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Moral Mondays

Whispers and Shouts
Whispers and Shouts
Feb 11, 2017
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Whispers and Shouts

Sometimes God whispers. Whether through hymns or homilies or kids dancing their way down the aisle… Continue Reading

Wise Leaders Would Answer the Call for Justice and Righteousness
Wise Leaders Would Answer the Call for Justice and Righteousness
Dec 15, 2016
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Wise Leaders Would Answer the Call for Justice and Righteousness

Remarks delivered by Jennifer Copeland at a December 15 press conference in Raleigh on the General… Continue Reading

UPDATE — Urgent Action Required: Let GA Members Hear from You
UPDATE — Urgent Action Required: Let GA Members Hear from You
Dec 15, 2016
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

UPDATE — Urgent Action Required: Let GA Members Hear from You

The NC NAACP has called for a People’s Assembly at 4:30 p.m., today, Thursday, December 15,… Continue Reading

At Campaign Trail’s End, Voters Rule
At Campaign Trail’s End, Voters Rule
Oct 27, 2016
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

At Campaign Trail’s End, Voters Rule

As the 2016 campaign season grinds along the final stretch toward Election Day on Nov. 8… Continue Reading

Tenth Annual HKonJ is February 13
Tenth Annual HKonJ is February 13
Feb 6, 2016
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Tenth Annual HKonJ is February 13

Join the NAACP, NC Council of Churches, and other coalition partners for the Tenth Annual Moral… Continue Reading

Courtroom March for Voting Rights
Courtroom March for Voting Rights
Jul 20, 2015
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Courtroom March for Voting Rights

Republican legislators can hardly get around the fact that their 2013 overhaul of North Carolina election… Continue Reading

Voting Rights Sense, in a New Light
Voting Rights Sense, in a New Light
Jun 29, 2015
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Voting Rights Sense, in a New Light

Over and over, we heard North Carolina’s stringent voter identification law, enacted by the Republican-controlled legislature… Continue Reading

Doomed UNC Centers Sang the Wrong Songs
Doomed UNC Centers Sang the Wrong Songs
Mar 2, 2015
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Doomed UNC Centers Sang the Wrong Songs

It’s easy to imagine what the conservative Republicans who rule North Carolina’s legislative roost were thinking:… Continue Reading

What Frightens Civitas?
What Frightens Civitas?
Jan 28, 2015
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

What Frightens Civitas?

Apparently I scare Civitas. Maybe it’s my upbringing. I was raised by a single mom (my… Continue Reading

Conservatives, Riding High, Can Heed Cooler Heads
Conservatives, Riding High, Can Heed Cooler Heads
Nov 8, 2014
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Conservatives, Riding High, Can Heed Cooler Heads

There’s no getting around the fact that when North Carolinians went to the polls on Nov.… Continue Reading

PHW Honors Helen Livingston
PHW Honors Helen Livingston
Aug 13, 2014
Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator

PHW Honors Helen Livingston

Meet one of our community leaders, Helen Livingston, of Scotland County. I first met Helen through the… Continue Reading

Revenue-starved Budget Rattles and Rolls
Revenue-starved Budget Rattles and Rolls
Aug 5, 2014
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Revenue-starved Budget Rattles and Rolls

The debate is familiar: State government is too big. No, it’s too small. People in the… Continue Reading

Video from June 9 Moral Monday
Video from June 9 Moral Monday
Jun 13, 2014
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Video from June 9 Moral Monday

The June 9 Moral Monday sent a powerful message to state leaders about the value North… Continue Reading

Full Program Available for Critical Issues Seminar on Public Education
Full Program Available for Critical Issues Seminar on Public Education
Jun 9, 2014
Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern

Full Program Available for Critical Issues Seminar on Public Education

The full program for the our 2014 Critical Issues Seminar on Public Education is now available on… Continue Reading

Sandy Irving to Receive Distinguished Service Award
Sandy Irving to Receive Distinguished Service Award
Jun 9, 2014
George Reed, Former Executive Director

