National Council of Churches joined Creation Justice Ministries (CJM) in celebrating 40 years of eco-justice work in October, at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. The momentous occasion, themed “We’ve Come this Far by Faith: A 40th Anniversary Service of Celebration,” included past and present NCC board members and staff and was attended by hundreds of participants both at the church and online.
The National Council of Churches is an ecumenical partner supported by the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund apportionment, which enables United Methodists to share a presence and a voice in the activities of several national and worldwide ecumenical organizations.
The event celebrated 30 years of the NCC Eco-Justice Program, which was established in 1983, and 10 years of the continuation of the work through Creation Justice Ministries, which is now led by Co-executive Directors Karyn Bigelow and Avery Davis Lamb.
Dr. Benjamin Chavous, Jr., president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a decades-long environmental justice champion, and an ordained United Church of Christ minister, gave the keynote address. “We have a powerful Creator who puts things together to benefit all of creation,” he said, noting that the event theme implies that faith itself is a journey.
In his address, Dr. Chavis emphasized that we must be better stewards of God’s creation, and as better stewards, we have to be better at caring for one another. He also said we must be our brothers and sisters’ keepers and rededicate ourselves to the work of environmental stewardship.
Renowned composer Ken Medema offered original selections focused on creation care for the event and gave a stirring extemporaneous response to the sermon that lifted Dr. Chavis’ work and the 66 times he went to jail for civil rights as a statewide coordinator in North Carolina for Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
NCC Board Members Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith (National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.), and Pdn. Sergei Kapral (Orthodox Church in America), and Dr. Nathan Hosler (Church of the Brethren), both of whom serve on the Creation Justice Ministries board, were in attendance as well as NCC Chief Operating Officer Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune. Dr. Copeland-Tune offered congratulatory remarks at the reception and stressed the importance of working together on environmental stewardship.
“The road ahead is bumpy and filled with many obstacles, but working together we can and will make a difference,” she said.
NCC had a strong presence in attendance at the celebration. Former NCC staff members who led the eco-justice work for NCC and Creation Justice Ministries, Cassandra Carmichael and Shantha Ready Alonso, also participated in the celebration, as well as former NCC Board member and a past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention Bishop Carroll Baltimore, who now serves as the chair of the Board of Creation Justice Ministries.
Creation Justice Ministries Board Members in attendance who also have been active in the broader work of NCC included: Rev. Melanie Mullen, Director of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care for The Episcopal Church; Rev. Fr. Nicholas Anton, Director of Operations for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, Greek Orthodox Diocese in America, who once served on NCC’s Racial Justice Task Force; and Rev. Kip Banks, past Progressive National Baptist Convention General Secretary and a former member of the Justice and Advocacy Commission, also participated in the celebration.
National Council of Churches website
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund enables United Methodists to share a presence and a voice in the activities of several national and worldwide ecumenical organizations. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
