hoffmann of the Council’s Communication Department.

More than 75 cable networks are participating in the Week. Contact the National Cable Television Association’s Public Affairs Office, 202-775-3629. For Media Awareness Year resources, contact Ms Hoffmann at the NCC, 212-870-2282.