Sandy Irving to Receive Distinguished Service Award

  Sandy is on the right. Her friend, Susan Cummings, is pictured on the left.  … Continue Reading

From Superior Court to Supreme Court, Education in the News
From Superior Court to Supreme Court, Education in the News
May 19, 2014
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

From Superior Court to Supreme Court, Education in the News

Education figured prominently in the news over the past few days, both nationally and locally. As… Continue Reading

Buckle Up – Here Comes the Legislature
Buckle Up – Here Comes the Legislature
May 10, 2014
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Buckle Up – Here Comes the Legislature

The motto of North Carolina’s General Assembly during the past few years could well have been… Continue Reading

Lutherans Sponsor Conference to Ponder Justice and Faith
Lutherans Sponsor Conference to Ponder Justice and Faith
Apr 15, 2014
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Lutherans Sponsor Conference to Ponder Justice and Faith

When the line to check in at a church-sponsored conference on a beautiful Saturday morning in… Continue Reading

2014 Critical Issues Seminar — Registration is Ongoing
2014 Critical Issues Seminar — Registration is Ongoing
Mar 31, 2014
Lauren Chesson, Former MSW Intern

2014 Critical Issues Seminar — Registration is Ongoing

*To see registration form, scroll down to the middle of the page. Registration for the Council’s 2014… Continue Reading

Climate Activists Must Heed the Lessons of North Carolina
Climate Activists Must Heed the Lessons of North Carolina
Mar 16, 2014
Susannah Tuttle, NCIPL Director

Climate Activists Must Heed the Lessons of North Carolina

Joe Wainio begins his wonderful article on TruthOut, Climate change activists should look to North Carolina… Continue Reading

Photos from HKonJ 2014
Photos from HKonJ 2014
Feb 22, 2014
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Photos from HKonJ 2014

The Council helped organize a Service of Repentance and Consecration in front of the General Assembly Building prior… Continue Reading

HKonJ 2014 — Moral March and People’s Assembly
HKonJ 2014 — Moral March and People’s Assembly
Feb 8, 2014
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

HKonJ 2014 — Moral March and People’s Assembly

A cross-section of North Carolinians and progressives from other states flooded downtown Raleigh on Saturday as part… Continue Reading

Pray with Us on Friday, March with Us on Saturday
Pray with Us on Friday, March with Us on Saturday
Feb 6, 2014
George Reed, Former Executive Director

Pray with Us on Friday, March with Us on Saturday

Join the NC NAACP, the North Carolina Council of Churches, and coalition partners for this weekend’s… Continue Reading

Voices of Moral Mondays: No Longer Alone by Rebecca Cary
Voices of Moral Mondays: No Longer Alone by Rebecca Cary
Jan 29, 2014
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: No Longer Alone by Rebecca Cary

By Rebecca Cary, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Durham

During the past winter and spring, as I followed the news, I grew increasingly dispirited. Our state government was taking more and more actions that I believed, as a Christian, to be fundamentally unjust. Christ healed the sick and fed the hungry. The legislature was blocking access to Medicaid and taking benefits away from those who had little, and claiming to be helping our state by doing so.

Boosts for Voters, Protestors
Boosts for Voters, Protestors
Jan 27, 2014
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Boosts for Voters, Protestors

By the time last year’s edition of the NC General Assembly finished its work, it was… Continue Reading

The Wrong Side of History by Leonard Beeghley – Voices of Moral Mondays
The Wrong Side of History by Leonard Beeghley – Voices of Moral Mondays
Jan 25, 2014
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

The Wrong Side of History by Leonard Beeghley – Voices of Moral Mondays

By Dr. Leonard Beeghley, Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Durham

During the summer of 1969, I found myself in Fayette, Mississippi, where I met Mr. Charles Evers. Just elected the first Black mayor of a southern town since reconstruction, he proudly called himself “the most hated man in Mississippi.” His election symbolized the spread of democracy into the South.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Bending the Arc by Chris Liu-Beers
Voices of Moral Mondays: Bending the Arc by Chris Liu-Beers
Jan 21, 2014
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Bending the Arc by Chris Liu-Beers

