Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12 Today is a pretty big deal– it has been nearly 100 years since a total eclipse has moved from coast to coast across the United States. Today, tens of millions of Americans will witness the “eclipse of the century,” which will pass over 3,000 miles of land. There will not be another solar eclipse, and it will only be partial,…
In the Face of Violence
Today, Friday, August 18, 2017, South Main in Durham, NC, is closed to traffic. Civil employees have been sent home. Some banks and many businesses in the downtown area have closed early. And a group of people have gathered on the Courthouse lawn. All this because of the possibility that a group of White Supremacists would march there at noon today. That hasn’t happened yet and now the news is they will march at 4pm. The official news from City Hall is that no permit was obtained by anyone to…
Police Brutality is not a Joking Matter
By Andrew Hudgins, NCCC Program Associate for Operations, for The Resistance Prays News: In a speech delivered to law enforcement officers last week, President Trump seemed to endorse police brutality when he asked officers not to be “too nice” and suggested that they should hit suspect’s heads on the doors of their police cars. The White House later said he was joking. Scripture: “My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that…
Wages of War
Wartime profits are a thing — from the people who make the machines we use to kill other people to the garment factories that provide clothing for the people who do the killing, there is money to be made keeping the war machine equipped. Eisenhower, the retired Army general we elected president in 1952, warned against an economy fueled by war — the military industrial complex. Simply put, waging war requires stuff and stuff requires people to make it and making stuff provides jobs. Ergo, when there is a war…
America’s Role in Torture — Beginning the Path to Forgiveness
With so many issues confronting us, our nation’s involvement in acts of torture is fading from the public’s priorities for concern. Five years and $40 million in the making, the Senate Intelligence Committee 6,700-page report is the only official action to address the CIA’s 2001-2006 detention/interrogation program. Released in December 2014, the 500-page executive summary offers the following highlights of what is contained in the fuller version. According to the summary, the CIA: used techniques more brutal than the agency portrayed, was not subject to adequate oversight, misled members of…
NC Council of Churches Places Welcome Billboard Along I-40
For at least the next month, drivers along I-40 West between Statesville and Hickory will see an important reminder of God’s directive to be a welcoming presence to the most vulnerable among us. The NC Council of Churches has purchased a billboard near Exit 132 that quotes Leviticus 19:34, “Welcome the stranger for you were once a stranger.” “Some travelers on this section of the highway may have already noticed a billboard with an unwelcoming message,” said the Rev. Jennifer Copeland, the Council’s Executive Director. “We want to remind folks…
Let Us Show Love and Compassion on World Refugee Day
First celebrated in 2001, World Refugee Day is held annually on June 20. The day marks a worldwide effort to raise awareness of the plight of refugees and recognize the contributions of forcibly displaced people. The annual commemoration is designated to honor “the strength, courage and resilience of refugees.” It is marked by events in more than 100 countries; in Raleigh it will include the screening of a documentary about Kenyan refugees, to be held at the Cameron Village Library at 6 p.m., sponsored by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Many people are not aware of World…
Our Unceasing Prayer Must Be for Peace
The tragedy of gun violence in this country seems unending. We pray for those impacted, whether in a South Carolina church two years ago, a Florida club one year ago, or on a Virginia baseball field today, and in all of the other times and places where lives have been shattered. The Council of Churches encourages congregations to recognize all those impacted by gun violence during Stand Up Sabbath services this weekend. Beyond that, may we prayerfully and faithfully work toward a peaceful path where our sisters and brothers are no longer…
Update — GA Takes Up Dangerous Gun Law, June 7
Representatives in the General Assembly are scheduled to take up H.B. 746 this afternoon. Calls are still needed against this bill. As our friends at NC Policy Watch reported, the North Carolina Association of Police Chiefs and others in law enforcement have come out again H.B. 746 because of their concerns for public safety. Their article reads in part: House Bill 746 would, with a few exceptions, remove the state’s requirement for a concealed carry permit, allowing anyone 18 or older who legally owns a handgun to carry to conceal…
Rolling Waters
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I headed north for my sister’s graduation. Being only a few hours away from Niagara Falls at that point, we decided to make a weekend out of it since it would be a new experience for both of us. It is quite easy to see what makes the falls such an attractive place for tourists and nature enthusiasts alike. As cliché as it might sound, the pictures we had seen our entire lives really did not do it justice. As I sat…
Action Alert: May 31, 2017 — GA May Act on Guns
As was feared, some members of the General Assembly may be bringing back legislation that would roll back existing gun safety laws. A version of the previously introduced H.B. 746 is scheduled to be heard in the House Judiciary IV committee on Wednesday. A new version of the bill would likely eliminate North Carolina’s pistol permitting system, among other things. Calls to members of the NC House are urgently needed. This from North Carolinians Against Gun Violence: NCGV has learned that a bill being considered in committee tomorrow would eliminate…
The Plank in Your Eye
As followers of the Prince of Peace, Christians are not always particularly peaceful people, which is what makes North Carolina’s return to the national stage as a foothold for intolerance both unsurprising and deeply troubling. The ease with which a Christian group would condemn another religion denies our own legacy as well as the work we still need to do. For any Christian who needs help seeing past the plank in their own eye, some of our faithful friends have put together an excellent starting place. In addition, a piece…
2018 Budget Proposal is the Antithesis of our Call
Plenty of analysis is already happening around the 2018 budget proposal out of the White House. The Washington Post provides two helpful graphics here and here. More is being written than most of us can fully absorb, but Politico offers a key observation: On close reading, the budget is less a credible attempt to eliminate, or even pay down, the U.S. debt and more an ideological policy agenda disguised as a program of fiscal responsibility. If the proposal is, as such plans are often described, a place to begin discussion…
2017 Stand Up Sabbath — June 16-18
About this time two years ago, I accepted the offer to become the next Executive Director of the NC Council of Churches. We agreed that I would spend two weeks with the outgoing ED in June learning the ropes, and then I would really get to work in August. My first day in the office was June 18, 2015. I had heard the news from Charleston that morning when I woke and I knew that event would forever define my first day at the office. The NC Council of Churches…
Faith Leaders: Make Yourselves Heard on Juvenile Justice
A change in New York law earlier this month leaves North Carolina alone in a place 49 other states have found to be indefensible: only NC automatically prosecutes 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, regardless of their crime. There are many things our state will not let teenagers do because of their age, but it will punish them as an adult. And the impact on them, their families, and their communities can be staggering. Child advocates believe this may finally be the time to bring North Carolina in line with the…