News

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:18, NRSVue)

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) mourns the senseless killing of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black male who died from injuries sustained after a brutal beating at the hands of police officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

We pray for the Nichols family as they lay their loved one to rest today, and as they determine ways to honor Tyre’s legacy going forward. We join in solidarity with faith leaders in Memphis and surrounding areas who are providing moral and spiritual leadership to communities mourning this tragedy.

We applaud the swift action of Memphis and Shelby County authorities to terminate and criminally charge those involved in this tragedy. We will continue to monitor this investigation and connect with Memphis area faith leaders to ensure all parties are held accountable, and that the family and community have the resources they need to heal from such a heartrending and unnecessary incident. 

We decry yet another act of police violence against an unarmed and nonviolent citizen. The videos of the incident revealed an abhorrent disregard for human life that we collectively must ensure never happens again. Yet, we recognize that this kind of violence continues to permeate our nation’s culture. We must intensify our efforts to end policing that intimidates and traumatizes communities of color rather than protecting and serving them. A traffic violation should not be a death sentence.

While we affirm and support the many law enforcement officers who take seriously their oath to serve our communities daily, we cannot ignore the prevalence of excessive force used by police officers against Black and Brown people. 

We call upon Congress to act swiftly in passing comprehensive police reform legislation that will hold officers accountable, train them on de-escalation techniques, and end qualified immunity. Our nation also must address the underlying racial vitriol that devalues the lives of people of color and empowers law enforcement to beat someone like Tyre Nichols to death for what required no more than the issuance of a traffic citation. 

Our prayer is that this horrendous display of brutality will be the last such occasion we are prompted to issue a statement of condemnation and that we all commit to using our resources and spheres of influence to hold elected officials at every level of government accountable for passing legislation that it may be so.

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA expresses its concern for the communities in the Holy Land that are being targeted by hostile rhetoric and actions, as well as outright violence and extremism.  No community is safe – Israeli or Palestinian; Jewish, Muslim, or Christian – while this violence is tolerated, if not encouraged, by political leaders. 

Illustrating the distress felt by all residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding region, due to this violence, is the situation of the Armenian Christian community, which has been part of the fabric of Jerusalem since the 4th century and whose community members are now reportedly subject to continual threats.  While we lift them up for particular mention at this time, our concern, and our prayers for peace, extend to all communities in the Holy Land.

For more information on the ecumenical Christian response to the ongoing violence, please see:  https://cmep.salsalabs.org/ps-jan2023-usmustengage  

Washington, DC —The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) has entered a historic partnership with Harvard Kennedy School’s William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for social justice to develop a faith-based campaign for reparations as a client in the course, Creating Justice in Real Time: Visions, Strategies, and Campaigns.

The William Monroe Trotter Collaborative aims to support innovative and inspiring partners to strengthen the reparations movement. Under its umbrella, a team of Harvard students will be assigned to provide research and resource development support to the NCC in developing Journey to Jubilee, a campaign for reparative justice and democracy reform through racial healing and transformation.

Journey to Jubilee will launch February 1, 2023, in commemoration of Black History Month.

“The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA is a paragon of ecumenical leadership that figures prominently in the long history of social justice movements. The seeds of the enduring reparatory justice movement will be watered by the synergetic efforts of Harvard students and the NCC. With this historic collaboration, we are harnessing prophetic witness to advocacy pedagogy in order to advance America’s moral deliberations on its history and future of reparatory justice,” noted Dr. Cornell William Brooks, Hauser Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit Organizations, Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Director of the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice.

The NCC, representing 37 member communions, 100,000 congregations, and more than 30 million congregants, has been at the forefront, advocating for reparations as part of its ACT Now to End Racism initiative.

“We are excited that another generation of scholars is willing to tackle the hard work of justice in the area of reparations to explore and develop a fresh way forward,” said NCC Interim President and General Secretary Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie.

The Journey to Jubilee has among its principal aims:

• Establish a broad-based network of faith leaders, activists, and organizations in the reparative justice movement
• Develop a faith-based reparative justice toolkit and training resource to educate faith communities on reparations
• Train and educate faith leaders and communities on advocacy and issue-based organizing
• Convene a gathering of faith leaders to dialogue on reparations
• Establish a commission to study and develop proposals for reparations for African Americans

For more information about Journey to Jubilee and the partnership with the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative, email: [email protected].

