National Council Of Churches Podcast

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists: Rabbi David Saperstein - Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Erica Littlewolf - Program Coordinator for Indigenous Visioning Circles, Mennonite Central Committee Mohamed Elsanousi - Executive Director, Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers Moderators: Jim Winkler - NCC Min. Christian Watkins - NCC

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists Dr. Loida Martell - VP of Academic Affairs and Dean and Professor of Constructive Theology, Lexington Theological Seminary Dr. Heidi A. Miller - Director and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Pfeiffer University Moderator: Min. Christian Watkins - NCC  

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists: Derrick Lewis - National Field Organizer, NAACP Youth and College Division Abigail Scholar - Executive Director, Central Washington Justice for Our Neighbors Rev. Dr. Shazetta Thompson-Hill - Associate Pastor, Christian Chapel Temple of Faith, Fort Worth, TX Moderators: Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq. - NCC Min. Christian Watkins - NCC  

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists: Rev. Dr. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas - Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, Canon Theologian at Washington National Cathedral Rev. Dr. Stacey Cole Wilson - Executive Minister of Justice and Service, Baltimore-Washington Conference, United Methodist Church Moderators: Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq. - NCC Min. Christian Watkins - NCC

NCC's "Faith & Fire Conversations" series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis”  Panelists: • Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards: New Testament at North Park Seminary and author of “Might from the Margins” • Christian Brooks, MDiv, MSPPM: Representative for Domestic Issues, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Office of Public Witness • Rev. Noel Anderson: UCC elder and Grassroots Coordinator for Church World Service • Sara Benitez: VP of Organizing and Campaigns, Faith in Public Life Moderator: Min. Christian S. Watkins, Justice Advocacy & Outreach Manager, National Council of Churches

Episode 3 of the Faith and Fire Conversations series “Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis” Panelists Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, President and CEO of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer InstituteAmanda Tyler, Exec Director of Baptist Joint CommitteeRev. Dexter Udell Nutall, Sr. Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, Washington, DC  

Episode 2 of the Faith and Fire Conversations series “Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis” Panelists Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer - General Minister and President, United Church of Christ Rev. William H. Lamar, IV - Sr. Pastor, Metropolitan AME Church, Washington, DC

Episode 1 of the Faith and Fire Conversations series “Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis” Panelists Reuben Eckels - Church World Service Rev. E. Michelle Lederer - General Committee on Religion and Race, United Methodist Church Rev. Dr. Angela Ravin-Anderson - Wheeler Ave. Baptist Church, Houston, TX

On Wednesday we celebrated Earth Day, a day that has been celebrated every year since 1970 on April 22nd.  It’s a day for raising awareness of human activity’s negative impact upon the earth and is a day for political action and civic participation as well.  It’s the culmination of an entire month of focus on the environment, and for people of faith, it has a special significance as a day of reverence for God’s creating and sustaining work. Creation Justice Ministries has committed itself to its theme for 2020,  “The Fierce Urgency of Now.” We know we have ten years to take action to avert the most catastrophic damage to the life-sustaining climate God blessed us with, and entrusted to our care. This is Earth Month, and my guest is the executive director of Creation Justice Ministries, Shantha Ready Alonso.  Shantha is a tireless advocate among faith leaders in the US, and today she will reinforce just how fiercely urgent our collective action on behalf of the planet is.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered nearly every aspect of life in the US and around the world.  Every institution is affected, and the church is no exception. Colleges have sent students home, cleared out the classrooms, and are adapting to an online-only world.  Churches have, for the most part, closed their doors on Sunday mornings and are struggling with how to maintain the kind of community life that congregants depend on. We are now in Holy Week, in what most of us are experiencing as week 4 of social distancing, and we are being told that things are about to get much worse. Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer is the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.  He’s also the chair of the governing board of the National Council of Churches, and as such, is well-positioned to give us a macro-view of the way things are unfolding.  John also has a faith with boundless energy and hope, and I know you’ll hear that in his voice today. It’s a little of what we all need during these difficult times.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered nearly every aspect of life in the US and around the world.  Every institution is affected, and the church is no exception. Colleges have sent students home, cleared out the classrooms, and are adapting to an online-only world.  Churches have, for the most part, closed their doors on Sunday mornings and are struggling with how to maintain the kind of community life that congregants depend on. As we embark upon a series of conversations in which we will attempt to understand how this adaptation is taking place, my guest today is a pastor and leader in Washington DC who had already taken steps to connect people beyond those gathering in the sanctuary.  Rev. Dr. Christopher Zacharias joins us to describe how he and his congregation are adapting to offer ministries when the beautiful building his congregation normally gathers in is now off-limits. If you’re struggling with this challenge also, you’ll want to listen in today.

As we ponder the horrors of the massacre of 49 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, we have to reckon with the fact that home-grown hatred and extremism has gone global.  One of the great things about working with other faith groups is that we get to see how others view their mandate to fight hatred and extremism through the lens of their faith. Simran Jeet Singh is one of today’s most influential Sikh thinkers.  Simran holds graduate degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University, and he is the author of “Covering Sikhs,” a guidebook to help journalists accurately report on the Sikh community.  Today we get to speak together about bias, advocating for each other, and the need for humility in a society where we feel that we have to know everything.

Stop and think about it for a second: if you were to encourage churches to work together, wouldn’t it make sense to be reading the same translation of the Bible together?  This has been one of the hallmarks of the ecumenical movement for decades, and this is receiving a special amount of attention. For the first time in 30 years, the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is getting an update. My guest today is Roy Medley, former head of the American Baptist Church, former chair of the National Council of Churches Governing Board, now working with the NCC, Friendship Press, and the Society of Biblical Literature to develop an update to the foremost scholarly translation of the Bible, the New Revised Standard Version.  This is a historic, ambitious work, and Roy is going to bring us up to date.

This week’s podcast is an encore presentation of my interview with Dru Johnson, author of “Human Rites: the Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments,” which is to be released on Thursday, February 21.

The quote goes like this: “The Death of Christianity within the United States has been a slow process, and it may very well be in its final throes.  So I say, let the dead bury their dead.” Professor and speaker Miguel De La Torre has a new book out, and this always-challenging author is critiquing a Christianity that he says has sold its soul to white nationalism. His book is called, “Burying White Privilege,” and it’s as much as an invitation as it is a scathing critique.  It’s up-to-the-minute like reading today’s newspaper and ancient like reading Jeremiah or Amos. Get ready for a challenging and intense conversation.

How has your life been most changed, and where has God been most visible to you in that change?  Social science suggests that relationships are the most likely to change our point of view, and if we are limited in the kinds of people we are in a relationship with, we’re more likely to see things as we always have. My guest today is Max Finberg.  Max is here to tell us how his life and perspective has been changed through relationships, and how a set of intentional relationships are helping change views on race.  You could say that in his own way, he and the Repentance Project are awakening, confronting, and transforming, and he’s here to talk about it today. You’ll want to listen to the end of this episode.

Greetings from the 2019 government shutdown!  As I record this podcast, we’re in the middle of the longest government shutdown in history.  The central issue of the shutdown is immigration, and the central object is a wall. My guest today is Noel Anderson, Grassroots Coordinator for Immigrants’ Rights for the United Church of Christ and Church World Service.  I’ve got big questions about this shutdown, and Noel is the person I go to whenever I have questions about immigration policy. He’s going to walk us through this minefield of divided politics and help us get to the root of the crisis unfolding here in Washington.

Aside from going to church every Sunday, which I’m sure you do, and eagerly participating in the liturgy and ceremonies of worship, what are some other rituals you participate in on a regular basis?  The author of “Human Rites,” spelled R-I-T-E-S, would like you to think about the rituals we live by, what they mean, and how they function in all aspects of life. My guest today is Dru Johnson, a professor and author with a fascinating biography and a new book entitled, “Human Rites: the Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments.”  His book comes out in February, but I was able to see an advance copy and have the conversation you’re about to hear. I found him to be an especially engaging guest who offers something new to this very old conversation.

Tomorrow is election day!  And many are saying that this is the most consequential election in modern history. Today we’re once again hearing from our guest host, LaKesha Womack, as she interviews Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, Founder of Grace and Race Ministries, and a former head of the Washington office for the National Council of Churches.  Brenda has devoted her life to the work of racial understanding, healing and reconciliation, and in the context of the issues we are wrestling with in this election, there may not be a better person to hear from today. So if you’re standing in a long line waiting to vote, put your earbuds in and enjoy this conversation between LaKesha Womack and Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell.  If you have already voted, pass this along to someone who has not. And if you haven’t planned on voting, get out there and exercise your civic duty.

Over the past few weeks we have been holding webinars, with mixed success, designed to help us learn better ways of getting out the vote.  Our host for these webinars, LaKesha Womack, has interviewed experts on state and local elections, the importance of the Supreme Court, and has hosted a town hall at our Christian Unity Gathering.  Due to some technical problems encountered along the way, we’ve shifted gears and are having the last of these conversations here. So this week, a treat for you: LaKesha is our guest host, and today she interviews Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, one of Washington’s most powerful faith leaders and the first female Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus.  And of course you already know LaKesha; she was a guest on this podcast just a few weeks ago. Get ready for an important conversation that you’ll want to share with others as we all get ready for election day, Tuesday, November 6th.