Witnesses of These Things - Ecumenical Work Week

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Ecumenical Bail Bond Fund. During its March meeting,the Justice and Advocacy Commission endorsed ourrecommendation to reconstitute the NCC’s EcumenicalBail Bond Fund. We are looking forward to reinstatingthis highly successful ministry under the supervision ofthe new Racial Justice Working Group.Healing the Interracial Disconnect. We invited Rev.Brenda Girton-Mitchell of Grace and Race Ministriesto present a session on confronting racial bias/inequitythrough the use of popular culture. Drawing on the motionpicture Crash, Rev. Girton-Mitchell led participantsat the March JAC meeting through a thought-provokingexamination of potentially latent bias.Faithful Democracy. We are participating on behalf ofNCC in Faithful Democracy, a joint effort of Christian,Jewish, Muslim, and Unitarian Universalist religiouscommunities, who seek to offer a more respectful andresponsible approach to engagement than is oftenportrayed in the media.ECUMENICAL PEACE WITNESSThrough a partnership with the Church of the Brethrenthat began on July 1, the NCC is now able to providea renewed focus on its peace witness, through the staffleadership of Jordan Blevins, who previously was part ofthe Council’s eco-justice team. In its first months, theprogram paraticipated in Peace Among the Peoples, anecumenical peace conference held in Elkhart, Indiana,in preparation for the International Ecumenical PeaceConvocation next summer. Jordan Blevins and DeborahDeWinter each brought greetings to the conference onbehalf of the Council. Additionally, a message was sent tothe Governing Board and all Ecumenical Officers, markingthe anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima andNagasaki, and calling for nuclear disarmament, specificallythe ratification of the new START treaty with Russia.The NCC Justice and Advocacy Commission has affirmed apartnership with the New Mexico Council of Churches tohost a Nuclear Weapons Disarmament event in Santa Fe in2011, and Jordan will serve in a liaison role with that project.The Justice and Advocacy Commission also approved forfurther conversation the Resolution on the War in Afghanistan,to be presented at this Governing Board meeting.Upcoming action will include partnering with the U.S.Decade to Overcome Violence Committee to coordinatefollow up for the decade, as well as continued involvementwith issues of nuclear disarmament, and web-basedresources on a variety of other ways churches can bringcommon witness on issues of peace in the world.HEALTH TASK FORCEThe National Council of Churches Health Task Forceserves as the primary point of focus of the Council’s workin network development, education and advocacy relatedto health ministries and healthcare policy reform. TheHealth Task Force, with more than one-third of themember communions as well as specialized ecumenicalhealth related groups has been in place for over threeyears. The Task Force relates to a NCC Health Networkcomprised primarily of congregations of membercommunions that are concerned with some aspect ofhealth education, direct service or policy advocacy. Toaddress the interests and concerns of the Network theHealth Task Force has developed three foci including:Network Development and Capacity Building, HealthCare Policy Reform, and Emergency Preparedness.The Task Force website serves as an important educationand advocacy resource for individuals, congregations, andorganizations, providing health electronic alerts,background documents, links to relevant websites, etc.(www.health-ministries.org )The Task Force, along with other partners, gave sustainedand coordinated leadership, making certain that the voiceof the faith community was a part of the discourse as ourcountry debated and ultimately passed historic healthcare reform. Church leaders were supported with theeducational base and network development necessary toengaged in faith-based policy dialogue in a balanced andnuanced manner, lending the Council’s and its membercommunions’ moral authority in a credible way.The HTF continues its work to insure that those most inneed of them will have access to the services and resourcesmade available through this reform. Also in this nextphase of its work, the HTF has identified initiatives inthe areas of immigration and health care, clergy burnout,childhood obesity and HIV/AIDS initiatives.12
EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP MINISTRIES COMMISSIONThe Education and Leadership Ministries Commission,staffed by the Rev. Garland F. Pierce, has fourteen programcommittees working on faith formation, leader development,ecumenical formation, and education and advocacy.staff and leadership. The project is led by a consultantwith many years of experience in campus ministries, TheRev. Dr. Galen Hora of the Evangelical Lutheran Churchin America. (www.higheredmin.org)ELMC MONTHLY PRAYERS ANDLEARNING MOMENTSELMC strives to be a space for formation,spiritual discernment, and mutualsupport through prayer and resourcing.To this aim, the commission continuesits spiritual practice of the ELMCmonthly prayer:www.ncccusa.org/elmc/elmcprayer.htm.Various commission members and othercolleagues related to the Council offerthese monthly prayer offerings,praying for our shared ministries,personal concerns, current events, celebrationsand observances in the liturgical year and secularcalendar, and the global church. The commission alsoseeks to be an intentional learning community as is evidentby the design of the commission and program ministrymeetings that include moments of shared learningand its online feature called “ELMC Learning Moment”which allows commissioners and others opportunity tooffer brief contributions for the purpose of educating thecommunity on trends, subjects, resources, etc. that mightbe of interest and import in the areas of faith formation,leader development and education and advocacy. To viewthem, please visit:www.ncccusa.org/elmc/elmclearningmoment.htmDr. Daryl Ingram, ChairThe New Fire Ecumenical Young AdultNetwork continues its work and is gainingmomentum, reinvigorating its fundraiingefforts through the Ecumenists of All AgesCampaign to sustain this important workand continuing to do outreach inorder to connect with other groups of youngadults and other interchurch and ecumenicalorganizations. New Fire has partneredwith Active Voice to sponsor five screeningsacross the nation of a powerful film, HaveYou Heard from Johannesburg, from California,to Texas, to DC. It has been planningthe New Fire Gathering and will be fullyengaged in the celebration processes and theassembly. In partnership with Church World Service,NCC will have 12 young adults participate in the 2010Young Adult Stewards Program, our ecumenical formationand leadership development program of the General Assembly.(www.faithconnectsus.org)CULTURE-SPECIFIC MINISTRIESThe Committee on Black Congregational Ministries(CBCM) continues its work on expanding its signature resourcefor congregations, Resources for Special Occasions inthe Black Church and is in the initial stages of a Black CongregationalDevelopment for the Gulf Coast Region initiative.YOUNG ADULT FAITH FORMATION, LEADERSHIPDEVELOPMENT AND ECUMENICAL FORMATIONThe Ecumenical Young Adult Ministries Team(EYAMT) partnered with the New Fire EcumenicalYoung Adult Network in its pilot seed grant project,providing small grants to young adult groups startinginnovative initiatives in ecumenical young adult ministriesand/or young adult ecumenical formation.The Ecumenical Campus Ministries Team (ECMT) hasinitiated a project to offer technical assistance in fundraisingand board development for local campus ministriesThe Pacific Asian American Canadian ChristianEducation Ministries (PAACCE), in partnership with theInstitute for the Study of Asian-American Christianity(ISAAC) produced an Asian-American Christianity Reader.It is also nearing completion of an Asian-American/Canadianworship resource, Worship on the Way.FORMATION AND ADVOCACY MINISTRIESThe Committee on Public Education and Literacy(CPEL) gave significant leadership to the GoverningBoard’s adoption of A Pastoral Letter on Federal Policy inPublic Education: An Ecumenical Call for Justice.13
Page 1 and 2: Witnesses of These ThingsAnnual Rep
Page 3 and 4: You are witnesses of these things.-
Page 5 and 6: From the Desk of the General Secret
Page 7 and 8: INTERFAITH RELATIONS COMMISSSIONOur
Page 9 and 10: ECUMENICAL POVERTY INITIATIVEThroug
Page 11: The working group is actively seeki
Page 15 and 16: COMMUNICATION COMMISSIONINTERNATION
Page 17 and 18: CONTRIBUTORSEcumenical Sustainers($
Page 19 and 20: NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF

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