Put away violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. (Ezekiel 45:9, NRSVue)

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) extends prayers and condolences to the AAPI communities of Half Moon Bay and Monterrey Park, California, following the horrific mass shootings there over the past few days. These acts of violence are particularly jarring, as they occurred around the celebration of Lunar New Year and the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit, a symbol that reflects peace, empathy, and reflection.

Our country is awash in weaponry, and most especially weapons of war, as demonstrated by the frequent use of high-capacity magazines and assault rifles to commit such heinous deeds. Nevertheless, we reject the notion that these all too commonplace acts of carnage are inevitable or normative to life in the United States. No one should live in fear of a mass shooting because no place feels safe—not school, not the grocery store, not a festive gathering, and not even church.

In the first three weeks of 2023, 39 mass shootings have taken place across the country. At least 69 people have been killed and many more injured. For detailed information on mass shootings statistics in the U.S., visit the Gun Violence Archive (www.gunviolencearchive.org).

Whether at the hands of an unknown assailant boiling with hatred or someone familiar to us, or even at our own hand, we pray for deliverance from the scourge of the true weapons of mass destruction in our nation—guns. We join President Biden in urging Congress to act quickly to pass meaningful reform legislation that supports safe, responsible ownership and implements safety measures from the menace of gun violence.

Even people of faith have grown weary of platitudes in response to these tragedies. Now is the time to put feet and hands to those thoughts and prayers. Now is the time for action.

NCC is committed to continuing its work toward a society where such acts of violence are no longer a part of our legacy, and where people can live without fear. We call for unity, regardless of political ideology or religion, to ensure that Americans are no longer vulnerable to or victimized by gun violence.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war…
(Ecclesiastes 9:18, NRSVue)

January 13, 2023

Washington, DC – The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) is deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va. on Friday, January 6, 2023, when a six-year-old student brought a gun to school and shot his teacher. Our hearts are with the students and parents, faculty and staff, first responders, and the entire community as we all grapple with this unconscionable reality of gun violence once again shattering the safety of our schools and jeopardizing the well-being of our children.

We are grateful that the teacher is on her way to recovery and applaud her heroic efforts to make sure all the children in her classroom were out of harm’s way before seeking medical attention for herself. We are thankful this incident was not much worse and that no lives were lost.

While we are relieved that this was not yet another mass shooting, we remain in prayer and profoundly concerned for the six-year-old child who not only had access to a dangerous firearm but felt it necessary to use the weapon to inflict harm on his teacher, terrify classmates and cause fear and panic throughout the school and community. We pray that steps are being taken to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.

The crisis of gun violence in classrooms and communities is a symptom of the culture of violence that permeates American society. It is our collective responsibility, especially as people of faith, to resist, dismantle and counter this culture of violence and advocate for peace.

As we approach the day when we commemorate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we must renew our commitment to building the Beloved Community where peace supplants war and love supersedes hate.

Certainly, Dr. King’s words resonate for us today: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” We must confront this crisis with transformative policy and radical love in action to build a society of peace and non-violence. We urge our member denominations and local congregations to increase their efforts to promote nonviolence in their communities, and advocate for sensible gun reform legislation at the local, state and national levels.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which passed in 2022, enhances background checks for 18-21 years old, and provides funding for school safety and youth mental health programs among other provisions. However, it does not go far enough to keep our schools and communities safe, and more comprehensive, sensible gun reform legislation is needed.

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Interim President of the NCC, said, “This incident is devastating and brings home the fact that more has to be done in our churches, communities and legislatively to make sure our children are protected. We also must hold the gun industry accountable for perpetuating a culture of violence that chooses profits over people.”  

Ending Gun Violence: A Resolution and Call to Action by the National Council of Churches of Christ, U.S.A. 2010 https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/ncc-reaffirms-its-2010-resolution-on-gun-violence/ Reaffirmed 2018

Policy Statement on Firearms Control Adopted by the General Board 1967 https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/common-witness-ncc/firearms-control/

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6, NRSVue

From the start of the unprovoked Russian invasion, the National Council of Churches has condemned the war in Ukraine. We have supported the Ukrainian people and the defense of their homeland, even as we have prayed for peace throughout the region. With these prayers in our hearts, and with hope that it will spare lives that would otherwise be lost over the next two days, we support the proposed Christmas truce.

