| | | The National Council of Churches Announces “NCC Freedom Summer 2024” | | Washington, D.C.—The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) is excited to announce its NCC Freedom Summer campaign, which will launch in Washington, D.C., with a Day of Action on June 19 (Juneteenth), and conclude with a Freedom Summit in Jackson, Miss., on August 17. This announcement comes as NCC commemorates the 60th anniversary of its 1964 Freedom Summer efforts and prepares for the 2024 general election this fall. NCC urges its member denominations as well as all people of faith and goodwill to use this summer as a time to educate, engage, and empower voters for social change, transformation, and to strengthen our democracy.
The 2024 NCC Freedom Summer is a faith-based civic engagement campaign to mobilize voters in five priority states (Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan) through voter registration, voter education, and voter mobilization efforts for the 2024 election. | | | Bishop McKenzie Receives William Augustus Jones Award at the National Action Network Convention | | Rev. Al Sharpton (left), President and Founder of the National Action Network (NAN), Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, NCC President and General Secretary, and Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of the NAN National Board of Directors at the National Action Network Convention on April 12, 2024. | Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, NCC President and General Secretary, was honored at the 33rd anniversary of the National Action Network Convention (NAN) on Friday, April 12, at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. Rev. Al Sharpton, President and Founder of NAN, and convention host Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of the National Board of Directors of NAN, presented the organization's prestigious William Augustus Jones Award for Social Justice to Bishop McKenzie during the Rev. Dr. William A. Jones Ministers' Luncheon. Also honored during the luncheon was Bishop Rudolph McKissick, Senior Pastor of the Bethel Church in Jacksonville, FL.
The keynote speaker at the session was Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Centennial Chair and University Distinguished Professor of African American & Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Watch the recording of the Rev. Dr. William A. Jones Ministers' Luncheon here. | | Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, NCC President and General Secretary at NAN Convention on April 12, 2024. | | | | NCC Joins Rally to Mark the One-Year Anniversary of the Current Conflict in Sudan | | Matt Markay, NCC Project Coordinator, attended the United for Sudan Rally in Washington D.C., on April 15, 2024. | NCC's new Project Coordinator, Matt Markay, attended the United for Sudan Rally in Washington D.C. on April 15. The rally called for an immediate end to the war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since its onslaught on April 15, 2023, the war in Sudan has caused the displacement of eight million people, two million of whom have fled to neighboring countries. The violence has also led to the deaths of 15,000 people and created a hunger crisis. Some reports are estimating that more than 222,000 people could die from malnutrition in the coming weeks and months.
Notable speakers during the event included Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02), Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51), as well as former Senator Sam Brownback and former Congressman Frank Wolf —all politicians who have staunchly opposed the violence committed in Sudan. Sudanese nationals also spoke out against the atrocities happening in their home country, many having lost family members to the war.
NCC stands in solidarity with the people of Sudan and prays for an end to the violence, displacement, and famine. | | The Federal Anti-Solitary Taskforce's Solitary Confinement Press Conference and Rally | | Keith Swartzendruber (top left), NCC Advocacy Coalition Coordinator/IT and Office Management, with attendees and speakers at the Federal Anti-Solitary Taskforce's End Solitary Confinement Press Conference and Rally on April 16, 2024. | Speakers at the event included Rev. Kendal L. McBroom, Director of Civil and Human Rights at the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, Maria Morris, Director of Stop Solitary Campaign at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Eddie Ellis, survivor of solitary confinement, Natasha White, Director of Community Engagement at the Interfaith Action for Human Rights, and Jessica Sandoval, National Director of Unlock the Box Campaign. | | | WISC Participates in Interfaith Earth Day Service of Celebration | | Washington Interfaith Staff Community (WISC) attends the Interfaith Earth Day Service of Celebration on April 18 at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. NCC was represented by Matt Markay, NCC Project Coordinator, who engaged with organizations and congressional leaders. The gathering included remarks offered by congressional members and administration officials and prayers from faith leaders. | | NCC Gears Up for Spring Governing Board Meeting in May | | | | Creating a Culture of Repair and the 2024 Election | | The NCC-convened Interfaith Reparatory Justice Table hosted a webinar on Thursday, April 18, exploring reparatory justice, reparations, and how to engage political candidates around these issues.
Rev. Dr. Robert Turner, Pastor at Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, joined the webinar in the midst of his 9th 40-mile walk to the White House to call on President Biden to establish a reparations commission. In addition to discussing his walking witness, Rev. Dr. Turner also discussed his new book, "Creating a Culture of Repair: Taking Action on the Road to Reparations," available from Westminster John Knox Press.
You can watch the webinar on NCC’s YouTube channel and subscribe! | | | | | Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2024 Spring Summit Fast Approaching | | Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) will focus on promoting and protecting human rights both domestically and around the world. EAD will be returning to an in-person gathering in Washington, DC, May 17–19.
The theme for this year’s gathering is “Faith in Action: Advancing Human Rights and Peace for All.” Sessions will include plenaries, worship, workshops, and opportunities for state networking and organizing.
Registration is now open for the gathering. | | | |
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