NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

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Resolution in Support of Organized Labor in North Carolina
Resolution in Support of Organized Labor in North Carolina
Mar 2, 2004
North Carolina Council of Churches

Resolution in Support of Organized Labor in North Carolina

While particular religious leaders have stepped into the fray of company/union conflicts in our state, the church as a whole has remained distant from the controversy of collective bargaining and unionizing.  Often, mainline churches are host to corporate executives who may be community leaders and major donors, whom clergy are loathe to offend.  Some churches remain aloof from so-called worldly or political concerns, imagining workplace struggles as beyond the domain of the spiritual.
Medical Malpractice Insurance Issues
Medical Malpractice Insurance Issues
Dec 2, 2003
North Carolina Council of Churches

Medical Malpractice Insurance Issues

The faith community, when true to its founding principles, has historically advocated for the common good over those of special interests. The faith community has also sought to be a voice for and a defender of “the poor, the orphaned and the widow”… A cap on medical malpractice damages would harm the common good because it would bring greater suffering upon those who have been the victims of medical malpractice. It would have its deepest impact upon the poor, who can least afford to have artificial limits placed on the compensation that might be paid to them, and it would do so to the benefit of individuals and companies of much greater financial power.
Increasing the Cigarette Tax
Increasing the Cigarette Tax
Dec 2, 2003
North Carolina Council of Churches

Increasing the Cigarette Tax

The question of raising the tax on cigarettes appears to pose a conflict between positions taken by the North Carolina Council of Churches in previous years. On the one hand, the Council has warned of the health risks associated with cigarette smoking, supported measures leading to better health and providing more accessible health care, and called for steps to limit youth access to cigarettes. On the other hand, the Council has long supported a more progressive tax structure and opposed regressive taxes.
Civil Liberties and the USA PATRIOT Act
Civil Liberties and the USA PATRIOT Act
Dec 2, 2002
North Carolina Council of Churches

Civil Liberties and the USA PATRIOT Act

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, mark a watershed in American history. Never before had such terrible events struck so many people within our national borders. Within weeks, the President had proposed and the Congress had overwhelmingly adopted the USA PATRIOT Act as a means of preventing future such terrorist attacks. At the time, some faith groups (including several with denominational ties to the member bodies of the North Carolina Council of Churches) voiced strong concern about the scope of the PATRIOT Act. The impact of subsequent Executive Orders has only increased this concern
Underage Drinking
Underage Drinking
Nov 12, 2002
North Carolina Council of Churches

Underage Drinking

Because early use of alcohol is such a causal factor in teen death and injury, there is reason for the faith community’s involvement in this issue. All faiths recognize the importance of one generation training and seeing to the needs of the next.  Whether it is through the family or the “village,” the care of children and youth is a universal responsibility. The Hebrew Scriptures (for example, Deuteronomy 4:9; Psalm 78:1-8; Proverbs 22:6) reflect the importance of the older generation teaching the younger. Jesus’ words also reflect the importance of parents caring for their children. When he was looking for a stark example of God’s care for God’s children, Jesus asked, “If your child asks for bread, will you give a stone? If your child asks for a fish, will you give a snake?” (Matthew 7:9-10). Reducing underage drinking is consistent with the faith community’s long-standing concern for the well-being and full development of children and youth.
Our Increasing Latino Population
Our Increasing Latino Population
Nov 12, 2002
North Carolina Council of Churches

Our Increasing Latino Population

According the Jesus, welcoming the stranger will determine how we are judged on the last day (Matthew 25). He abolished distinctions between Jews and outsiders (Ephesians 2:13-17) and illumined the core of hospitality: in the stranger, it is Christ himself who is welcomed (Matthew 10:40; John 1:11). In the United States today, immigrants are the preeminent outsiders, and Latinos are chief among them. They bear the image of God that Jesus invites us to welcome.
Remembering the Common Good in Times of Financial Crisis
Remembering the Common Good in Times of Financial Crisis
Nov 12, 2002
North Carolina Council of Churches

