UCC in the News

"Aid, not Troops, in Afghanistan"

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:20:06 GMT

Sojo.com Action Alert (click to add your name)

Dear Mr. President,

We believe, that after eight years of war, we need a whole new approach in Afghanistan.

We speak not as military or political strategists, but as citizens seeking to faithfully apply our moral values to this most crucial issue. We want first of all to commend you for taking the time to make a careful and considered decision on this important matter that will affect the lives of so many.

We feel deeply about the ethical and moral issues at stake in our future policy in Afghanistan - legitimately protecting Americans from further terrorism, protecting the lives of our men and women in uniform, protecting the Afghan people from the collateral damage of war, defending women from the Taliban, and genuinely supporting democracy - to name a few.

But we also lament the suffering, violence, and death on both sides of the conflict and recognize that war can never bring about the peace we strive to build in this world.

We are concerned that the discussion in Washington, D.C., is far too narrow. We respectfully and prayerfully suggest that you pursue a strategy built on a humanitarian and development surge.

Massive humanitarian assistance and sustainable development can rebuild a broken nation, inspire confidence, trust, and hope among its people, and undermine the appeal of terrorism. And it costs less - far less - than continued war.

Lead with economic development, starting in areas that are secure, and grow from there - providing only the security necessary to protect the strategic rebuilding of the country. Do not make aid and development another weapon of war by tying it so closely to the military; rather, provide the security needed for development work to succeed. This kind of peacekeeping security might better attract the international involvement we so desperately need, both from Europe and Arab and Muslim countries.

Pursue political and diplomatic solutions by promoting stable governance in Afghanistan and Pakistan; seeking political integration of those elements of the Taliban that are willing to cooperate; engaging with the United Nations and regional states to stabilize the region and promote economic development; and investing in international policing to prevent the spread of extremists and the use of terror.

We humbly suggest you host a meeting with the heads of the leading, well-established international development agencies in Afghanistan, who are trusted by the people of the country and have many indigenous employees. These organizations can share what kind of security they would need for the development that is most needed. Equally important, meet with members of Afghan civil society for their perspective as well. This input is crucial to your decision on Afghanistan.

Finally, it is time for a vigorous, public, and ongoing conversation between the government and the faith community about the moral and ethical implications of our policy decisions. Our counterterrorist missiles and unmanned drones may cost less in American lives and treasure, but they have very significant political and moral costs. The collateral damage of our technological war is great, resulting in many civilian deaths - further alienating the populace and, inadvertently, producing more recruits for terrorism.

Mr. President, we urge you to take the approach of effective humanitarian aid and development and genuine engagement with the moral issues that confront us in Afghanistan. As always, you are in our prayers as you seek the right decisions to these most difficult questions and choices.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

"Massena church pastor honored as Woman of Year"

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:24:24 GMT

From The Watertown Daily News:

MASSENA — Emmanuel Congregational United Church of ChristEmmanuel Congregational United Church of Christ Pastor Judith A. Van Kennen is the New York State Women Inc. St. Lawrence County Chapter Woman of the Year.

"She's always got a smile on her face. I don't know how she does it. We have fun. Church should be fun," Nola K. Martin said at a dinner Thursday to honor the Rev. Ms. Van Kennen. "Personally, I owe it to Judy for keeping us on the positive."

In May 2007, Emmanuel Congregational United Church of Christ was struck by lightning and suffered extensive fire damage. As firefighters fought the blaze, the Rev. Ms. Van Kennen reinforced the thought that although their building was gone, they were still a church.

"After that tragedy they had with their church, I was so struck with her positive remarks in the paper," 1990 Woman of the Year Sandra Smith said. "Thank you for being so positive in this community during that tragedy."

The pastor also led the rebuilding effort, and the church will be formally dedicated during a ceremony Dec. 12.

Full story.

UCC, Interfaith Leaders Speak Out Against Stupak Amendment To Health Care Bill

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:38:44 GMT

Today religious leaders spoke out for a women's right to make her own health care choices. Check out the press release from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:

Washington, DC - Heads of Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, interfaith and First Amendment organizations today called on the Senate to ensure the final health care reform bill respects diverse religious beliefs.

“It is now up to the Senate to keep health care reform free of religious doctrine and restrictions that will prevent women from making their own reproductive health care choices,” said Reverend Dr. Carlton W. Veazey, President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), which convened today’s news conference.

RCRC includes more than 40 denominations and religious organizations that respect diverse religious beliefs and individual decisions about whether and when to have children. The participating organizations together represent more than 10,000 religious leaders and millions of people of faith who believe that abortion must be safe, legal and accessible.

“We speak as people of faith who support religious freedom and reproductive options,” said Reverend Veazey. “Women must not lose access to abortion services they may need because of a small but vocal group of anti-choice activists.”