By Chris Liu-Beers, NC Council of Churches, Raleigh

I felt called to participate in Moral Mondays as a way to “bear witness” in this time and place. I believe that as a society we are judged by how we treat the most vulnerable people among us; and as a North Carolinian, I could not stand silent while the General Assembly passed bill after bill that harmed the marginalized and propped up the powerful.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Shining a Bright Light by Lorraine Ljunggren
Voices of Moral Mondays: Shining a Bright Light by Lorraine Ljunggren
Jan 17, 2014
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Shining a Bright Light by Lorraine Ljunggren

The NC Council of Churches is proud to publish a brand new e-book collection of testimonies… Continue Reading

HKonJ 2014 — Saturday, February 8
HKonJ 2014 — Saturday, February 8
Jan 12, 2014
George Reed, Former Executive Director

HKonJ 2014 — Saturday, February 8

It’s now just four weeks until this year’s HKonJ People’s Assembly. There is nothing more important for… Continue Reading

The Common Heritage of This State by Susannah Tuttle – Voices of Moral Mondays
The Common Heritage of This State by Susannah Tuttle – Voices of Moral Mondays
Jan 12, 2014
Susannah Tuttle, NCIPL Director

The Common Heritage of This State by Susannah Tuttle – Voices of Moral Mondays

By Susannah Tuttle, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light, Raleigh

As Director of NC Interfaith Power & Light, it is both my personal and professional responsibility to draw connections between the spirituality of stewardship and the procedures of policy making. I often lead my presentations with the point that caring for the environment is not just political, it is spiritual doctrine shared by all faith traditions. When the seventh Moral Monday focus was designated as environment, justice, and health, I was absolutely elated.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Since 1920 by Mary Klenz
Voices of Moral Mondays: Since 1920 by Mary Klenz
Jan 9, 2014
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Since 1920 by Mary Klenz

By Mary Klenz, League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg

League of Women Voters members here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg spent several hours making signs for today’s Moral Monday in our home base. It is inspiring to see the energy, commitment and caring that people have around these issues of social justice, fairness and access to voting. The LWV has been fighting for voting rights for all people since 1920, and we’re not stopping now.

Voices of Moral Mondays: From Asheville to Raleigh by Jeanne Finan
Voices of Moral Mondays: From Asheville to Raleigh by Jeanne Finan
Jan 5, 2014
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: From Asheville to Raleigh by Jeanne Finan

By Rev. Jeanne Finan, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Asheville

Since that day others in my congregation made the long trek to Raleigh for Moral Mondays. People care. The church cares. We are called to care for the entire community, most especially the poor. How could I not go and make that stand?

Voices of Moral Mondays: The Work of the Holy Spirit by Jay Davis
Voices of Moral Mondays: The Work of the Holy Spirit by Jay Davis
Jan 3, 2014
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: The Work of the Holy Spirit by Jay Davis

By Jay Davis, Rougemont United Methodist Church

In 1959, I graduated from Central High School in Charlotte in what I believe was the first integrated graduating class in the state. A brave young African American named Gus Roberts suffered two years of living hell to make that kind of dramatic progress for North Carolina. I was not among the students that hit him or spat on him or verbally assaulted him during that time. I, also, was not one of those who befriended him, or supported him, or stood up for him. At least once during those two years I could have said to the bullies attacking him, “Leave him alone. He is not bothering you,” but I didn’t. By my silence I, in effect, held the coats of the cruel students that daily accosted Gus. In later years I would be haunted by that silence, but, at that point in my life, my eyes were blind to the evils of prejudice and racism.

Turn On the News, Stay Calm by Leigh Sanders – Voices of Moral Mondays
Turn On the News, Stay Calm by Leigh Sanders – Voices of Moral Mondays
Dec 30, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Turn On the News, Stay Calm by Leigh Sanders – Voices of Moral Mondays

By Leigh Sanders, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh

In the beginning, I was hesitant to attend Moral Mondays because I thought it was a strictly religious response and not being devoutly anything, I assumed I wasn’t invited. Then I attended a Moral Monday meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh and understood that not only was I invited, I was late!

