wfn.org | Kinnamon and McCullough Call for Recommitment to Unity of Church

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

Kinnamon and McCullough cite worldwide challenges
and call for a recommitment to the unity of the church

Minneapolis, November 11, 2009 -- The annual General Assembly of the
National Council of Churches USA  and Church World Service commenced
Tuesday amid sober assessments of national and world conditions and
calls for renewal of the churches' historic commitment to unity.

As of noon Tuesday, 28 of the General Assembly's 35 member communions
had registered delegations, said NCC President Elect Peg Chemberlin as
she called the roll.

Chemberlin will be installed Thursday as President of the National
Council of Churches for a two-year term.

The 2009 General Assembly, which meets here November 10-12, will be
presided over by NCC President Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and by
Bishop Johncy Itty, chair of the CWS Board of Directors.

Delegates responded to the keynote address, delivered by the Rev. Dr.
Margaret Aymer, Associate Professor of New Testament and Chair of
Biblical Studies at the Interdenominational Theological Center in
Atlanta, with a standing ovation.

Aymer and other speakers cited the theme of the Assembly, which at
first glance seemed inappropriately optimistic in the face of world
conditions: "Rejoice Always, Pray without ceasing, Give thanks in all
circumstances (I Thessalonians 5:16-18, NRSV.)"

But speakers noted that the theme reflects the church's faith that God
has called them together to proclaim the gospel and restore justice to
the world.

The staff leaders of the two organizations -- the Rev. Dr. Michael
Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, and
the Rev. John L. McCullough, executive director and CEO of Church
World Service -- each described alarming conditions in which millions
live in the nation and around the world, and called upon the member
communions to recommit themselves to proclaiming this gospel of hope
and justice.

"In the U.S. we have entangled ourselves in an almost senseless
discussion about health care," McCullough said. "It?s a fascinating
discussion, given that the United States has the widest gap of
personal wealth between rich and poor of any industrialized nation. I
venture that there are none amongst us who would not spend even their
last penny to save an ailing child, or a dying spouse. Yet, we
tolerate a world where an estimated forty million people are living
with HIV/AIDS; where every year out of the 350?500 million cases of
malaria, there are one million fatalities; one million, eight hundred
thousand (1.8) million children die each year as a result of diarrhea,
and another 2.2 million children die because they are not immunized.
It seems odd hearing us argue that we cannot afford universal
health care? Sure, I agree, the poor cannot afford to underwrite the
cost, and neither can the middle class, but the rich certainly can."

McCullough issued a challenge to the delegates. "At Church World
Service we pray that the churches will always choose hope over hunger,
because like the poor who are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed,  we too have hope," he said. "Like the
poor, we have learned to Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give
thanks in all circumstance, because we too want or expect something
that to us seems possible or likely: We believe there is enough food
that no one should go hungry, enough water that no one should thirst,
and enough love that all children should reach their potential. We
believe in the right to peace with justice and a place people can call
home. We need your help."

Kinnamon said it was appropriate for Christians to be openly outraged
about the state of the world, and he cited some examples:

"Forty-six million Americans, 9 million of them children, have no
health insurance," Kinnamon said.  "Be outraged!"

Furthermore, he said, "Before the end of today, 276 people ? 57 of
them children and teens ? will be shot by a gun.  Be outraged! There
are about 3,000 homeless people in Hennepin County, the site of this
assembly, and more than 9,200 in Minnesota, a third of them children.
Be outraged! Approximately 11 million people living in the  United
States are undocumented immigrants with uncertain futures, as the
debate on immigration policy reform continues unabated.  Be outraged!
The people of Cuba suffer under a 50-year economic embargo by the
United States, which nevertheless engages in full economic relations
with countries like China that have a record of human rights abuses
exceeding Cuba?s.  Be outraged! While Americans debate the reality of
global warming, the rise in sea level due to melting glaciers and
thermal expansion of the ocean has forced the 11,000 inhabitants of
Tuvalu ? a tiny Pacific island between Hawaii and Australia ? to
abandon their homeland.  Be outraged!"

Kinnamon said the Assembly theme "is a wonderful text for stimulating
such reflections.  On first reading, this passage from I Thessalonians
can sound human centered, as if the most important thing about our
faith is what we do:  'We urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers,
encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of
them?Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all  circumstances.'"

> General Assembly Media Contacts:

Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org

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

Ann Walle, 212-870-2654, awalle@churchworldservice.org