Speakers included Linda Bales Todd of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church; Sammie Moshenberg, Director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Jewish Women; Jon O’Brien, President of Catholics for Choice; Sandra Sorensen, Director of the Washington Office of the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, and Reverend Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Data from a public opinion poll of registered voters done by the Mellman Group for the Women Donors Network and Communications Consortium Media Center in late August was released. They showed significant support across religions for the more moderate Capps Amendment to maintain the status quo.

“There should be no Stupak-Pitts language in the Senate or conference committee health care bills,” Reverend Veazey said. “Health care reform is about expanding access to health care for all, not rolling back women’s access to needed health services.”

The statement from Sandra Sorensen, Director of the Washington Office of the United Church of Christ Justice and Ministires, is below:

The United Church of Christ joins many other faith groups in applauding the House version of health care reform which was passed on November 7, 2009, as a good step towards providing affordable health care for more Americans. However, we join with those same groups in expressing our disappointment that the House bowed to pressure exerted at the last minute from anti-abortion lobbyists by attaching the Stupak Amendment to the bill. This amendment would bar any of the health care plans grouped under a public option from covering abortion even when those funds are privately sourced.

The UCC has for 40 years supported the full range of reproductive health care for women, including access to abortion. And yet, once again, women’s health and well-being have been compromised away in the halls of Congress. We call upon the pro-choice leadership in the House and Senate to boldly stand up for women’s reproductive health care rights and join the majority of religious Americans who believe that decisions around the termination of a pregnancy are a private matter between a woman and her physician.

Make sure your voice is heard in this debate.

Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:41:17 GMT

Lou Dobbs had Jeffrey Lord on his final program last night. United Church News reports:

CNN commentator Lou Dobbs abruptly announced that he was quitting the news network last night, but not before he included misleading information about the United Church of Christ and its support for the interfaith media justice coalition, So We Might See. In October, through its website, the coalition asked individuals to sign onto a letter to the Federal Communications Commission calling for a public hearing into the effects of anti-immigrant hate speech in the media.

On his final show, Dobbs — whose anti-immigration diatribes had become commonplace — interviewed the American Spectator's Jeffrey Lord, a UCC member, who has written lengthy unsubstantiated opinion pieces over the past five weeks critical of the involvement of the United Church of Christ's Office of Communication, Inc. (OC, Inc.) in the So We Might See coalition. OC, Inc. is the UCC's historic and independently incorporated media justice organization.

Lord is best known for serving as the White House political director under Ronald Reagan.

You can read the UCC's response to Lord's false charges here.

But what is The American Spectator, the publication that Lord writes for? It's a conservative publication know for attacking civil rights for minorities, promoting the war in Iraq, defending torture, and promoting the Religious Right.

A writer for The American Spectator was a perfect final guest for Dobb's program. As the website DropDobbs.com reports:

Over the years, Lou Dobbs has consistently used his CNN platform to spread hatred and fear. He has promoted the work of hate groups, spread racially charged conspiracy theories including about President Obama’s birth certificate, railed against “ethnocentric special interests,” and accused the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of being sympathetic to “Mexico’s export of drugs and illegal aliens.”

DropDobbs.com is a project sponsored by Media Matters for America and other organizations. Lord falsely stated last night this grassroots effort was part of a United Church of Christ campaign.

Honesty and integrity ought to be highly held values for those in the media. Sadly, Dobbs and Lord have used their positions to spread misinformation about all those they find disagreement with.

The United Church of Christ is a diverse national church with people of all sorts of theological and political backgrounds. That's a strength for our denomination. Even with those differences, however, we normally respect our covenantal tradition by expressing differences of opinion freely, with respect and honesty. It's disappointing that Lord has used his website and CNN as a vehicle for making less than honest comments about our church.

(With apologizes to Al Franken for using the title of his book. It just fit so well with this post).

"Calling Religious Leaders to Support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act"

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:16:53 GMT

Today I added my name to the following letter in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Action and urge other clergy to do this same:

Dear Member of Congress,

As clergy and faith leaders from a broad diversity of religious traditions, we call on you to support H.R. 3017 and S. 1584, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), to ensure the fair treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Americans in the workplace.

We believe it is immoral to deprive anyone of the means to feed, clothe, and care for themselves and their families. When LGBT people are denied the right to work simply for living honestly, their basic humanity is fundamentally denied. As pastors, imams, rabbis, ministers, pandits, clerks, and local faith community leaders, we know firsthand the devastating effects the loss of a job can have on individuals, families, and communities. Though we are all pained by the economic hardships befalling our nation, loss of a job because of discrimination against one’s identity incurs an even more devastating sense of personal loss and humiliation. This prejudice is not benign – it hurts real families in our congregations.

We affirm the sacred dignity and worth of all human beings – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight, men and women – for all are created equal, a reflection of the divine (Genesis 1:27; Mosnad Ahmad, #22978). Our faiths unite us in a moral obligation to treat others with the respect we desire for ourselves and to pursue justice by preventing further harm from coming to those most marginalized by our society (UdanaVarga 5:18; Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, 113.8; Isaiah 10:1-2; Matthew 25:40). As heirs to these prophetic traditions, and indeed the narrative of this nation, our advocacy is grounded in the belief that advancing equality also means ensuring economic opportunity for our LGBT brothers and sisters. Swift enactment of an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act is needed.