A Year of Setbacks, Pushbacks
A Year of Setbacks, Pushbacks
Dec 29, 2013
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

A Year of Setbacks, Pushbacks

At the close of a momentous year for politics and public policy in North Carolina –… Continue Reading

Voices of Moral Mondays: A Small Thing by Natalie Boorman
Voices of Moral Mondays: A Small Thing by Natalie Boorman
Dec 26, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: A Small Thing by Natalie Boorman

I am a social worker by profession and am especially concerned about cuts to health care for as many as 500,000 particularly vulnerable people in North Carolina. I am confused by politicians who say people should be allowed to have guns, and those who are mentally ill should seek treatment. How are they going to do that when hospitals and other treatment options are having their budgets cut, thus fewer resources are available?

Where Do We Go From Here by William Jeffries – Voices of Moral Mondays
Where Do We Go From Here by William Jeffries – Voices of Moral Mondays
Dec 22, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Where Do We Go From Here by William Jeffries – Voices of Moral Mondays

By Rev. William Jeffries, retired United Methodist Minister, Durham

It has been a refreshing experience to participate in Moral Monday rallies. It has given voice to those who are frustrated by the North Carolina General Assembly’s turning the clock backward on social programs.

A key to reversing this “race to the bottom” is rescuing the elections process from suppressive measures, so that young, elderly, and poor voters do not have their votes denied

Voices of Moral Mondays: Without Hesitation by Patricia B. Anthony
Voices of Moral Mondays: Without Hesitation by Patricia B. Anthony
Dec 20, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Without Hesitation by Patricia B. Anthony

On June 10, I chose to exercise my Constitutional right to petition my legislature, to express my concerns about legislation they had passed and were considering. To be clear, we did not go there to be arrested, we went to present our grievances to the legislature. I chose to remain standing when the police ordered us to disperse, and I was arrested, handcuffed, and brought to the Wake County Detention Center. My reasons for feeling so strongly are many.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Meet Me on the Corner by W. Gaye Brown
Voices of Moral Mondays: Meet Me on the Corner by W. Gaye Brown
Dec 17, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Meet Me on the Corner by W. Gaye Brown

I am the vicar of a small Episcopal congregation in Elkin. When I first heard about Moral Mondays, I yearned to participate, but time was short and Raleigh was almost three hours away. As I reflected on this, I realized that one didn’t have to go to Raleigh to participate — that we could have our own Moral Monday in Elkin. So I sent an email to the congregation and another to the local ministerial association inviting folks to join me and our senior warden on a street corner in Elkin on the following Monday, June 10, at 5:00.

Voices of Moral Mondays: It’s Personal by Jonathan Kotch
Voices of Moral Mondays: It’s Personal by Jonathan Kotch
Dec 11, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: It’s Personal by Jonathan Kotch

It has been very gratifying to meet fellow health-care reform advocates, including Physicians for a National Health Program and Health Care for All NC members, on Halifax Mall on the several Mondays I managed to make it. Some of you helped hold our banner. Others, like our treasurer, Robin Lane, addressed the 1,000 or so participants from the podium. My own experience, when I was arrested on June 3, was very personal.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Created in God’s Image by Willona Stallings
Voices of Moral Mondays: Created in God’s Image by Willona Stallings
Dec 4, 2013
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Voices of Moral Mondays: Created in God’s Image by Willona Stallings

By Willona Stallings, NC Council of Churches, Raleigh

I had the pleasure of joining a distinct group of social activists at a Moral Monday rally in downtown Raleigh. I decided to participate because my faith calls me to care for the least among us and to stand on the right side of justice. Also, the fact that so many people had traveled from near and far to have their voices heard was a great motivating factor for me.