Remembering the Common Good in Times of Financial Crisis

In each year of budget shortfalls, efforts have been made to fix the problem solely through cuts in spending. These proposed cuts have seemed most draconian and inhumane in programs to help people with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse problems. But they have also impacted education, environmental protection, health care, abused children, and, in fact, virtually the whole spectrum of vulnerable people assisted by the state. While advocates for these people have succeeded in protecting some services by persuading legislators to raise revenues, many of these revenue-enhancers have been regressive in nature, falling disproportionately on people of low income.
The Woman’s Coffeehouse of Spirit
The Woman’s Coffeehouse of Spirit
Oct 9, 2002
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

The Woman’s Coffeehouse of Spirit

The Readers Theatre text is essentially the words of women themselves who were interviewed in small group settings by members of the North Carolina Council of Churches Task Group on the Impact of the Women’s Movement on North Carolina Congregations. Questions were formulated under the direction of the UNC Oral History Project, which will also be the repository of the taped interviews and transcripts. The Readers Theatre is the Task Group’s effort to share the fruits of those interviews with a broader audience of interested persons of faith.
September 11 – Six Months Later
September 11 – Six Months Later
Mar 5, 2002
North Carolina Council of Churches

September 11 – Six Months Later

Since the morning of September 11, fear and anger have been redefined, inviolate boundaries have been crossed, the unimaginable has become the reality of our daily lives. Even the most measured and peace-loving among us have found our beliefs tested since we watched as the endless horrors of that day piled one upon the other. Our hearts are broken for all who suffered personal loss in this great tragedy, and we pray for our nation and world as we navigate an uncertain and unsettling future.
Race and the Death Penalty In NC
Race and the Death Penalty In NC
Apr 16, 2001
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Race and the Death Penalty In NC

This is a preliminary report concerning a new study of capital punishment in the State of North Carolina that has been undertaken during the past nine months – the North Carolina Death Penalty Study 2001. It is the first major social scientific study of the death penalty conducted in North Carolina in over 20 years, and the first systematic look for patterns of racial discrimination in capital sentencing in the South employing data more recent than 1984. The report has been prepared by Dr. Robert Unah of the Department of Political Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with the assistance of Professor John Charles Boger of the UNC School of Law.

As we will elaborate below, the preliminary findings present clear and disturbing evidence that North Carolina’s capital system in the 1990s continues to exhibit patterns of racial discrimination that cannot be explained by any of the legitimate sentencing considerations that have been sanctioned by North Carolina’s legislative and judicial branches.
The Elephant in the Courtroom: Racism and Criminal Justice in NC
The Elephant in the Courtroom: Racism and Criminal Justice in NC
Mar 15, 2001
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

The Elephant in the Courtroom: Racism and Criminal Justice in NC

This curriculum builds on “The Elephant in the Courtroom: Racism and Criminal Justice in North Carolina,” a policy paper developed by the North Carolina Council of Churches’ 1999-2000 Task Group on Racism and Criminal Justice in North Carolina. The policy paper has been disseminated among policy makers, judges, prison officials, and the media. The Task Group holds, however, that needed change will not happen until ordinary citizens, informed by a sense of fairness as well as an understanding of the nature of community and the power of forgiveness, demand equity in the administration of justice in our country. The curriculum addresses itself to adult education groups in congregations and workshop leaders at ecumenical and denominational meetings. The packet is self-contained and requires only that the leader copy some of the individual readings for the number of participants at the session.
Hog Lagoons
Hog Lagoons
Nov 9, 2000
North Carolina Council of Churches

Hog Lagoons

In less than ten years, North Carolina’s national rank in hog production has catapulted from sixth to second.  This rapid growth has been stimulated by the opening, in 1991, of the world’s largest hog slaughterhouse, located in Bladen County.  Much of the growth in hog production is concentrated in the five surrounding counties. In the raising, butchering, processing, transporting and marketing of hogs, a livelihood has been provided for thousands of persons, and additional nutritious meat products have become available for the people of our nation and abroad. However, when the slaughterhouse began operating, the state was unprepared for this exponential growth and lacked a regulatory program for factory farms. Counties could not direct the growth since a 1991 amendment to state zoning law prohibited counties from exercising their zoning authority over factory farms.
A Living Wage
A Living Wage
Nov 9, 2000
North Carolina Council of Churches

A Living Wage

From the shadows of banking towers of Charlotte and Raleigh to the small towns and hamlets far away from the bustling Piedmont, the much-ballyhooed economy has not lifted all boats.  Many people are working hard but are not earning enough to make ends meet in today’s economy.  For this reason, a “living wage” movement is gaining momentum around the nation.  This movement seeks to educate policymakers and the community about the true costs of making ends meet and to require that local governments and their contractors pay a living wage to their employees.
Tax Justice
Tax Justice
Nov 9, 2000
North Carolina Council of Churches

Tax Justice

North Carolina faces a financial situation that is easy to summarize:  Tax cuts during the last half of the ’90’s have left the state with a revenue stream inadequate to provide the services which are expected by the state’s citizens and to respond to unexpected emergencies.  However, because the state’s political climate is less than hospitable towards tax increases, solutions to this situation will be more difficult to implement.

Oliver Wendell Holmes once stated that “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”  In order for a civilized society to thrive, taxes at all levels of government must be sufficient to meet the legitimate needs of society, especially the modern equivalents of the biblical widows and orphans.
Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services
Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services
Nov 9, 2000
North Carolina Council of Churches

Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services

In North Carolina, over 1,000,000 people are directly affected by mental illness, developmental disabilities, or substance abuse. In recent years, the state and area agencies responsible for providing assistance have been plagued with a host of problems, including woefully inadequate funding, unconscionable delays in services, and appearances and allegations of mismanagement.

Providing the needed supports and services for vulnerable individuals is a critical role for state government and society in general.  Without needed resources, people with disabilities and substance abuse problems go unserved or untreated.  Not only does this create untold suffering amongst the individuals and their families, but it also places enormous strain on other institutions and systems (prisons, hospitals, homeless shelters, etc.).  Proper support, service, and treatment can and will change the dynamics of our families and communities.
Clergy, Laity and Child Abuse
Clergy, Laity and Child Abuse
Dec 2, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

Clergy, Laity and Child Abuse

Over the past two years, increased attention has been focused on the issue of child abuse, both because of a few highly publicized cases in which children died and because of a bill debated in the General Assembly which would have made it a misdemeanor not to report suspected child abuse. While that bill did not pass, it raised the question of what duty church employees and laity have regarding child abuse. And it raised the issue of whether clergypersons must report information gathered in confessions or other confidential settings.
Resolution to Support Legislation to Close the School of the Americas
Resolution to Support Legislation to Close the School of the Americas
Dec 2, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

Resolution to Support Legislation to Close the School of the Americas

Whereas the U.S. Army School of the Americas has trained 60,000 Latin American soldiers who have consistently returned to their countries to murder, torture, rape, and intimidate the poor and those who work for the rights of the poor, the Executive Board of the NC Council of Churches supports the closing of the US Army School of the Americas.
Electric Utility Restructuring
Electric Utility Restructuring
Oct 28, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

Electric Utility Restructuring

North Carolina’s state government is engaged in a debate that is occurring nationwide: should we restructure our electric utilities? This is an extraordinarily complex issue which will affect the daily lives of many people across the state, yet is almost completely unknown outside the halls of the General Assembly.

Understanding this issue, even in the broadest of terms, requires a step backward to look at the big picture of electric power and how we receive it. Currently, electric utilities are monopolies. There is only a single company from whom you can purchase your power, and it controls the entire process of producing and providing electricity. The rates charged are controlled by the government, ensuring that the utilities earn a reasonable profit without taking advantage of their position to overcharge customers.
Older Adults in Long-Term Care
Older Adults in Long-Term Care
Oct 28, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

Older Adults in Long-Term Care

The plaintive cry of the Psalmist, “Cast me not off in the time of old age” (Ps. 71:9), demands renewed attention by the church as the number of older citizens escalates in American life. North Carolina’s 65 and over population is estimated to reach 1.2 million by 2010, more than 14% of the population. In 2011, the first of the “baby boomers” will reach retirement, with the percentage of older people in our population soaring to between fifteen and twenty percent.
Children and Gun Violence
Children and Gun Violence
Oct 28, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

Children and Gun Violence

Several times in the past decade, we have spoken out about the proliferation of guns and gun violence. In 1994, we noted why this is of concern to people of faith.

Gun violence, especially handgun violence, has increasingly become a cause for alarm in our nation and state. As Christians, we especially are disturbed. The way of Christ is a way of peace, reconciliation, forgiveness, and love for enemies. The spirit of Christ is sharply opposed to the spirit of violence and the instruments of violence. It is also opposed to the law of retaliation or responding to injury with injury. Christ rejected the use of violence in the pursuit of his mission, and when one of the disciples drew his sword in defense of Jesus, the Lord said, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:51-53).
With All Due Respect
With All Due Respect
Oct 28, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

With All Due Respect

In a letter to a friend in the spring of 1776, John Adams said, “We may please ourselves with the prospect of free and popular governments, God grant us the way. But I fear that in every assembly members will obtain an influence by noise rather than sense, by meanness rather than greatness, and by ignorance and not learning, by contracted hearts and not large souls. There is one thing, my dear sir, that must be attempted and most sacredly observed, or we are all undone. There must be decency and respect and veneration introduced for persons of every rank, or we are undone. In a popular government, this is our only way.”
Religious Liberty
Religious Liberty
Oct 28, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

Religious Liberty

Religious liberty is sometimes called the “first freedom.” While this is not the place to debate the relative worth of our many freedoms, the simple fact is that, when you begin to read our Bill of Rights, what you read first are the religious liberty clauses of the First Amendment. Many of us in the religious community feel that religious freedom is a hallmark of American liberty and that it has made possible a vibrancy and diversity in religious life unlike that in most other countries, without the religious turmoil found in many parts of the world.
On Special Provisions in the State Budget
On Special Provisions in the State Budget
Oct 28, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

On Special Provisions in the State Budget

Recent years have seen a proliferation of “special provisions” in the state budget. While special provisions are not new, their increased use to bypass parts of the legislative process and to weaken the voice of the people is troubling. Special provisions are items included in the state budget that go beyond the mere allocation of state money. Some special provisions are clearly relevant and appropriate in the budget (example: a requirement that certain independent groups receiving state money report back to the General Assembly on how they spend it or a requirement that part of an appropriation be spent in a specific way). Other special provisions have only minimal relationship to the budget (example: increasing the penalties for drug crimes).
The Role of Religion in Public Education
The Role of Religion in Public Education
May 7, 1998
North Carolina Council of Churches

The Role of Religion in Public Education

Disagreements about the proper role of religion in public schools divide local communities and fuel national controversies.  Across North Carolina and the United States battles are being fought over school prayer, the celebration of religious holidays, sex education, Bible courses, evolution and creationism. The voucher movement is fueled, in large part, by the opposition of religious conservatives to public education.  Many members of Congress are pressing for a constitutional amendment that would permit organized prayer in public schools.
A Policy Statement on Health Care
A Policy Statement on Health Care
Jan 11, 1997
North Carolina Council of Churches

A Policy Statement on Health Care

Four years ago, the Council of Churches issued a policy statement on health care that expressed concern about the large number of North Carolinians without adequate health insurance and about the high and increasing cost of health care. Our concern is especially great for those most vulnerable in our society: the poor, children, people of color, and the elderly. At that time, we called for a national health plan that would guarantee universal coverage for health care, coupled with effective cost control, broad-based and equitable financing, and assured quality of services.
Welfare Reform
Welfare Reform
Jan 11, 1997
North Carolina Council of Churches

Welfare Reform

The biblical prophet Amos declared “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, conm1unity responsibility for the poor was built into community structure. Landowners were required to leave a portion of their crops in the field, and the poor and needy were entitled to glean fields for food God’s disapproval falls not on those who are poor, but on the kings, the unjust owners, and the oppressors: “God will defend the poorest, God will save the children of those in need and crush the oppressor God will free the poor man who calls on him, and those who need help. God will have pity on the poor and feeble, and save the lives of those in need” (Psalm 72).
The Church and Public Policy for Children
The Church and Public Policy for Children
Oct 29, 1996
North Carolina Council of Churches

The Church and Public Policy for Children

The condition of children in our society must be a special and urgent concern for churches.  From a biblical point of view, children are a blessing from God (Genesis 15:1), and poor children are seen as objects of God’s special care (Psalm 68:5).  In the gospels, Jesus is presented as one who welcomed and treasured children (Matthew 18:1-5, Luke 9:46-48).

The church has a direct responsibility to nurture children of the family of faith and to provide services for children and families in special need.  But the church also has a concern for the children of the entire society and, thus, for social policies that affect them.
A Statement on Christians, Churches and Politics
A Statement on Christians, Churches and Politics
Apr 18, 1996
North Carolina Council of Churches

A Statement on Christians, Churches and Politics

Fifteen years ago the N. C. Council of Churches’ House of Delegates adopted a statement on the subject of Christians, churches, and politics. This statement is an update of that earlier one, repeating some of the same points but also elaborating on some new ones. Once again we raise the question, should church groups be involved in politics? What is appropriate or inappropriate in this area?

The statement sets forth some guidelines on some aspects of religion and politics which reflect the perspective of the N. C. Council of Churches and which we commended to the denominational bodies which comprise the Council’s membership. The guidelines offered do not cover every aspect of the subject, but touch upon several which seem urgent at the current time.
Violence, Harassment, and Discrimination against Gay Men and Lesbians
Violence, Harassment, and Discrimination against Gay Men and Lesbians
Apr 30, 1992
North Carolina Council of Churches

Violence, Harassment, and Discrimination against Gay Men and Lesbians

Violence cannot be ignored by those who stand in the prophetic tradition of justice and peace and in the gospel tradition of Jesus Christ, who came “to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”  Violence is evil.  Intolerance cannot be tolerated.  Silence and passivity by the churches allow hostility, and are unfaithful responses to the Christian gospel.  Justice, respect, and freedom must be claimed and pursued for all persons in the service of the justice and peace of God’s sovereignty in history.
Support for Farmers by Buying Locally and Encouraging Sustainable Farming
Support for Farmers by Buying Locally and Encouraging Sustainable Farming
Oct 16, 1990
North Carolina Council of Churches

Support for Farmers by Buying Locally and Encouraging Sustainable Farming

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the House of Delegates of the North Carolina Council of Churches work with State Government in the following ways to help North Carolina farmers and consumers:

Encourage the State to expand the “Goodness Grows in North Carolina” program with an emphasis on labeling products by their origin. Such labels will help consumers know that they are buying locally produced products, thus helping create markets and increasing the economic viability of farmers.
The Church and the Rural Crisis in North Carolina
The Church and the Rural Crisis in North Carolina
May 5, 1988
North Carolina Council of Churches

The Church and the Rural Crisis in North Carolina

We must rethink and rework not only the unjust and unwise practices of energy and capital-intensive, centrally-controlled and wealth-concentrating agribusiness production, but also its goals and assumptions, if we are to be true to creation theology and a just, participatory, and sustainable agricultural production system. Specifically, we must use more appropriate regenerative technology and alternative farming methodology in North Carolina if there is to be a future on the farm for many small and medium-income farmers who have survived in the past primarily by growing tobacco. Indeed, without the institution of a regenerative agricultural production system, future generations on all continents will risk the loss of even more of the scarce arable land, forests, species, aquifers, and energy sources at a time when the global population will be doubling every generation.
We Come Together by Working Together
We Come Together by Working Together
May 15, 1985
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

We Come Together by Working Together

The history of the North Carolina Council of Churches is the story of persons, religious leaders struggling to respond in faith to the signs of their times. Sometimes the signs could be clearly read; at other times they had to be discerned through a glass darkly. The records show that the leaders would prefer to be measured in terms of the fullheartedness of their responses rather than the accuracy of their discernment, in terms of their deeds rather than their words. This document outlines the first fifty years of the Council’s work in North Carolina.
Moral Dimensions of Tobacco
Moral Dimensions of Tobacco
Jul 12, 1984
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Moral Dimensions of Tobacco

The Study Committee on Tobacco was formed by the NC Council of Churches in response to a dilemma faced by the citizens of NC. On the one hand, mounting medical evidence links the use of tobacco with numerous health problems. On the other hand, the long established tobacco economy is threatened. The tendency in NC has been to avoid or ignore the dilemma. Farmers, agribusiness people, manufacturers and distributors of tobacco products, as well as state officials, have found it difficult to deal directly with he crisis precipitated by the increasing pressure of negative health data.