ENDA is a common-sense, measured approach to removing discriminatory barriers to employment for LGBT people while respecting the sacred texts and teachings of America’s diverse faith traditions. This bill broadly exempts from its scope all religious organizations protected by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act thereby honoring the free exercise of religion and conscience we each hold dear as religious leaders in our respective houses of worship, seminaries, religious federations, organizations and other faith-based institutions.

Extending the full, long overdue rights and responsibilities of citizenship to the LGBT community is a pressing moral, social and economic priority. We urge Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017, S. 1584) to uphold the American promise of justice and equality for all.

Click here to add your name.

Podcast Reflection On House Passage Of The Affordable Health Care for America Act

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:44:29 GMT

This evening the U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic Affordable Health Care for America Act. I offer this podcast reflection on an evening when the House has taken a huge step forward in addressing one of America's most fundamental moral problems - the lack of health care for millions of our people.

The audio podcast of my remarks can be downloaded here:

Download RevCCurrieAffordableHealhCareforAmericaAct

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...othwesie click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here.

Below the fold you can find a written transcript of my remarks:

Tonight the United States House of Representatives passed the historic Affordable Health Care for America Act – the most important piece of legislation to pass since the Great Society. Passage of the House bill puts America on tract for finally – after generations – of achieving something close to universal health care. The measure is imperfect, and contains constraints against the rights of women to make their own reproductive health care choices – but none-the-less the historic nature of this bill cannot and should not be ignored. President Obama and Speaker Pelosi deserve enormous credit.

Nearly every religious voice in America, besides those associated with the extreme religious right, has spoken out this year in favor of health care reform. The National of Council of Churches in Christ USA, with the support of Roman Catholics, Muslims, Jews and Protestants from across the theological spectrum, recently released a statement arguing that health care reform is needed "so that all of our neighbors, especially the people living in poverty, children, and the aged, can be assured of the fullness of life that is central to the holy vision of a beloved and peaceable community.”

Now the American people await action by the U.S. Senate. Hopefully, the version adopted by the House and the one under consideration by the Senate will eventually be merged into a bill the president can sign that more clearly respects the right of women to make their own decisions regarding care.

47 million Americans go without health insurance every day and millions more have inadequate coverage. For far too long our nation has allowed this great moral crisis to go unanswered as people have suffered and even died. Today the government of the people of the United States, through a democratic process, have taken an extraordinary step forward to rectify this terrible oversight.

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I have visited hospitals on a regular basis and talked with parishioners scared about how they will pay their medical bills. Some debate whether or not to seek treatment based simply on the cost alone. In my work with people experiencing homelessness, I’ve seen critically ill people released from hospitals and on to the streets when they truly needed care. I’ve worked with people suffering from serious mental health problems and addiction issues turned away from treatment because they lack insurance or the waiting lists are months long.

We cannot allow this travesty to continue. It is time now for the debate that has lasted since the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt to end. Now is the moment to enact historic reforms that have been advocated by religious communities and progressive Republicans and Democrats alike to provide health care for all our people. This great cause has not come to a conclusion tonight but a giant step forward has been taken and in doing so we honor the best traditions of our nation and the call that Jesus made to his followers to care for the “least of these in society”.

On Facebook? Join the group People of Faith for a Strong Public Option in Health Care Reform

Related Link: Health Care and The Christian Tradition

Photo Credit: President Barack Obama delivers a health care address to a joint session of Congress at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., September 9, 2009. September 10, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

"Churches embrace trunk or treat alternative for Halloween"

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:23:23 GMT

From H&R.com:

DECATUR - Braden Polley, 10, decided to dress as a ninja for Halloween.

He was among the other children who flooded the parking lot outside First Congregational United Church of Christ on Wednesday evening during Trunk or Treat.

Children collected goodies from each car that was decorated in the Halloween tradition of glowing jack-o'-lanterns, skeletons and cobwebs hanging from the back trunks.

Some adults, dressed as witches, Mario and Luigi from the Nintendo video game and Jason with his hockey mask from "Friday the 13th" movie fame, had just as much fun handing out the treats.

But, no, the churches have not gone over to the dark side.

Pastors generally agree that the ancient Celtic festival of "All Hallows Eve," during which spirits are believed to return from the dead, should be celebrated in a fun and positive way.

"We're doing it for the kids to enjoy and have a safe environment. When I was growing up, I could walk the streets (for Halloween) and feel safe," said the Rev. Dave Taylor from First Congregational United Church of Christ.

He added, "On Nov. 1, we celebrate All Saints Day in remembering those of the past and how we are to be saints in the future for Christ. So there is a stronger meaning to what the holiday is associated with."

Full story.