Christian Churches Together

 

July 1, 2014


Tolbert Elected President of National Baptist Convention of America

 

By: Brian Kaylor

Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014 5:34 am 

http://www.ethicsdaily.com

 

Delegates to the annual gathering of the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., International (NBCA) on Wednesday, June 25, elected the group's 

first new president in 11 years.

 

Samuel Tolbert, who had been the NBCA's first vice president, easily defeated the incumbent president and another candidate.

 

Tolbert, pastor of Greater St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana, received 1,290 votes (63.4 percent) to win election to lead the second largest black Baptist convention in the U.S.

 

Tolbert appeared in the EthicsDaily.com documentary, "Different Books, Common Word: Baptists and Muslims."

 

Calling his election "a decisive victory," Tolbert noted that "people are trying to come together so we can move forward."

 

"I look forward to us working not only in our convention but partnering and collaborating with other Baptists and other Christians around the world," he said.

George Brooks, the NBCA's fourth vice president and pastor of St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, came in a distant second with 379 votes (18.6 percent).

 

Brooks managed to narrowly beat Stephen Thurston, the incumbent president. Thurston, pastor of New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, received just 365 votes (17.9 percent).

 

EthicsDaily.com reported prior to the election that NBCA figures expected Tolbert to win and Thurston likely to place third.

 

Thurston, who narrowly first won office in 2003, was initially not expected to run for a third term and did not enter the race until after the other two candidates.

Tolbert described his agenda now that he is president as leading the NBCA to push "a Christ-centered urban agenda."

 

In particular, Tolbert expressed his hopes that the NBCA will do more to address issues of incarceration and develop strategies to help local churches minister to those incarcerated and their families.

 

"I think we have a special role to play as it relates to our communities where our churches are located," Tolbert explained as he noted high rates of incarnation in minority communities in the U.S.

 

Article continues HERE 

 

 

 

The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the United States

 

Nearly One-in-Four Latinos Are Former Catholics

 

Most Hispanics in the United States continue to belong to the Roman Catholic Church. But the Catholic share of the Hispanic population is declining, while rising numbers of Hispanics are Protestant or unaffiliated with any religion. Indeed, nearly one-in-four Hispanic adults (24%) are now former Catholics, according to a major, nationwide survey of more than 5,000 Hispanics by the Pew Research Center. Together, these trends suggest that some religious polarization is taking place in the Hispanic community, with the shrinking majority of Hispanic Catholics holding the middle ground between two growing groups (evangelical Protestants and the unaffiliated) that are at opposite ends of the U.S. religious spectrum.

  

The Pew Research Center's 2013 National Survey of Latinos and Religion finds that a majority (55%) of the nation's estimated 35.4 million Latino adults - or about 19.6 million Latinos - identify as Catholic today.1 About 22% are Protestant (including 16% who describe themselves as born-again or evangelical) and 18% are religiously unaffiliated.

 

The share of Hispanics who are Catholic likely has been in decline for at least the last few decades.2 But as recently as 2010, Pew Research polling found that fully two-thirds of Hispanics (67%) were Catholic. That means the Catholic share has dropped by 12 percentage points in just the last four years, using Pew Research's standard survey question about religious affiliation.3

 

Full article HERE 

 

 

 

Church leaders meet and agree to advance peace on Korean Peninsula

 

In a first meeting since 2009 and since the 2013 appointment of a new leader for the Korea Christian Federation (KCF) of North Korea, an international group of church leaders from 34 countries, including North and South Korea, met near Geneva, Switzerland, to seek ways to advance reconciliation and peace on the peninsula.

 

WCC/ALC

Geneva, Wednesday, June 25, 2014

 

The group agreed in a communiqu� released at the end of their meeting on Thursday to seek new initiatives to advance peace, such as increasing visits between churches in North and South Korea, inviting younger people around the world to become involved in working for peace on the peninsula and calling for an annual day of prayer for peace on the peninsula.

 

The group also recommends promoting annual ecumenical meetings and consultations involving Christians from both countries in conjunction with the day of prayer.

 

The meeting was sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and included leaders from the KCF and the National Council of Churches of Korea (NCCK) in South Korea. It was held at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.

 

The meeting was a continuation of discussions held between the churches from North and South Korea that began in 1984, called the Tozanso Consultation, and a follow up to a statement from the WCC 10th Assembly held in Busan, South Korea, 30 October - 8 November, 2013, calling for a new era of ecumenical engagement in the search for peace and reconciliation on the Korea peninsula.

 

"The tragedy of division of the Korean Peninsula requires a human and spiritual fellowship and reorientation," Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said. "This Bossey Consultation has shown that the fellowship of churches (WCC) can provide this."

"We are ready to follow up the mandate from the 10th Assembly to work together for peace and for reconciliation," he said.

 

The event, called the International Consultation on Justice, Peace and Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula, 17-19 June, was convened on the 30th anniversary of the Tozanso Consultation and included worship services, presentations and discussions on a variety of issues related to the division of the two countries and separation of churches, and a joint eucharistic worship service.

 

"I believe this gathering of brothers and sisters of churches of various countries is a manifestation of the strong desire and will to pool efforts and actively contribute to the cause of peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula," said Rev. Kang Myong Chol, chairperson of the KCF in his remarks to the group.

 
Article continues HERE

 

Bearing Witness Report: A Nation in Chains

 

A Report Of The Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference Findings From Nine Statewide Justice Commission Hearings On Mass Incarceration.

 

Bearing Witness: A Nation in Chains is a report of the Justice Hearing Commissions sponsored by SDPC in nine states. Bearing Witness: A Nation in Chains provides first hand accounts of how mass incarceration is impacting poor people of color, especially African American men, wreaking intergenerational havoc in many families and communities. 

 

Bearing Witness: A Nation in Chains documents the perspectives of many practitioners and policy advocates who are responding to the effects of mass incarceration. SDPC has amassed some 69 hours of video and 2,591 pages of transcripted testimony in addition to the report.

 

Get report   HERE

 

 
 
Position Available - Bread for the World 

  

Associate Online Editor

 

Bread for the World, Inc., a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad, seeks a motivated professional to help the managing editor generate, edit, and collaboratively produce a variety of compelling, engaging, effective, and clear content for Bread Blog, its social media platforms, its websites, and any other platforms used by Bread. 

 

He/she will co-lead Bread's social media team; closely coordinates with Bread's Web and other teams to ensure close integration of all platforms in its various legislative and fundraising campaigns.  The associate online editor will have a degree in journalism or digital communications or related fields and have at least three years' experience. He/she will have strong writing, editing skills, and story-telling skills in various media platforms. He/she will have excellent interpersonal communication kills and the ability to work collaboratively with others. Experience in an advocacy organization is a plus.

 

If you are interested, please send cover letter, resume, and links to work three work samples to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]

or fax these materials to the attention of Stephen Padre at 202-688-1155. 

 

Deadline for applications is Friday, July 25, 2014. Bread is an EOE.

 
 

Criminal Justice Ministries & Resources

 

 

 
Alpha for Prisons 

Featuring the moving testimonies of ex-offenders Finny and Gram, this 21-minute DVD offers insights from church leaders in encouraging churches to get involved in prison ministry, as well as assisting ex-offenders in their transition into society. This DVD provides an introduction to the work in prisons with the Alpha course and contains interviews with The Rev. Paul Cowley, head of Alpha for Prisons at Alpha International, and Nicky Gumbel, among others. This DVD serves as a tool to show how the Alpha course is being used by God to transform and shape lives.

 

 

Alpha for Prisons | Royce Hall
Alpha for Prisons | Royce Hall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY a non-fiction film commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail." No longer will the Letter from Birmingham Jail be in the SHADOW of the "I Have a Dream" speech.

 

The film stars community leaders of Columbus, Ohio and educators and leaders of The Ohio State University. The Letter from Birmingham Jail is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racial discrimination, arguing that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws. After an early setback, it enjoyed widespread publication and became a key text for the American civil rights movement of the early 1960s.

 

See documentary HERE
CCT 2015 Annual Convocation
February 10-13 Houston, TX

Immigrant Faith Communities and the Future of the Church in the USA 
  
Support the work of Christian Churches Together 
 

 

  
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