wfn.org | NCCCUSA OFFICERS' STATEMENT - BURNED CHURCHES

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A.
Contact: Carol J. Fouke, NCC, 212-870-2252
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

NCC10/2/96                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICERS OF
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN
THE U.S.A.
ON THE BURNED CHURCHES FUND
October 2, 1996

 The conscience of the nation has been touched
by the burning of Black churches.  Since last March
when the National Council of Churches began its
effort to rebuild the churches, there has been a
tremendous outpouring of gifts from individuals,
congregations, corporations, and foundations.  Other
faith communities have joined the National Council
of Churches in a unique interfaith and ecumenical
effort to restore the churches and challenge the
racism that motivated the majority of the fires.

 Nearly two million dollars has been awarded by
a grants committee made up of distinguished civic
and religious leaders.  Twenty-eight churches are
now able to begin rebuilding their churches and
walls are rising amidst the rubble.  An
unprecedented National Rebuilding Task Force is co-
chaired by the National Council of Churches, the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and
the Congress of National Black Churches.  It
embraces an impressive array of financial,
community, and humanitarian organizations.

 More than a thousand volunteers have offered to
assist the rebuilding.  Their efforts are being
coordinated by Habitat for Humanity.  Americans have
rallied not only to rebuild the burned churches but
to address racism.  Religious groups and local
communities have begun to develop strong programs to
confront the climate of racism that underlies church
burnings, divides too many Americans, and devastates
too many communities.  They recall Dr. Martin Luther
King’s lesson that racism can only be challenged by
black and white people together.

 In this context, the Institute of Religion and
Democracy, an ideologically conservative group, once
again has sought to undermine and discredit the
National Council of Churches and its partners as we
seek to minister to the pain and sorrow of the
burned churches.  Those familiar with the IRD's
self-appointed mission to attack and defame the
National and World Councils of Churches along with
the social witness of their member communions will
recognize its characteristic tactics.  These include
use of half-truths, distortions, character
assassination, selective quotation of secondary
sources without verifying the facts, and citations
out of context -- in short, disregard for the truth
as the IRD pursues its own narrow ideological
agenda.

 The National Council of Churches is accountable
to elected representatives of its 33-member
communions which include Protestant and Orthodox
bodies, including most of the historic black
churches.  The IRD is not accountable to the
churches or to any religious body.  It lives by
attacking and discrediting others.

 African American churches are rising again
thanks to the concerned help of people across the
nation.  This rebuilding will continue despite the
IRD’s attempts to destroy the credibility of the
National Council of Churches.  Name calling will not
halt our efforts, nor red-baiting attacks on the
Council's black leadership.  This cynical attempt to
destroy the remarkable partnership that has been
formed will not succeed.  As officers of the
National Council of Churches, we pledge to continue
the rebuilding of the churches and to address the
racism that threatens our oneness.

Officers of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
USA
President Bishop Melvin G. Talbert
General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell
President-Elect, Bishop Craig Anderson
Immediate Past President the Rev. Dr. Gordon L.
Sommers
Secretary Bishop Cecil Bishop
Treasurer the Rev. Dr. Margaret J. Thomas
Vice-President World Service and Witness, the Rev.
Dr. Will L. Herzfeld
Vice-President National Ministries, the Rev. Dr.
Richard Hamm
Vice-Presidents at Large the Rev. Joan Parrott;
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian;
Dr. Sylvia Moore Faulk

-end-

2

-0-