2021: A Year in Review
  • 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
    • Careers
  • Programs
    • 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
      • Mental Health Advocacy
      • BIPOC Mental Health Grant
      • Growing Communities of Inclusion: A Faithful Response to HIV
      • Healthy Aging
      • Citizen Science
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Criminal Justice
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Public Education
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
  • Events
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

NC No Torture Releases Christian Study

Brian Wendelgass, NC No Torture Project Coordinator · May 21, 2019 · Leave a Comment

NC No Torture has launched its Christian study addressing North Carolina’s involvement in the CIA’s Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation program. The study offers a guide for how to prepare, organize, and conduct a workshop that will produce meaningful conversation and reflection. The document is supported by a comprehensive list of primary sources, relevant news articles, and information from related non-governmental organizations. It is designed to accommodate all levels of familiarity with the topic.

The study is released in the context of the latest developments of the 9/11 military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, which is trying five men who are charged with helping to plan and assist the September 11, 2001 attacks. As of May 21, the two designers of the CIA’s torture program, Dr. James Mitchell and Dr. Bruce Jessen, have been called to testify in the tribunal. James Connell, a lawyer for Ammar al Baluchi, a current detainee who was rendered by North Carolina’s Aero Contractors, states “this will be the first time Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Jessen will have to testify in a criminal proceeding about the torture program they implemented.”

The torture program designed by Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Jessen sought to instill a sense of “learned helplessness” among detainees, where individuals would become “passive and depressed in response to adverse or uncontrollable events.” The techniques used to achieve this state include walling (slamming detainees head against a wall), sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, stress positions, and torture.

To learn more about the state’s participation in the CIA’s Rendition and Torture program, click here to view the report from the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture.

Click here to view and download this free study for use in your small group or church’s justice ministry.

Filed Under: Blog, Homepage Featured

About Brian Wendelgass, NC No Torture Project Coordinator

Brian was born in Fairfax, Virginia and raised in Cary, North Carolina. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in History from the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he played on the men’s soccer team. He attended graduate school at North Carolina State University where he received a Master of International Studies with a concentration in Security and Comparative Politics. During graduate school, Brian worked with the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture, a non-governmental organization responsible for investigating the state’s participation in the CIA’s Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation program following the September 11 attacks. He joins the Council as the Project Coordinator for the NC No Torture program. During his free time, Brian enjoys supporting his favorite soccer team, Crystal Palace FC, spending time with friends, reading, and being outdoors.

Reader Interactions

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

NC No Torture Releases Christian Study

Latest Tweets

#SCOTUS has overturned Roe v. Wade, making it crystal clear how much #CourtsMatter. Reproductive choice is a healthcare decision and women should make those decisions about their own bodies. We stand by those words today.

About 2 days ago

We affirmed in 1970 that reproductive choice is a healthcare decision and women should make those decisions “without embarrassment, excessive cost, and unwarranted delay.” We stand by those words today.

About 2 days ago

Grant opportunity for BIPOC faith communities in North Carolina to apply towards COVID-19 mental health efforts. Follow the link for more details! ncchurches.org/bipoc…

About 2 days ago

Join us this Sunday! twitter.com/Christin…

About 2 days ago

"All people of faith and spirituality with a role in the financial system have a responsibility to create action immediately, to put the world on a path to a just and sustainable future." publicnewsservice.or…

About 3 days ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Greetings! Be sure to stop by our table at the Western NC Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church at Lake Junaluska this weekend! We hope to see you there! pic.twitter.com/30bk…

Last week

Hello twitter family! Be sure to stop by our table at the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church in Greenville, NC starting today! We hope to see you there! pic.twitter.com/l6X3…

Last week

Our mini grant cycle is now open!!! pic.twitter.com/eyRp…

About 3 weeks ago

RT @faithleadership Faith coalitions are addressing the opioid crisis by providing resources, connections and a destigmatizing vision. lght.ly/45iam80 Featuring: @okconfchurches | @ODMHSASINFO | @healthandfaith | @ncchurches | @DukeTMCI | @shannon_fleck

About 3 weeks ago

Join us for Sacred Conversations: Older Adults - Fraud & Scams on Friday, June 24th from 11 AM to 12 PM and learn to recognize common scams targeted towards older adults and how to protect yourself and those in your faith communities. ncchurches.ourpowerb…

About a month ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

Faith Leaders Call on U.S. to Pay Fair Share for Climate Related Loss #USFairShare Click to listen - 2min w/Rev. Malcom @mtmalcom & Rev. @Susannah_Tuttle: shar.es/afbjPy @scennetwork1 @uscan @WEDO_worldwide @ActionAidUSA @AlabamaPJC @foe_us @UCSUSA @ClimateNexus

About 6 days ago

RT @mocleanair Climate change affects everything: investments, agriculture, health, factories, transportation, the electric grid. Fossil fuels cause climate change, and @LloydsofLondon needs to stop insuring fossil fuels. Climate change is wreaking havoc with the economy and our health. Enough! twitter.com/parents4…

About 6 days ago

RT @mocleanair Today @mocleanair, @GeorgiaIPL and @CleanAirMoms_GA delivered postcards to @SenatorWarnock asking for more funding for #EVschoolbuses! #EV schoolbuses are better for kids health and learning! #post4theplanet #cleanair4kids #CleanAir #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/ztzI…

About 2 weeks ago

RT @mocleanair #EVschoolbuses: better for health, better for education, better for climate, and good for Georgia’s economy. A real win-win-win! #post4theplanet #CleanAir #HealthyAirIsHealthCare #ClimateAction #ClimateActionNow @GeorgiaIPL @NCIPL @uwomenfaith @AlabamaPJC @eldersclimate twitter.com/mocleana…

About 2 weeks ago

RT @alinterfaithpl You don’t want to miss this! Register RIGHT NOW with this link: us02web.zoom.us/meet… twitter.com/alabamap…

About 2 weeks ago

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2022 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine