The 25 Most Recent Stories from NCC News Service
March 17, 2005, NEW YORK CITY - NCC Prepares Delegation Visit to Asia March 28-April 8: A National Council of Churches USA delegation leaves March 28 for Asia, where delegation members will be guests of the Christian Conference of Asia’s 12th General Assembly in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and then will visit tsunami-affected areas of Sri Lanka and Indonesia. March 17, 2005, Washington, D.C. -- Progressive National Baptist Convention and National Cancer Institute Launch "Body & Soul: A Celebration of Healthy Eating and Living:" On March 22 in Washington, D.C., the Progressive National Baptist Convention and National Cancer Institute will launch a health program for African Americans that encourages congregants to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an active lifestyle. The program seeks to end health disparities in the African American community. March 15, 2005, St. Louis, Mo. - NCC Sponsors 'The Effort Continues!," a Tsunami Relief Benefit Concert in St. Louis, Mo., April 12: The National Council of Churches USA will sponsor a benefit evening concert with legendary folk-singers Judy Collins, Noel (Paul) Stookey and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary on Tuesday, April 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Anheuser Busch Performance Hall at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri in St. Louis, Mo. The concert will benefit survivors of the recent tsunami disaster. March 16, 2005, New York City -- NCC Offers Holy Week Bulletin Insert on Tsunami Asian Follow-Up: The media blitz is over, but the pain of thousands of tsunami survivors goes on. Shanta Premawardhana, the National Council of Churches USA’s Director of Interfaith Relations, has prepared two resources to help U.S. churches that want to continue to be engaged with Asians in rebuilding their communities, a Good Friday-Easter Bulletin Insert and a more thorough guidelines for churches - entitled "Listening to, Learning from and Living into Asia’s Pain." Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005 -- NCC Opposes Senate Budget Resolution to Allow Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: The National Council of Churches USA today (March 16) released a statement expressing "profound grief at the Senate's decision to include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of the budget resolution. Rather than reduce our consumption of oil and begin to move our nation toward clean energy alternatives, our elected officials are once again charting a course that is both unjust and unsustainable." March 14, 2005, Washington, D.C. - People of Faith Declare Proposed 2006 Federal Budget Immoral; Hundreds Attend March 14 Rally at United States Capitol Building: As the U.S. Senate began debating the 2006 fiscal year budget resolution yesterday, more than 300 people of faith participated in a rally on Capitol Hill to declare that the federal budget that has been proposed by the Bush Administration does not reflect their values. March 8, 2005, NEW YORK CITY -- NCC Hails End to Consumer Boycott of Taco Bell: "This is really, really good news," declared National Council of Churches USA General Secretary Bob Edgar in response to today's announcement of the end of the three-year consumer boycott of Taco Bell. In a joint announcement, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which had called the boycott and enlisted the support of the NCC and many other groups, and Taco Bell confirmed their agreement to work together to address the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in the Florida tomato industry. March 8, 2005, New York City - NCC's Friendship Press Has New Catalog and New Offerings, Including Handwritten, Illuminated Bible: The first handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned since the invention of the printing press has just been published and is available from the NCC's Friendship Press. In The Saint John's Bible, world renowned calligrapher and illuminator Donald Jackson, in collaboration with artists and theologians, has woven exquisite hand illuminations together with the text of the NCC's New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV). Also available now is the companion volume Illuminating the Word: The Making of the Saint John's Bible. Friendship Press offers more than 150 books and other resources of interest to adults, youth and children, many of them with companion study guides to help educators plan their curricula. Read more/get a catalog. February 15, 2005, New York City -- NCC Board Acts on Development, Security, Middle East, Genocide, Due Process February 14, 2005, Washington, D.C. - Theologians Warn of 'False Gospel' on the Environment: In an effort to refute what they call a “false gospel” and to change destructive attitudes and actions concerning the environment, a group of theologians, convened by the National Council of Churches USA, today released an open letter calling on Christians to repent of “our social and ecological sins” and to reject teachings that suggest humans are “called” to exploit the Earth without care for how our behavior impacts the rest of God’s creation. February 6, 2005, New York City - "Barriers Do Not Bring Freedom" Statement of the NCC Delegation to the Middle East February 2, 2005, New York City - J Richard Butler, Executive Director of Church World Service in 1980s, Dies at 74January 28, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Baptist World Alliance) -- Festival of Unity' - Four African American Baptist Churches Celebrate Unity: By Denton Lotz. Four African American Conventions came to Nashville, Tennessee, the week of January 24-27 to celebrate their unity in Christ. This historic meeting, attended by more than 10,000 persons, is a significant step in helping Black Baptists exercise their strength in unity in government, culture and church life. January 28, 2005, LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- 2005 Faith-Based Taco Bell Truth Tour to Demand 'Fair Food,' Justice for Farmworkers: People of faith are serious about “fair food” and ending exploitation of farmworkers. That’s the message that faith-based supporters of the consumer boycott of Taco Bell plan to deliver to Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum Brands, at a mass rally March 12, 2005, at Yum headquarters in Louisville, Ky. The rally will culminate the February 28-March 14 Taco Bell Truth Tour. January 27, 2005, PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Benefit Bank ™ Launches in Philadelphia, Florida, Wichita: Each year, millions of individuals and families fail to receive the money and benefits due to them and -- as a result -- more than $35 billion in government benefits go unclaimed annually. The Benefit Bank, a new project of which the National Council of Churches is a founding supporter, helps to connect people to these resources. January 24, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- African American Baptist Conventions Hold Historic Joint Meeting Jan. 24-28: The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC); National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. (NBCUSA); The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (NBCA), and National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (NMBCA) are gathering in Nashville Jan. 24-28 to work on a myriad of issues relevant to the African American community. The leadership of these conventions represents over 15 million African Americans. Washington, D.C., January 24, 2005 -- March 11-14 Ecumenical Advocacy Days Focus on "More Complete Moral Vision": With a new presidential term, a new Congress and a renewed interest in how faith and politics intersect, hundreds of Christians are planning to descend on Capitol Hill for the third annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice, March 11-14. January 21, 2005, Washington, D.C. -- Letter to Bush Says Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Threatens U.S.: In a full-page ad in today’s national edition of The New York Times, leaders of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical churches and institutions urge President Bush to have the courage to seize the opportunity and bring his leadership to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 57 signers include National Council of Churches USA General Secretary Robert Edgar and top leaders of a dozen NCC-member churches (denominations). January 19, 2005, NEW YORK CITY - NCC Delegation to Middle East Urges: Make Peace a Reality: The question “How can we make the current opportunity for peace a reality?” will be central to the mission of a National Council of Churches USA official delegation to the Middle East Jan. 21-Feb. 4. The 11-member group, led by the NCC’s President, Christian Methodist Episcopal Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., and NCC General Secretary Robert W. Edgar, will press their conviction that governments and people of faith must seize the opportunity presented by recent developments to get the Middle East peace process back on track. January 5, 2005, NEW YORK CITY -- S. Asia Trip, Weblog Jan. 7-19 Probes Tsunami-Related Faith Qs: How do survivors of December’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Southern Asia find meaning amidst that tragedy? What needs can the U.S. faith community meet - and how can the world’s current outpouring of concern be sustained after the television cameras leave? These are among questions that the Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, Interfaith Relations Director for the National Council of Churches USA, will be asking religious leaders and survivors during travels in Sri Lanka Jan. 7-13 and Sumatra, Indonesia, Jan. 14-19.Visit www.faithfulamerica.blogspot.com daily beginning Jan. 7 for their reports. January 5, 2005, Washington, D.C. -- Press Gonzales on Torture, International Law, NCC's Edgar, Other Religious Leaders Say: Today, some of the nation’s leading religious leaders and organizations, including the Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, expressed grave concerns with Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales in a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter and Ranking Member Senator Patrick Leahy. Dec.
17, 2004, NEW YORK CITY -- Two NCC
Communions Present Christmas Eve
Services on ABC, CBS Television Networks: Two member
communions of the National Council of Churches will present Christmas
Eve worship services on national television this year. Church of
the Brethren offers “Enter the Light of Life,” the Christmas Eve
service on the CBS-TV network, originating from the Bethany Theological
Seminary campus in Richmond, Ind. Read more. The
Episcopal Church presents “Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St.
Philip” in
Dec. 3, 2004, New York City -- Faith-Based Communicators React to CBS, NBC TV Networks' Nixing of United Church of Christ Ad: Responding to the refusal of the CBS and NBC television networks to air a message from the United Church of Christ, a nationwide group of faith-based communicators has issued a statement challenging the networks' action as "arbitrary" and contrary to the principles of freedom of speech and equal access to media. "The controversial issue here is not the content of the ad, but the arbitrary standards of the network gatekeepers," they begin. "Church doors are open to all who would come; but broadcast channels are increasingly closed to all but the wealthy and well-connected." Nov. 18, 2004, New York City - NCC's Edgar Hails U.S. Catholic Bishops' Agreement to Join Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A.: National Council of Churches General Secretary Bob Edgar welcomed the U.S. Catholic Bishops' decision Nov. 17 to join Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. (CCT), an effort to bring Catholics, evangelical and mainline Protestants, and Orthodox Christians around a common table for the first time. November 13, 2004, New York City -- Arson Threats Against Presbyterian Churches for Considering Divestment Draws NCC Response: An NCC statement. |