Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach, Author at NC Council of Churches

Pray and Vote

April 20, 2018 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach Leave a Comment

The North Carolina Council of Churches believes that participating in our democracy is one critical component of our call to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. We also believe that local and state elections provide significant opportunities to impact policy that affects our neighbors, our children, our elderly, our infirmed, our imprisoned, our impoverished, and all in our community who live and work and have their very being under the heavy weight of personal and institutional racism. And we believe that all of these are indeed…

What More Can Be Said?

February 19, 2018 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach Leave a Comment

Powerful voices have long narrated the story of guns in America. The media. The NRA. Outraged, livid, grief-stricken mothers and fathers. When it comes to the horror of mass shootings, the stories are told with images and words that sear into our brains: limp bodies, the cries of parents, eulogies, and an NRA Valentine’s advertisement in which a target was substituted for the “o” in “love.” There are so many words. What more can be said? Arguments about exactly what is protected by the Second Amendment’s protection of the right…

Lenten Guide: First Sunday in Lent

February 18, 2018 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach 1 Comment

Excerpted from the NC Council of Churches Lenten Guide, “Journey to Justice” Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again…

The Commission Came to Town

February 13, 2018 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach Leave a Comment

Only rarely does the United States Commission on Civil Rights hold hearings outside of Washington D.C. In February they came to town, convening in Raleigh to hear testimony about obstacles to voter access. Notably, former NC Supreme Court Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson serves as Vice Chair of this commission. Experts from all over the country gathered to testify. Gerrymandering, a hot topic in a handful of states including North Carolina, was not at issue. Rather, this hearing focused on barriers that keep people, and especially minorities, from voting. Specifically, the commission…

Looking for Help?

January 23, 2018 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach 1 Comment

The Federal Government of the United States of America shut down at midnight on Friday. It reopened yesterday, but may shut down again in February. Uncertainty and disorientation abound. I lift my eyes up to the mountains. At stake are protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients which are set to expire in March, the already expired Children’s Health Insurance Program, and funding for a wall to be built along the US border with Mexico. Where does…

Jesus, Martin, and Gilles

January 17, 2018 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach Leave a Comment

A reflection on Jesus of Nazareth (out of which nothing good comes)¹, the life and death of Martin Luther King Jr., and the detention of Gilles Bikindou. Jesus. Martin. Gilles. These men have been with me in recent days – days in which immigration reform has been at the forefront of our national conversation; days in which folks spew all sorts of misunderstandings about refugees, immigrants, detention, and who has the right to be and thrive in this country; days in which our nation (ostensibly) turned our attention to honoring…

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

December 28, 2017 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach Leave a Comment

It has been a rough year for creche sets at our house. For our family, as for many, the Holiday Season is cluttered by rehearsals, recitals, school performances, pageants, holiday parties, classroom volunteering, shopping, shattered light bulbs from window candles that get caught up in the blinds, light strands on which only half of the lights work, and gift wrapping. There are also a lot of sprinkles. And glitter. In the midst of all of this tangled clutter, we make an effort to keep our Advent waiting for Christ…

Welcome Mary Elizabeth

December 21, 2017 By Mary Elizabeth Hanchey, Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach 1 Comment

My name is Mary Elizabeth Hanchey and I joined the staff of the NC Council of Churches as Program Associate for Legislative Advocacy and Interfaith Outreach on November 1. I have long been committed to the work of the Council and the spirit with which it is accomplished. Soon after I graduated from law school in 2003, I served on the Governing Board for several years. I was grateful for this opportunity to plan, and dream, and work with such a diverse group of concerned Christians. I grew up…