wfn.org | [NCC USA] NCC Governing Board seeks Hurricane 'just

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

NCC Governing Board seeks a 'just rebuilding'
Of hurricane-devastated sections of the Gulf Coast

New York, September 27, 2005 -- Keenly aware of the spiraling effects of 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on millions of Americans, the National Council 
of Churches USA Governing Board formed an NCC commission to work for the 
"just rebuilding of community" on the Gulf Coast.
The board also passed unanimously a resolution to call on the U.S. 
government to create an independent commission similar to the 9/11 
Commission to investigate deficiencies in the response of rescue and relief 
workers following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and in other devastated 
areas of the Gulf.

NCC President Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., Christian Methodist Episcopal 
bishop of Louisiana and Mississippi, said he would appoint Church World 
Service representatives and others with special expertise to the NCC 
commission on Katrina and he asked NCC member communions represented at the 
meeting to recommend persons who could serve. Church World Service is the 
humanitarian and relief agency of the communions that are members of the NCC.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United 
Church of Christ, who proposed the formation of the commission, noted that 
millions of hurricane victims "were left behind, not by the rapture but by 
the rupture of the social contract."
Hoyt said he was also mindful of the hidden human tragedy of Katrina, 
including the alarming number of suicides of rescue workers and "people who 
lost everything." The board received for a second reading a resolution on 
"Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Support," which will be passed on to 
the NCC General Assembly for approval. The General Assembly meets November 
8-10, 2005, in Hunt Valley, Md.
The resolution on suicide prevention urges member communions to "study and 
address the issues related to suicide prevention, intervention and support 
for those who attempt suicide and survivors of suicide loss."

The first National Conference for Survivors of Suicide Attempt and 
Healthcare Professionals will be held October 19-21, 2005, in the Marriott 
Downtown hotel, Memphis, Tenn., with singer Judy Collins acting as national 
honorary chairperson. Collins also hosted a National Council of Churches TV 
special produced for NBC affiliates and broadcast last May. The special 
explored Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Greek Orthodox perspectives and 
psychologists' and counselors' views.

In other actions, the Governing Board welcomed the publication of the NCC's 
new curriculum, "For the Peace of the World, A Christian Curriculum on 
International Relations." Introduced by Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, associate 
general secretary of the NCC for International Affairs, the study book will 
be available through the Council's publishing arm, Friendship Press.

Based on extensive field testing in local church settings, Dr. Peggy L. 
Shriver developed the curriculum following consultation with communion 
heads and other church leaders. Dr. Janice Love wrote the lead essay. Other 
contributors include Kireopoulos, Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, and the 
Rev. Dr. William H. Hopper, Jr.

The Governing Board heard a report from Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, deputy 
general secretary of the NCC for Research and Planning, on the preparation 
of a policy on human biotechnologies, "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made." The 
policy, which will be presented to the NCC General Assembly for a first 
reading in November, is already receiving accolades from experts. Dr. Larry 
Rasmussen, a retired ethics professor and member of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church in America, said the curriculum "demands our attention just 
when our attention is riveted elsewhere by the devastation of war and 
hurricanes. Yet present and future generations will be profoundly 
affected-directly-by the quiet, behind-the-scenes development ... of 
vigorous biotechnologies."

The Governing Board also voted to pass on to the General Assembly a 
resolution to reaffirm provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; a 
resolution on Civil and Religious Liberties that offers a theological 
foundation for balancing those liberties with the need to protect the 
nation from terrorist attacks; and a Bill of Media Rights that reaffirms 
that the public owns the airwaves and has a right to expect local stations 
will respond effectively to community needs.
The board also discussed the withdrawal this summer of the Antiochian 
Orthodox Church from NCC membership.
Bishop Hoyt sent a letter to H.E. Metropolitan Philip Saliba expressing 
regret at the action, and asking for a meeting with the Metropolitan "in 
the near future."

"We do not always agree," Hoyt wrote the church leader September 27, "and 
we are reminded that our Bylaws state clearly that the Council has no 
authority to prescribe common creeds or beliefs for member communions."
The National Council of Churches is composed of 35 Protestant, Anglican, 
Orthodox, historic African American and peace communions representing 45 
million Christians in 100,000 local congregations in the United States.

Contact NCC News: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2252, pjenks@ncccusa.org.