Many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7, including Russian and Ukrainian Christians. Other eastern Christians celebrate on December 25, along with western Christians. While the two celebrations reflect calendrical differences, their deeper meaning is the same: that on this day, the Prince of Peace was born. It would be more than fitting for the fighting to cease during this time of solemn celebration.

The NCC is fully aware that the proposal of a truce by Russian President Putin may be guided by disingenuous intentions. For this reason, as the fighting may briefly cease, we urge Ukrainian President Zelensky to accept this truce, even as his military intelligence resources continue monitoring Russian troop and weapons movements in anticipation of the post-truce continuation of the conflict.

We are nearing the one-year anniversary of the start of this war. We continue to pray for its end.

Deuteronomy 10:17-18

17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA strongly condemns the actions by Azerbaijan that have cut off civilians in need in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. In a season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus in a cold stable, it is particularly horrific that civilians are being cut off in the middle of winter. We stand with the Armenian Church and add our voices to those of the World Council of Churches, Pope Francis, and the Conference of European Churches. We call on the United States and its international allies to immediately pressure Azerbaijan to lift its unjust blockade and to allow food, medical supplies, and other essential resources to flow unimpeded.

“So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.” Galatians 6:10 NRSVue

As Election Day quickly approaches in the United States (U.S.) on Tuesday, Nov. 8, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) is encouraging those in our member communions, people of faith, and all Americans, to fully participate in the democratic process by casting their ballots during this election season. Elections are an opportunity for hope and a way to have our voices heard. Voting is the most important civic responsibility for citizens of the U.S. and a vital means to affect change for the common good. While elections are a source of hope each year – hope for furthering the causes of justice, equity, and peace – increasingly elections also serve as a focal point for political division, disinformation, and cynical power plays. NCC urges our member denominations to embrace the hope and opportunity that comes with this year’s election and to reject the mean-spiritedness, division and rancor that have come to characterize American politics.  

NCC is also gravely concerned about the current political climate, the violent rhetoric that has replaced honest political debate, and potential for violence during and after this year’s election. This includes concerns about the possible upticks in anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish, and racist rhetoric, bigotry, and violence, as well as violent attacks against political figures because of their positions on the issues. Such attacks jeopardize our democracy and cause unnecessary harm. 

Furthermore, the midterms are the first nation-wide elections since the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The investigations into it have revealed the insidious influence of extremists who seek to impose their will upon the entire nation. As was demonstrated on January 6th, this includes assaulting and attempting to kill law enforcement officers, duly elected representatives of the people, and others. NCC denounces these efforts in the strongest possible terms and supports the continued investigation and prosecution of all threats of political violence. We must learn to disagree without retaliation, coercion or using force against those who hold different opinions and beliefs, or vote differently than we do.

One place where we have witnessed both cynicism and hope on display is in the struggle for guaranteeing voting rights for all. Congress has failed to repair the damage done by the Supreme Court when it struck down the preclearance provisions contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Consequently, states around the country have sought to make voting more difficult, especially for voters of color. This is unacceptable. And, many continue to make false claims about the results of the 2020 election as new revelations point to possible criminal violations of election laws in the attempts to steal the 2020 election. Now more than ever, people of faith must speak up for the protection of voting rights for everyone as well as respect for the lawful, peaceful transfer of power once election results are known. We encourage churches to engage the NCCs Voter Empowerment Campaign to make sure that their congregants are registered to vote (where registration is still available), know how to vote, help people in their community returning from incarceration restore their vote, and help people access their polling place during early vote or on Election Day. This effort reflects the commitment of our member communions to protect the right to vote and encourage everyone to exercise that right. 

We recognize that this year’s election comes in the midst of political, economic, moral, and social turmoil that only intensifies a sense of anxiety and uncertainty amongst the electorate. As people of faith, we must maintain hope and act for the common good of all by not only reaching out with charity but also organizing and expressing our voices in favor of compassion and justice through the ballot box.  

Speaking on the great significance of voting, the late civil rights leader and long-serving member of Congress, John R. Lewis, said, “Your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union.”

People of faith must not sit and wait — out of complacency, apathy, or frustration over current political divisions. We must exercise our right to vote even as we do our part to make sure that others also have their voices heard and that the common good is upheld by those in office. If we are to build a future in which every person can thrive, our voices are needed. Every voice must be lifted. Every. Vote. Counts. This and every election is the time to lift our voice, all voices, and vote. On or before November 8, the NCC encourages its communions, people of faith and all Americans to get out to VOTE!