wfn.org | Chemberlin, Watkins named to White House panel

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

>Chemberlin, Watkins among church leaders
>named to White House faith-based panel

Washington, April 6, 2009- The President Elect of the National Council  of Churches and the head of one of the NCC's 35 member communions were  named today to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and  Neighborhood Partnerships.

The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, executive director of the Minnesota Council of  Churches and President Elect of the National Council of Churches USA,  and the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the  Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), are among the appointees named  today by President Obama.

Chemberlin, Watkins and other appointees will serve one-year terms on  the panel.
Named earlier to the panel are other church leaders related to NCC  member communions: Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie, Presiding Bishop, 13th  Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church; and the Rev. Dr.  William J. Shaw, President, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

According to a White House statement, the Office for Faith-Based and  Neighborhood Partnerships "will be a resource for nonprofit and  community organizations, both secular and faith-based, looking for ways  to make a bigger impact in their communities, learn their obligations  under the law, cut through red tape, and make the most of what the  federal government has to offer."

Chemberlin, a Moravian clergywoman was elected President Elect of the  National Council of Churches in November 2007. She is automatically  slated to become NCC President on January 1, 2010, succeeding Archbishop  Vicken Aykazian. She will be the first Minnesotan to serve as national  president.  

Chemberlin has led the Minnesota Council for 13 years.  According to  Dr. Nancy Jo Kemper, executive director of the Kentucky Council of  Churches, the Minnesota Council of Churches is one of the most vibrant  and effective state councils of churches in the United States.

Watkins, who preached at the National Prayer Service in the National  Cathedral the day after President Obama's inauguration, is general  pastor of the 700,000-member Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),  responsible for representing the wholeness of the church, for  reconciling differences, and for helping the church retain its clarity  of mission and identity.

As General President, she is the chief executive officer for the  denomination, responsible for overseeing the work of the  church's  various structures. She strives to help the Christian Church (Disciples  of Christ) remain faithful to God's calling and to do its work  effectively and efficiently. She is serving a six-year term that extends  through the 2011 General Assembly.

The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council  of Churches, said the 45 million Christians represented by the NCC's  member communions "are well served" by the President's appointees to the  panel.

"Peg and Sharon have been exemplars of the notion that we are strongest  as a nation and as people of faith when we join hands and work together  for the common good," Kinnamon said. "Bill Shaw and Vashti McKenzie have  also spoken courageously and prophetically about the need to come  together to achieve common goals. We commend President Obama for seeing  the importance of harnessing the moral and political power of  faith-based and neighborhood groups. The slogan, 'Yes, We Can,' only has  meaning when we say it together."

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office),  646-853-4212 (cell) , pjenks@ncccusa.org

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