NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

Creating Peace

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If we are not angry today, we have no faith.

If we are not frustrated today, we have no hope.

If we are not bereaved today, we have no love.

As Christians, we claim faith, hope, and love as foundational elements for our identity (I Corinthians 13:13). Our faith in God’s good gifts should cause us to be angry when the gift of life is stolen from 26 people through an act of violence. Our hope in God’s peace-filled future should cause us to be frustrated when peace is shattered by an act of violence. Our love for all God’s beloved should cause us to weep bitterly when pain is inflicted on them by an act of violence.

Today we weep. Our hearts break with the heart of the One who loves us and who loves each person killed, injured, and still standing in Sutherland Springs…

Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director

About Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director

Jennifer is a native of South Carolina and an ordained minister in The United Methodist Church. She loves South Carolina, but has managed to spend all but ten years of her adult life in North Carolina. Those ten years were spent pastoring United Methodist churches across the Upstate. She attended Duke University several times and in the process earned a BA, double majoring in English and Religion, a Master of Divinity, a PhD in religion, and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. Prior to coming to the Council, she spent 16 years as the United Methodist Chaplain at Duke University, where she also taught undergraduate and divinity school classes, served on committees and task forces, and attended lots of basketball games. Jennifer has two children, Nathan, a software developer who lives in Durham, and Hannah, a student at the University of Tampa.

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