I live and work in Raleigh, just minutes from Halifax Mall – so if my brothers and sisters could take the time to catch a bus, make a sign or invite a friend along, surely I could do the same.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Maintaining My Sanity by Robert Kennel
Voices of Moral Mondays: Maintaining My Sanity by Robert Kennel
Nov 30, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Maintaining My Sanity by Robert Kennel

By Rev. Robert Kennel, Covenant Christian Church, Cary

Moral Mondays helped me maintain some sanity through this unbelievable legislative session. I was able to make nine Moral Mondays but did not get arrested because my wife sincerely asked me not to, perhaps because we were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in July.

William Barber is a friend and a fellow Disciple of Christ clergy brother. He has done a great job in leading the organization of effort and in keeping it on target and respectful. Over the spring, I met both old friends and new friends who have their heads screwed on straight and with whom I will work on upcoming elections to right so many wrongs.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Furious by Judy Occhetti-Klohr
Voices of Moral Mondays: Furious by Judy Occhetti-Klohr
Nov 26, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Furious by Judy Occhetti-Klohr

The NC Council of Churches is proud to publish a brand new e-book collection of testimonies… Continue Reading

Voices of Moral Mondays: It Takes A Village to Eat Breakfast by Stephen Boyd
Voices of Moral Mondays: It Takes A Village to Eat Breakfast by Stephen Boyd
Nov 22, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: It Takes A Village to Eat Breakfast by Stephen Boyd

The NC Council of Churches is proud to publish a brand new e-book collection of testimonies… Continue Reading

Voices of Moral Mondays: My 150 New BFFs by Laurel Green
Voices of Moral Mondays: My 150 New BFFs by Laurel Green
Nov 18, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: My 150 New BFFs by Laurel Green

By Laurel Green, Charlotte

There is a bond between people who are arrested together performing civil disobedience. It grows from a soil of shared experience and blossoms into a garden of interwoven visions.

There are way too many reasons I felt compelled to take a stand as a part of Moral Mondays. From the privatization trend in our state to the outrageous intrusions on women’s choices, from the dismantling of safety nets to the destruction of our environment, to the attempts at ripping away progress in civil rights, to the shredding of our public education system, the list is long and horrifying. North Carolina is being used as a petri dish right now by groups like ALEC; if we cannot stop them, surely other states will follow.

Voices of Moral Mondays: What Does the Lord Require of You by Ron LaRocque
Voices of Moral Mondays: What Does the Lord Require of You by Ron LaRocque
Nov 15, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: What Does the Lord Require of You by Ron LaRocque

Rev. Ron LaRocque, Metropolitan Community Church of Winston-Salem

On May 20, I drove from my home in Winston-Salem to Raleigh to participate in the Moral Monday campaign. Part of my participation included voluntarily committing an act of nonviolent civil disobedience which resulted in my arrest. I admit I was not as calm on the inside as many of those arrested alongside me appeared to be on the outside. Still, the anxiety I experienced was a personal sacrifice I was willing to make in order to live out my faith.

The Council Welcomes Your Support
The Council Welcomes Your Support
Nov 14, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

The Council Welcomes Your Support

The North Carolina Council of Churches could not do its work without the support of faithful… Continue Reading

Voices of Moral Mondays: Let the Little Children Come to Me by Susan Steinberg
Voices of Moral Mondays: Let the Little Children Come to Me by Susan Steinberg
Nov 12, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Let the Little Children Come to Me by Susan Steinberg

By Rev. Susan Steinberg, United Church of Chapel Hill

“Let the little children come to me, do not hinder them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” As a pastor whose ministry has focused on children and their families for the past decade, these words of Jesus guide me, challenge me, and inspire me. They are words I strive to live by each day, words that shape my pastoral identity and inform my responses to events in the public sphere.

Voices of Moral Mondays: The American Demonstrations by Wojciech Szczerba
Voices of Moral Mondays: The American Demonstrations by Wojciech Szczerba
Nov 4, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: The American Demonstrations by Wojciech Szczerba

I was amazed with the commonly made references to the civil rights movement. I was surprised to see many families with little kids. And most of all I did not expect to see policemen smiling and talking to the demonstrators in a friendly way. I could hardly believe in what I saw. I kept asking myself what it was. How- ever, in time, my initial disbelief and skepticism gradually gave way to a different feeling. I realized that this was a good example of one of the ways how stable, democratic society talks, conducts inner dialogue in a peaceful way initiated long ago by Gandhi, then carried on by Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the others.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Six More Years by Madison Kimrey
Voices of Moral Mondays: Six More Years by Madison Kimrey
Nov 3, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Six More Years by Madison Kimrey

For weeks, I heard about Moral Mondays.

Finally, I had time to go yesterday. I’ve been to several demonstrations, but nothing like this.This was like a rock concert for people who care about what’s going on in North Carolina and around the country. There were thousands of people there.

One of the things I like best about going to any kind of demonstration or participating in different forms of activism is that I get to meet a lot of people and talk to them. One of the things that’s great about going to a huge event like yesterday’s is that people come out and demonstrate for a variety of reasons.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Hot, Tired & Hungry by Craig Schaub
Voices of Moral Mondays: Hot, Tired & Hungry by Craig Schaub
Oct 29, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Hot, Tired & Hungry by Craig Schaub

By Rev. Craig Schaub, Parkway United Church of Christ, Winston-Salem

We were tired, hot, and hungry as we wove our way slowly through the crowd to head back to our car for the journey home. Our eight-year-old daughter was holding my hand and looked up. She said, “Dad, that was sort of cool.” On our way from the final Moral Monday in Raleigh back to Winston-Salem, she fell asleep in the backseat. Arriving home, she put on her pajamas, hunted for a book in her bookshelf, and thrust it before me. “I want you to read this to me before I fall back asleep.” It was a book about how representative government works. Not my idea of a typical bedtime story, but clearly what she wanted. Something was planted within her that night. It was enough for me.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Failure to Disperse on Command by Betsy Crites
Voices of Moral Mondays: Failure to Disperse on Command by Betsy Crites
Oct 25, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Failure to Disperse on Command by Betsy Crites

After attending several Moral Monday protests at the NC Legislature, I finally decided to join the ranks of those who “trespass” and “fail to disperse on command.” I was by no means a groundbreaker. I may have been the 800th to face this encounter with the law while expressing disagreement with policies that punish the poor and reward the wealthy.

On top of refusing federal unemployment benefits and Medicaid to people who are economically vulnerable, our legislators are setting up obstacles to voting that will cost millions of dollars to enforce while disenfranchising those who fail to jump the additional hurdles.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Three Young Men (Aleta Payne)
Voices of Moral Mondays: Three Young Men (Aleta Payne)
Oct 18, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Voices of Moral Mondays: Three Young Men (Aleta Payne)

The three most important people in my life happen to be young, African American men. None was born in North Carolina, but all have lived here most of their lives.

Precious as they are to me, they are also beloved children of God. Their Creator values them as much as God values anyone else, regardless of skin color, wealth, age or any other factor intertwined with recent human decisions about who gained and who lost in our state.

Voices of Moral Mondays: I Could Not Not Do It (Larry Gaissert)
Voices of Moral Mondays: I Could Not Not Do It (Larry Gaissert)
Oct 16, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: I Could Not Not Do It (Larry Gaissert)

I am an educated, financially secure, slightly-beyond-middle-age, healthy, white, heterosexual, southern male. In other words I am a person of privilege. As a teenager in the 1960s, I lived in Birmingham, Alabama and was an almost eyewitness to the events that occurred there during that era’s civil rights struggle.

I am also a person of faith, and my faith tradition tells me that my privileged status is a gift that carries with it certain responsibilities. Primary among those responsibilities is to care for those whom we refer to as the least of these…those on the margins, the ostracized, the powerless, the voiceless.

Voices of Moral Mondays: Testimonies of Faithfulness and Civil Disobedience
Voices of Moral Mondays: Testimonies of Faithfulness and Civil Disobedience
Oct 11, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Voices of Moral Mondays: Testimonies of Faithfulness and Civil Disobedience

Sign up below to download this free e-book. We will send you the e-book and add… Continue Reading

Introduction to Voices of Moral Mondays: Mustard Seed
Introduction to Voices of Moral Mondays: Mustard Seed
Oct 11, 2013
George Reed, Former Executive Director

Introduction to Voices of Moral Mondays: Mustard Seed

I’ve been thinking about mustard seed as I reflect on Moral Mondays. Jesus once described the coming kingdom of God by comparing it to a tiny seed that grows into a large tree.

Moral Mondays started with a simple call to people of faith to prayer, to pursue the “moral high ground” of nonviolent protest and peaceful assembly, to register distress at the direction our state was being taken by the General Assembly and Governor. The call came from the Rev. William Barber, pastor of Goldsboro’s Greenleaf Christian Church, president of the state chapter of the NAACP, and the creator and prophetic force behind Moral Mondays. On April 29 (my birthday, but I’m pretty sure that’s just coincidental) there was a “pray-in,” followed by a rally at the General Assembly, followed by civil disobedience that resulted in 17 arrests.

Capital’s End-of-Summer Fallout
Capital’s End-of-Summer Fallout
Sep 6, 2013
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Capital’s End-of-Summer Fallout

Call it the year of North Carolina’s Big Right Turn. A conservative General Assembly, with a… Continue Reading

Court Tests for New Election Law
Court Tests for New Election Law
Aug 20, 2013
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Court Tests for New Election Law

North Carolina’s new voter ID law also cuts the period for early voting and makes other… Continue Reading

The Liberal Protest that Would Shock the Right: Moral Monday
The Liberal Protest that Would Shock the Right: Moral Monday
Aug 4, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

The Liberal Protest that Would Shock the Right: Moral Monday

Salon

Every week prayers and gospel songs infuse the air and participants offer blessings to the latest batch of 100 or so activists entering the Raleigh General Assembly building to commit civil disobedience. If you’re not from here, it may all seem a little counter-intuitive: A movement for inclusive and just secular governance that is deeply inflected with Christian ethics and arguments.

Short Rations for Schools
Short Rations for Schools
Aug 1, 2013
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Short Rations for Schools

The teachers were upset. And with North Carolina now embarked on a program of aggressive backsliding… Continue Reading

More Damage as Session Ends
More Damage as Session Ends
Jul 26, 2013
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

More Damage as Session Ends

The General Assembly has adjourned its 2013 session after a final cascade of disappointing and disturbing bills that now await review by Gov. Pat McCrory. Among the bills approved are ones that will make it less convenient for many citizens to vote and that weaken regulatory oversight of the environment.

There was at least one bright spot, as the House rejected a last-minute push by the Senate to speed up the environmentally risky natural gas extraction process known as fracking. But on the whole, legislators succeeded in putting the crowning touches on a session devoted to a conservative agenda the likes of which modern North Carolina has never before seen.

Squeeze on Education Spending
Squeeze on Education Spending
Jul 22, 2013
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Squeeze on Education Spending

A budget to carry North Carolina state government through the next two years is poised for… Continue Reading

The Nation is Watching NC and Moral Mondays
The Nation is Watching NC and Moral Mondays
Jul 12, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

The Nation is Watching NC and Moral Mondays

The impact of Moral Mondays continues to extend beyond North Carolina. Two recent articles and an… Continue Reading

Faith Communities Cannot Do It All
Faith Communities Cannot Do It All
Jul 10, 2013
George Reed, Former Executive Director

Faith Communities Cannot Do It All

Many of you listen to Marketplace, a business-news program produced by American Public Media and carried… Continue Reading

Moral Mondays Reverberate Across the Country
Moral Mondays Reverberate Across the Country
Jul 5, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Moral Mondays Reverberate Across the Country

I finally had the chance to go my first Moral Monday earlier this week. Walking around Halifax Mall with our Executive Director, George Reed, I was struck by how many people we both knew. I’m deeply proud of the involvement by clergy and faith communities in particular. So many of our members are represented not only in the crowd but also in the faces of those participating in civil disobedience and getting arrested. As we celebrate Independence Day this week, we give thanks not only for the many freedoms our country offers, but in particular for the countless faithful voices speaking up and speaking out for those who are being pushed to the margins by this General Assembly.

Reflection on Moral Mondays
Reflection on Moral Mondays
Jun 29, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Reflection on Moral Mondays

Participating in Moral Monday impressed me with a sense of fraternity and hope in the face… Continue Reading

Punishing the Jobless
Punishing the Jobless
Jun 26, 2013
Steve Ford, Volunteer Program Associate

Punishing the Jobless

Upwards of 70,000 jobless North Carolinians are about to see their finances go from bad to… Continue Reading

Why I Went to Jail for Justice on June 24, 2013
Why I Went to Jail for Justice on June 24, 2013
Jun 25, 2013
Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate

Why I Went to Jail for Justice on June 24, 2013

NCCC Volunteer Program Associate Sandy Irving was arrested at the June 24 Moral Monday. Thirty-five years… Continue Reading

David LaMotte: Celebrating Dad’s Day By Taking Mine to Jail
David LaMotte: Celebrating Dad’s Day By Taking Mine to Jail
Jun 21, 2013
David LaMotte, Consultant for Peace

David LaMotte: Celebrating Dad’s Day By Taking Mine to Jail

David LaMotte, the Council’s Consultant for Peace, celebrated Father’s Day last Sunday with his four-year-old son… Continue Reading

A State of Urgency
A State of Urgency
Jun 19, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

A State of Urgency

As rabbis at this week’s event told reporters, the civil disobedience was not an option of first resort – Republican legislators repeatedly blew off meeting requests from clergy who are eager to discuss the impact the North Carolina GOP’s policies have on the common good. As the movement has gained steam, some politicians have resorted to insulting Moral Mondays participants. The governor dismissed it all as an effort led by “outsiders,” and one state legislator dubbed it “Moron Mondays.” It brings to mind Gandhi’s saying, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Moral Mondays Are Home-Grown
Moral Mondays Are Home-Grown
Jun 17, 2013
George Reed, Former Executive Director

Moral Mondays Are Home-Grown

“Outside agitators.” The very term reminds those of us of a certain age of the Civil… Continue Reading

Bishop Tonyia Rawls — Why She Chose to Be Arrested at Moral Monday
Bishop Tonyia Rawls — Why She Chose to Be Arrested at Moral Monday
Jun 13, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Bishop Tonyia Rawls — Why She Chose to Be Arrested at Moral Monday

Bishop Tonyia Rawls, a member of the NC Council of Churches Governing Board and founding pastor… Continue Reading

Faith Leaders Voice Support for Moral Mondays
Faith Leaders Voice Support for Moral Mondays
Jun 11, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Faith Leaders Voice Support for Moral Mondays

Faith leaders from across the state and from different traditions continue to speak out in support… Continue Reading

Call to Mobilize 1,000 Clergy
Call to Mobilize 1,000 Clergy
Jun 1, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Call to Mobilize 1,000 Clergy

A group of clergy members is working to mobilize 1,000 of their colleagues to gather at… Continue Reading

NC NAACP Launches Statewide Tour
NC NAACP Launches Statewide Tour
May 29, 2013
Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

NC NAACP Launches Statewide Tour

The North Carolina NAACP, building on four weeks of Moral Monday demonstrations, has launched a 25-city… Continue Reading

Moral Mondays Continue in June
Moral Mondays Continue in June
May 25, 2013
George Reed, Former Executive Director

Moral Mondays Continue in June

Moral Mondays continue (though they will take the day off on Memorial Day). This week’s protest… Continue Reading

Moral Mondays – Clergy Issued Special Invitation for May 20
Moral Mondays – Clergy Issued Special Invitation for May 20
May 15, 2013
George Reed, Former Executive Director

Moral Mondays – Clergy Issued Special Invitation for May 20

As many of you already know, Rev. William Barber and the state NAACP are organizing weekly… Continue Reading


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