Faith leaders in Asheville are adding their voices to those outraged by the actions of NC legislators. Rev. Joe Hoffman, pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ and an NC Council of Churches board member, is joining his colleagues as well as those from the non-profit community there for a press conference on Monday, May 20. Anyone interested in participating can contact him at revjoehof@uccasheville.org or on his cell at 828-777-8729.
In addition, he [...]
Continue reading Faith Leaders for a Just Society in Asheville
Sojo.net
Jesus was a peacemaking, blessed child of God, but he also was an “other.” Reviled and persecuted, he was the paperless son of displaced immigrant parents. The prophetic iconoclast. That guy who hung out with those people, the type most modern leaders would not associate with, except for a photo opportunity at a Thanksgiving Day soup kitchen. Let us remember on Sunday when we celebrate his resurrection, that Jesus was crucified because he was an outsider whose way of doing things scared and angered the powers-that-be. [...]
Continue reading Preparing the Way: Blessed are the Peacemakers
On March 23, the Affordable Care Act celebrated its third anniversary. The North Carolina Council of Churches has long supported universal health care, and we remain committed to that goal and to celebrating the progress made through ACA.
Our friends at Faithful Reform in Health Care have offered a number of ways to recognize this important achievement, and we’ve included them below.
Here’s a suggestion for your gift in support of Obamacare:
Contact your [...]
Continue reading Affordable Care Act’s Third Anniversary — A Reason to Celebrate
If you are interested in attending, but have not pre-registered, you may call our office at 919-828-6501 on Tuesday, April 9 until 5:00 p.m.
Gene Nichol, Director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the UNC-CH School of Law will be the lunch speaker at this year’s Legislative Seminar.The day’s topic for Nichol, who is also the school’s Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor, is “It’s Better Not to Be Poor in NC.”
The seminar takes [...]
Continue reading Program and Registration for 2013 Legislative Seminar
If you are following the actions of the 2013 NC legislature, you know that the idea of accepting federal funds that will cover health insurance for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians is in danger of being rejected by our legislature. The Senate has already declined to accept these funds (SB4), and we are told the House will take up the issue soon (HB16). If you care about health care for everyone, then you want to:
Call [...]
Continue reading For the Good of All God’s Children — Accept Federal Money Offered to NC
Over the holidays, North Carolina State Health Director, Dr. Laura Gerald, put out a press release urging all North Carolinians over the age of 6 months to get their annual flu shot. Public health professionals have deemed this year’s flu season to be the worst in recent years. By the end of December 2012, North Carolina had recorded 12 flu-related deaths.
There are preventive steps a person can take to help contain the spread of [...]
Continue reading Protect Yourself and Others This Flu Season
In the spring of this year, the NC Council of Churches and our partners, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC and the American Red Cross, awarded 34 free Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and CPR training to congregations across the state. This was done in an effort to reduce the number of deaths from sudden cardiac arrest in places where large numbers of people gather.
Since that time, the Council has distributed an additional 149 [...]
Continue reading Update on Free AED and CPR Program
Congress is overwhelmed with lobbyists for corporations, Chambers of Commerce, AARP, the Department of Defense, etc. But those living in poverty are short on lobbyist as the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ is debated and cuts as well as revenue sources are considered.
People of faith and compassion are being called to serve as lobbyists for the voiceless and the vulnerable. The faith community must lift a voice. If our senators hear from 100 faithful constituents each [...]
Continue reading Needed: Lobbyists for the Voiceless
Laypeople, clergy and organizational leaders can urge Congress to protect programs vital to vulnerable people as well as to protect the country’s economic security by e-mailing their elected leaders or signing on to a letter prepared by the Coalition on Human Needs.
The letter calls upon Congress to promote the common good, protect those in need, and rebuild the economy. It applies four principles to budget decisions Congress will grapple with in the coming months: protecting people [...]
Continue reading Urge Congress to Promote the Common Good, Protect the Vulnerable
The News & Observer
The N.C. Council of Churches rejoices in the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the Affordable Care Act, affirming the decades-long concerns of the council for those without health care. [...]
Continue reading Health On Earth
The NC Council of Churches rejoices in today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which affirms the decades-long work and concerns of the NCCC for those without health care. This decision means that millions who had no health insurance and thus restricted health care will have their needs met. The ACA not only offers benefits to many people who need health care, but it addresses the moral concern of [...]
Continue reading Health Care for All God’s Children — ACA Upheld
Several additional legislative days have been announced. Among them are:
HKonJ, People of Color Justice and Unity Legislative Day is Wednesday, May 23. The opening session will be at Raleigh’s First Baptist Church on Wilmington Street at 9:00. The group will then march to the General Assembly Building, where there will be a press conference at 11:00, followed by legislative visitations. For more info, contact HKonJ at 919-682-4700.
The Duke Center for Child and Family [...]
Continue reading Upcoming Legislative Days and a Revenue Plan
The 2012 County Health Rankings report, recently released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, points to major disparities in health by geographic location – with urban areas like Wake, Durham, Mecklenburg and Guilford counties experiencing overall better health than many rural parts of the state like Columbus, Bladen, Scotland and Robeson counties.
The North Carolina Council of Churches, a statewide nonprofit promoting Christian unity and social justice, [...]
Continue reading New County Health Rankings Point to Disparities in Health
Rev. Jill Edens, United Church of Chapel Hill
Though the disciples have left everything to follow Jesus, the discussion as they travel to Jerusalem reveals that they are profoundly unready for what is to come. In this pivotal moment we encounter blind Bartimaeus who Mark holds up as a model for discipleship: “As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” [...]
Continue reading The Story of Two Sons
The Affordable Care Act was approved two years ago. Join the virtual second-anniversary celebration through a conference call with Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin on Thursday, March 22 at 2 p.m. Hear all the benefits already in place and what is to come. An RSVP in advance is required through this link.
Additionally, as the Supreme Court takes up challenges to the ACA, join the faith community in an Interfaith Prayer Vigil via teleconference on Tuesday, March 27 [...]
Continue reading Affordable Care Act (ACA) Celebrates its Second Anniversary
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