Black Lives Matter.
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
  • Programs
    • Ecumenical Immigration Alliance
      • Ideas for Action
      • Sign Our Statement
      • The NC Sanctuary Coalition
      • Immigration Bible Study
      • Contact
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Public Education
    • NC Sanctuary Coalition
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
    • NC No Torture
  • COVID-19 Resources
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search
Christian Unity

Catholic Dioceses Withdraw from Council Membership

George Reed, Former Executive Director · September 30, 2013 · 6 Comments

I come with sad news. Bishop Michael Burbidge and Bishop Peter Jugis, bishops of the two Catholic dioceses in North Carolina, communicated to the Council early this year their plan to withdraw from membership at the end of December. This is not a hasty decision on their part; we and they have been engaged in dialogue for about four years. These conversations included a face-to-face meeting between the two bishops and the Council’s full Governing Board. But we have been unable to resolve differences regarding issues on which we are not in agreement, especially the Council’s neutrality on abortion and our opposition to the constitutional amendment defining marriage.

Let me take a moment to lift up and celebrate the rich history of Catholic participation with the Council. The two dioceses joined the NC Council of Churches in 1977, led into membership first by Raleigh Bishop Joe Gossman, who died in August, and then by Charlotte Bishop Michael Begley. We were among the first state councils to have Catholics as full members. Many state councils either have never had Catholic participation or have, like the National Council, had Catholics in some relationship less than full membership.

We have had wonderful participation and leadership from Catholics. Two (Fr. George Kloster and Bridget Brown Johnson) have served as Council President in the past, and Alberta Hairston, our current President, becomes the third. Others have chaired Council commissions and committees.

All of you who have been associated with the Council for more than the past decade will remember Sr. Evelyn Mattern with great love and deep appreciation. As Council Development and Communications Director Aleta Payne has noted recently, there’s none of the Council’s work, other than Partners in Health and Wholeness, that doesn’t carry Evelyn’s fingerprints. She was deeply engaged with issues of farmworkers and immigration; she directed the Council’s legislative program; she created what is now known as NC Interfaith Power & Light; she was the Council’s communications director; she campaigned for worker justice and equal rights for all.

Seven Catholics (Bp. Gossman, Bp. Begley, Fr. George, Bridget, Sr. Evelyn, Fr. Charlie Mulholland, and Fr. Joe Vetter) have received our annual Distinguished Service Award since 1977. Two Catholics (Ferrel Guillory and Gene Nichol) have received the Faith Active in Public Life Award.

We are grateful for this rich history with the two dioceses in North Carolina, even as we are saddened by the bishops’ decision, for it is a significant setback to our work for Christian unity. At the same time, we appreciate the bishops’ desire to continue to stand with us on issues where we are in agreement, and they are many: immigration reform, protections for farmworkers, just wages and safe environments for all workers, elimination of the death penalty, care of God’s creation, economic justice in our society, peace, and the elimination of torture.

Let me add a personal note. I came to North Carolina to work for the Baptist State Convention just a year after the two dioceses joined the NC Council of Churches, though I didn’t know that at the time. My work for the Baptists on social justice issues put me into occasional contact with most of the wonderful people named above and others from the Catholic Church. That contact has, of course, deepened in the 17 years I’ve been with the Council. So it is a sad thing for me to see the official tie between the dioceses and the wider Christian community come to an end. At the same time, I’m grateful for the bishops’ willingness to work together when we can and for the individual Catholics who will continue to bring a voice for the common good to our Governing Board.

–George Reed, Executive Director

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Christian Unity, Council News

George Reed, Former Executive Director

About George Reed, Former Executive Director

As I had hoped, I have spent more time reading books in my retirement. One recent read was Jon Meacham’s splendid biography of Thomas Jefferson. I resonated with something TJ wrote in a letter shortly after leaving the White House in 1809: “I am here [at Monticello] enjoying the ineffable luxury of being owner of my own time.” I can’t say that I am complete owner of my time, but I am really enjoying not being controlled by clock and calendar. Well, except when there’s a deadline for Raleigh Report.

Reader Interactions

More Like This

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
On Not Going to Church
Thanksgiving Notes

Comments

  1. AvatarTom Plaut says

    October 11, 2013 at 5:53 pm

    Perhaps the Bishops will reconsider their position in the light of Pope Francis’ recent statements on openness and inclusiveness.

    Reply
  2. AvatarJoanne Kennedy Frazer says

    October 7, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    I am one of those who served the Catholic Church on the Executive Board of the Council. And I am deeply saddened at the departure of the two dioceses from the Council because the NCCC is the ecumenical voice in our state that is consistently raised up in defense of economic, social and environmental justice, As such it comes out of the rich tradition of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures and calls all people of faith to stand with the poor, oppressed and the vulnerable. I appreciate Rev. Reed’s comments about the value of the past working relationship with the Catholic dioceses.

    Reply
  3. AvatarDavid McBriar, O.F.M. says

    October 7, 2013 at 5:59 pm

    I am extremely grateful for my association with the NCCC. I have great respect for its leadership and for its courageous stand on many human rights issues. Pope Francis, in his recent interview in America magazine (America, Sept. 30, 2013, p. 28) said: “We must walk united with our differences: there is no other way to become one. This is the way of Jesus.”

