| Interim General Secretary and a Visit to Montgomery, Alabama
NCC Newsletter May 13, 2022 |
| | | NCC Announces Interim President and General Secretary |
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At its spring meeting on May 10, the Governing Board of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) welcomed Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie to her first business meeting of the NCC Governing Board as Interim President and General Secretary. Bishop McKenzie started in the position on April 1, 2022, and has immersed herself in the work of the organization. This initial period of exploration culminated in a Board retreat held last week in Montgomery, Alabama with programming that built upon NCC’s current priority, the “A.C.T. NOW to End Racism” initiative that was started in 2018.
“The National Council of Churches is blessed to have Bishop McKenzie in this key leadership role. She brings the necessary insight, expertise, and ecumenical commitment to the Council” said Board Chair, Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton, who is also the Presiding Bishop of the Fifth Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
“The entire Board is excited to have Bishop McKenzie,” added Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, NCC Governing Board Vice Chair.
“I am honored to have been invited to serve the National Council of Churches. I look forward to the opportunity to enhance the great work that the NCC has already done and look for strategic ways to amplify its voice. It is critical in this season of divisiveness in our country that we remain vigilant and visible advocates and bridge builders.” Bishop McKenzie.
Prior to this assignment Bishop McKenzie served as the 117th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was the first female elected to episcopal office in the more than two-century-old AME Church and is the first female to serve as President of the Council of Bishops and President of the General Board. She has served as presiding bishop in Southern Africa – Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique and Lesotho and in the United States in Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas.
She no stranger to ecumenical ministry. She has been a delegate, preacher and/or presenter to ecumenical bodies including the World Methodist Council and the World Council of Churches.
Bishop McKenzie is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Howard University, School of Religion and has an earned doctorate from United Theological Seminary.
Bishop McKenzie has been active in social justice issues for more than three decades. She was appointed in 2009 by President Barack Obama to be on the inaugural White House Commission of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership. This group worked on behalf of Americans committed to improving their communities, no matter their religious or political beliefs. She was named by Huffington Post in 2014 as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women Around the World.
She is the author of six books including Not Without a Struggle and Journey to the Well. Her newest book is The Big Deal of Taking Small Steps to Move Closer to God. The book shows how to develop a stronger relationship with God with a more effective Christian lifestyle by taking small steps that lead to big changes. |
| | | NCC Governing Board Retreat in Montgomery, Alabama |
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On May 4-5, 2022, the NCC Governing Board and staff met in Montgomery, Alabama for a special retreat. After visiting The Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the group entered into deep conversations guided by Dr. David Anderson Hooker, the Founder and Principle Narrator for CounterStories Consulting, LLC. These discussions were centered around NCC’s current priority, the “A.C.T. NOW to End Racism” initiative. Dr. Hooker's program emphasized that only through a thorough examination and understanding of the roots of history can one understand how it effects the present both in society and in our churches.
The powerful exhibits and poignant memorial laid bare the truth that enslaved people created America's wealth, opportunity, and prosperity and proved that the narrative of White supremacy persists. Since the Civil Rights Act only addresses discrimination in voting, education, and employment, and not in the criminal legal system, The Legacy Museum thoroughly details how racial discrimination and mass incarceration continue to this day centered on the bias and false myths that Black people are inferior and dangerous. The day ended with powerful worship to provide space to process all that had been experienced. Poetry, litany, music, and scripture moved participants from lament, through confession, and to the celebration of hope in the work of God yet to be done. Governing Board Chair Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton reflected on the need to acknowledge the past to be able to move forward in hope.
On the second day of the retreat, the Governing Board turned inward, with participants reflecting on their own experiences and the history of their denominations as well as that of the Council. Bishop Vashti McKenzie, NCC’s Interim President and General Secretary, offered the morning meditation, recognizing the atrocities that were committed for centuries against Black people and wondering out loud whether or not forgiveness and praying for those who continue to perpetuate violence, hatred and cruelty, is possible. She centered her meditation on the verse, "bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:28, NRSVue). Bishop McKenzie the illuminated the difficulty of wrestling with Jesus commanding us to pray for those who despise you not for their sakes but for ours.
Through facilitated dialogue and participant’s thoughtful reflection, NCC's own history of racial failings was acknowledged and the Governing Board has set a course to continue these difficult conversations, increase its awareness, and commit to practicing differently.
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| | | WEBINAR: Black Maternal Health |
| | | | | | NCC is partnering with the Poor People's Campaign to bring folks to Washington on June 18. Make sure you RSVP in advance and when you do, select "National Council of Churches USA" as your Mobilizing Partner on the form.
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| | | | Made to Save Messaging Best Practices |
| | Made To Save, the national grassroots campaign working to save lives by increasing access and trust in COVID-19 vaccines, continues to educate on storytelling and messaging that churches can use to save lives. The panel in this webinar provides advice on how community-based organizations have used effective COVID-19 messaging in their vaccine outreach efforts. |
| | | | RH Boyd Publishing Company Announces Passing of Chairman Emeritus, Dr. T.B. Boyd, II
NCC and its Committee on the Uniform Series (CUS) grieves the loss of our dear friend and colleague in ministry, the Dr. T. B. Boyd, III. He touched our lives on many levels and was an esteemed colleague to several members of our committee who worked alongside him in the ministry of Christian publishing. We celebrate Dr. Boyd’s vision for curriculum and congregational resources, especially his commitment to nurture the spiritual growth and development of the younger generation. We are grateful that our decades long partnership, through the RHB family of companies, opened opportunities to build a network of Christian publications across diverse church traditions. He will be long remembered with respect and appreciation. An announcement of his passing is posted in the Nashville, TN Tribune: https://tntribune.com/r-h-boyd-announces-the-passing-of-chairman-emeritus-dr-t-b-boyd-iii/
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| | | | | | Here's this week's faith-related Wordle! We've customized the game solutions to be religion-based each Friday.
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