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Kathryn McCormick
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99-169

NCC's 50th anniversary celebrates the past, restructures for the 
future

by James Solheim

     (ENS) The National Council of Churches (NCC) of Christ in 
the USA celebrated its 50th anniversary by reflecting on its role 
in the ecumenical movement, embracing new leadership, and 
adopting a sweeping restructure to take it into a new millennium.

     In a sprawling four-day meeting marked by forums on a wide 
range of issues, worship services, reunions, caucuses and even a 
special concert by the Cleveland Orchestra, the future of the 
organization was on the minds of everyone.

     Meeting in the same auditorium in Cleveland where it was 
formed nearly 50 years ago, delegates to the NCC General Assembly 
gathered under a cloud of uncertainty, facing some predictions 
that a looming financial crisis threatened its future. That 
pessimism was balanced, however, with a genuine excitement over 
the election of Ambassador Andrew Young as president and former 
Congressman Robert Edgar as general secretary, two preacher-
politicians with enough organizational ability to make the 
changes necessary.

     Young began his career by serving in the NCC youth office, 
right out of college, before moving to Atlanta to work with 
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference. He was elected to Congress in 1972, serving three 
terms until he was appointed by his friend Jimmy Carter as the 
U.S. representative at the United Nations in 1977. He later 
served two terms as mayor of Atlanta and co-chair of the 1996 
Olympics.

     He credits his tenure with the NCC's Youth Division in the 
1950s with "laying a wonderful foundation for me. It not only 
prepared me for the civil rights movement but my involvement in 
Congress and the United Nations essentially came from my 
experience in ecumenical Christianity." After his graduation from 
Hartford Seminary in 1955, Young was ordained in the United 
Church of Christ and served a parish in Georgia before joining 
the NCC staff in 1957.

     Edgar was elected to Congress in 1974, the first Democrat in 
a heavily Republican district in Pennsylvania in 120 years, 
serving five terms before voluntarily stepping down in 1987 
because of his belief in term limits. An ordained Methodist 
minister, he served parishes in Pennsylvania and as chaplain at 
Drexel University in Philadelphia. For the last 12 years he has 
been president of Claremont School of Theology in California, an 
institution that was "just a hiccup away from going out of 
business. I led in changing the spirit and image of the school 
around, and now people see it as a model of how to salvage 
institutions in financial distress," he said. He was credited 
with rejuvenating the school and taking the endowment from less 
than $4 million to more than $22 million.

Radical restructure

     Edgar and Young inherit an organization that has enjoyed 
some glorious moments in the past, championing social causes, 
especially during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and 
produced two translations of the Bible that have sold over 70 
million copies. 

     For a variety of reasons, however, support for the council 
has dwindled. The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, who is finishing nine 
years as general secretary, attributed the decline to some 
changes in the ecumenical movement itself, with more attention 
and support going to local causes and ecumenical cooperation. 

     The Rev. Canon Patrick Mauney, director of Anglican and 
Global Relations for the Episcopal Church, served as a member of 
the Transition Management Team that was charged "to develop 
budget, structural design and staff configurations for a 
sustainable and viable council."

     Meeting behind closed doors, the NCC Governing Board shaped 
the proposals that went to the General Assembly. Bishop Craig 
Anderson of the Episcopal Church, who is finishing his term as 
NCC president, said that the restructuring was like "trying to 
ride a bicycle while we're still trying to build it." Someone 
else described the NCC as a camel with 35 humps, each 
representing one of its members.

     While many of the details must be worked out, it is clear 
that the New York-based staff will be cut by at least a third, or 
34 positions, including three associate general secretaries and 
four high-level directors. Anderson made an "impassioned plea to 
be together and work for what we are about--the unity of the body 
of Christ--and not be pulled apart and fragmented, which is sin."

     In an effort to work within what was called a "fiscal 
framework," the NCC Executive Board must deal with a shortfall in 
1999 of nearly $4 million. An emergency appeal to members to make 
a one-time "gift" to cover the immediate shortfall met with some 
resistance because of the murky financial picture--and the 
$750,000 cost of the anniversary celebration itself. The board 
appointed Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick of the Presbyterian 
Church (USA) and Richard Hamm of the Christian Church (Disciples 
of Christ) to solicit funds. 

Koreans tell chilling story

     Just before the meeting the NCC got involved in a story that 
illustrates its ability to put items on the human rights agenda. 
Responding to a request from the National Council of Churches in 
Korea, the NCC asked the Pentagon last December to look into 
detailed testimony from survivors of a massacre of 400 civilians 
50 years ago by U.S. soldiers at No Gun Ri. The account was 
dismissed by both the U.S. and Korean governments. Then some 
veterans, in an Associated Press story September 29, admitted 
that they had participated in the massacre.

     Four massacre survivors and three veterans came to Cleveland 
for an emotional service of recognition and remembrance, lighting 
candles to illuminate "the deepest corners of our hurt and our 
fear and our guilt." After the meeting, the group traveled to 
Washington, D.C., to meet with government officials who promised 
to look into the charges.

     Campbell said that the service and meeting is "exactly the 
kind of 'truth and reconciliation' work the church should be and 
is doing all over the world." She praised the survivors for their 
persistence in pursuing justice and the veterans for their 
courage in coming forward.

     A church leader who knows a great deal about truth and 
reconciliation, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, paid 
tribute to the NCC in a letter. He was prevented from attending 
because of a prostate operation. He commended the NCC for "the 
fervor of your love and caring…. most notably during apartheid." 
He said that the NCC had been "steadfast" and "incredibly 
generous--you were there for us. God is proud of you."

     General Secretary Konrad Raiser of the World Council of 
Churches, Canon Clement Janda of the All Africa Council of 
Churches, and the Rev. Riad Jarjour of the Middle East Council of 
Churches all brought greetings, pointing out the importance of 
the NCC on the world stage.

Young installed as president

     In a sweeping service filled with powerful preaching and 
music, Young was installed November 11 as the 20th president of 
the NCC. The Rev. Otis Moss, Jr. hailed him as a voice for peace 
and justice. "We have a voice, a vision and a victory," he said. 
In a surprise appearance by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Young was 
called "one of the authentic links to Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr." He said that Young "is part of the glue that holds the world 
together."

     At a news conference later Young did not seem disturbed by 
the NCC's financial crisis, suggesting that it has always been in 
financial trouble. He suggested that his experience of helping to 
restructure city government in Atlanta will help in the NCC 
restructure.

     "I get to stand in the way of the Holy Spirit," he said. 
"Organizing 35 communions and the people in them to take 
seriously the covenants in the Old and New Testaments is a 
challenge I'm ready to take."

--James Solheim is director of News and Information for the 
Episcopal Church.