    Reply
  4. AvatarKevin Moran says

    September 30, 2013 at 10:18 pm

    How very sad that after all the years of cooperation, the Council’s neutrality as regards abortion matters more to the Council than keeping the 2 Catholic dioceses on board. Abortion is a core issue for the Catholic Church.
    One may ask that if abortion is a neutral matter and if it existed in First Century Palestine, would it have mattered if Jesus had been aborted?
    Sincerely Yours,
    Kevin Moran

    Reply
    • Aleta Payne, Development & CommunicationsAleta Payne, Development & Communications says

      October 5, 2013 at 6:02 pm

      A word of explanation is in order, especially for those interpreting the Council’s intentional lack of engagement on abortion-related issues as a sign of our liberality.

      Prior to 1977, the Council had what I would call a traditional mainline Protestant pro-choice position, one held by many of our Protestant member bodies then and now. Without quoting from any one statement, the substance was that abortion should not be used indiscriminately, as another form of birth control, but also that it should not be illegal, that it should be an option available to a woman, in consultation with her doctor and her spiritual guide.

      When the Council accepted the Catholic Dioceses of Raleigh and of Charlotte into membership in 1977, that pro-choice position was shelved, out of respect for the Catholic position on the issue and out of recognition that our member bodies then had widely divergent positions. Since 1977 we have left the abortion issue to our member denominations and clergy and congregants to deal with as their denominations and their consciences lead them.

      Many of our Protestant member denominations still have those official pro-choice positions. So, in that regard, the NC Council of Churches is actually more conservative (and closer to the Catholic position) than are many of our member denominations. And it would be no fairer to them for the Council to adopt the Catholic position than it would be to the Catholics for us to have gone back to our earlier position.

      –Posted on behalf of George Reed, Executive Director

      Reply
  5. AvatarFrank Burnd says

    September 30, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    Perhaps the NC Council of Churches should begin to take a more moderate tone on issues instead of consistently taking the extreme leftwing position.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

Christian Unity
Catholic Dioceses Withdraw from Council Membership

Latest Tweets

ICYMI: Check out our spotlight piece on Olive Branch Ministry, Hickory, to learn more about their faith-based harm reduction work serving the foothills and piedmont of North Carolina. ncchurches.org/2021/…

About 15 hours ago

This Earth Month, we're calling on our network to advocate with compassion for a just & sustainable future. To support you in this hard & holy work, @NCIPL complied a toolkit with policy positions, calls to action, & how we engage in faith-based advocacy. ncchurches.org/advoc…

Yesterday

Make sure to register for our upcoming Legislative Seminar. Our opening worship service and award ceremony will honor Michael S. Regan, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, with the Faith Active in Public Life award. ncchurches.ourpowerb… pic.twitter.com/rG7U…

About 2 days ago

Faith Climate Action Week is coming up! This year's theme is Sacred Ground: Cultivating Connections Between our Faith, our Food, and the Climate. Follow the link to find events >> faithclimateactionwe…

About 4 days ago

2021 is the year for drawing districts in each state after the completion of the US Census. Check out the @LWV's blog on encouraging people to speak up about the drawing of fair maps. Read now >> lwv.org/blog/redistr… pic.twitter.com/4KMR…

Last week

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Now that all North Carolinians age 16+ are eligible to receive a #COVID19 vaccine, use the @ncdhhs resource hub to find a local provider near you to get your shot! #MySpotMyShotNC #NC covid19.ncdhhs.gov/v… #MindfulTogether

Yesterday

Join us next Thurs., April 22 for our Sacred Conversations event on caring for creation. We'll be discussing environmental caretaking, collective action, and our Sustainability Pledge. Register online at ncchurches.ourpowerb… @NCIPL #MindfulTogether #EarthDay pic.twitter.com/GTpI…

About 2 days ago

Read our spotlight piece on Olive Branch Ministry to learn more about their faith-based harm reduction work serving the foothills and piedmont of North Carolina. ncchurches.org/2021/… @olivebranchgals #MindfulTogether pic.twitter.com/xj2U…

About 3 days ago

Our work has led us to recognize the impact our environment has on our health and ability to flourish. Click below to read more about our commitment to being stewards of God’s good Creation through our Sustainability Pledge. ncchurches.org/phw-s… @NCIPL #MindfulTogether

About 4 days ago

Awesome opportunity from our partners at @emergingissues! #MindfulTogether twitter.com/emerging…

About 5 days ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @healthandfaith Join us next Thurs., April 22 for our Sacred Conversations event on caring for creation. We'll be discussing environmental caretaking, collective action, and our Sustainability Pledge. Register online at ncchurches.ourpowerb… @NCIPL #MindfulTogether #EarthDay pic.twitter.com/GTpI…

Yesterday

RT @GretaThunberg Wealthiest 1% produce double the combined CO2 emissions of poorest 50%. "We have got to cut over-consumption and the best place to start is over-consumption among the polluting elites who contribute by far more than their share of carbon emissions." bbc.com/news/science…

About 3 days ago

RT @PriceofOil We’re proud to support this crucial new report from @greenpeaceusa, @Mvmnt4BlkLives, & @GCCLP. Every stage of oil, gas, & coal production contributes to racial injustice. We can tackle climate change & racism together by phasing out fossil fuels. Read: bit.ly/FFracismblog pic.twitter.com/xRn1…

About 3 days ago

RT @StopCorpAbuse Every stage of oil, gas, and coal production contributes to racial injustice. We deserve a world beyond fossil fuels. Take action to #EndFossilFuelRacism: bit.ly/FFracismblog pic.twitter.com/oSwE…

About 3 days ago

RT @ClimatePower Your daily reminder: pic.twitter.com/DEvP…

About 3 days ago

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2021 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine