Summary of NC Council of Churches’ Major Activities Around Peace
March
1, 2004
The NC Council of Churches began operations in 1935. A variety of sources point to the following peace-related activities in which the Council has been involved since that time.
We say, “no justice, no peace.” In one sense, all organizing for social justice is a part of the church’s work for peace. But this summary confines itself to statements and actions relating specifically with war, peace, and notions of global security. The list likely omits much work by volunteer committee members and others, and reflects only what was available from existing written records.
I. “We Come Together By Working Together: The First Fifty Years of the
1940’s: World War II
The Council’s first Executive Secretary, Rev. Ernest
Arnold, told Council founder Sheldon Smith in a 1940 letter that despite
differing opinions about WW II, “ ‘we cannot isolate ourselves from human
suffering around the world.’ ” The
Council spurred NC congregations to minister at “army camps” around the
state. We cosponsored Carolina Institute
on International Relations that sponsored conferences and brought speakers like
A.J. Muste to the state.
The Council had a Post-War Planning Committee. This group urged overcoming bitterness toward
“ ‘our enemies.’ ” Frank Porter Graham
addressed the annual meeting and warned of the new threats engendered by the
invention of the atomic bomb.
Overseas relief was a huge theme. NC received an award in 1947 for sending more
food and clothing to
1960’s
and 1970’s:
Social Action directors Rev. John Crum and Rev. Collins Kilburn agitated against the Vietnam war and at this time “assumed prominent roles in organizing the religious community statewide and in the Southeast.” Their Commission on Christian Social Action wrote a 1967 policy statement about Americans and foreign policy, urging believers to transcend all national and other boundaries, and challenged that “ ‘by the grace of God, Christians have it within their power to make peace.’ ” The Council opposed a Congressional bill in the 1960’s that aimed to outlaw peaceful protest against war.
1980’s:
A 1982 Executive Board policy statement critiqued
In 1982, Gail Phares invites Collins Kilburn and
Evelyn Mattern to help form an interfaith task force on
The Council’s Peace and Security Committee in the
1980’s decried the rush to an arms race.
This position hearkened back to the stand of the Council’s Public
Affairs and World Affairs committees, which in 1958 sent letters to the
President, the U.S. Secretary of State, and NC Congressional representatives
entreaties for “ ‘immediate steps toward the cessation of the testing of
nuclear bombs,’ ” and for “ ‘universal, inspectable, and controlled
disarmament.’ ” It also followed a 1964
delegation from the Council, led by Rev. Robert Seymour, to the National Council
of Churches’ Program of Education and Action for Peace.
In 1983, Executive Director Rev. Collins Kilburn
announced a three-year focus on peace, and especially disarmament. He also coordinated the 1983 effort to get
the national Nuclear Freeze Resolution passed by the NC General Assembly. It did pass in the NC House.
Policy statements are the Council’s democratically
chosen stands on public issues relevant to the Council’s mission. Either the Executive Board or the House of
Delegates can adopt policy statements, and occasionally one is adopted by a
particular committee. These position
papers guide our public education, community organizing, legislative lobbying,
and collaboration with other organizations.
Existing policy statements on peace before the
1970’s are archived along with 150 boxes of early NCCC materials at the Duke
University library, and are not now accessible.
From obtainable records, the following are dated in chronological order,
with a brief description. Anyone can
receive a print copy of a statement by calling the Council office. Some later documents may be available by
e-mail.
1965, 1966, & 1967: Vietnam
The NCCC Commission on Christian Social Action
called for an end to U.S. bombing in Vietnam as a step toward negotiated settlement. In a number of policy statements and talking
papers, the Commission gave specific recommendations for establishing peace in
Vietnam.
April 24, 1968: Vietnam
The 31st Annual
Assembly of the NCCC adopted a statement on “The International Crisis,” again
calling for peace negotiations, the withdrawal of all military forces, and
economic assistance for Vietnam through international channels.
Nov. 5, 1969: Legislative Principles, the
31st NCCC Annual Assembly:
United Nations--Since Christianity in universal, not nationalistic, we support the United Nation’s efforts at peacemaking and their human rights conventions. (A separate policy statement on passed on Nov. 8 specifically endorsed the United Nations, calling for all the nations of the world to be represented.) Nuclear Testing--We supported the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Israel/Palestine—We recognized the right of Israel to exist, the plight of refugees, the need for cooperative economic and security planning. U.S. Department of Peace—We urged ratification of a bipartisan-sponsored bill in Congress to establish a Department of Peace.
Demand release of hostages;
prayers for all parties.
May 23, 1980: Military
Registration
Against
registration & draft; conditions for draft if it is re-imposed.
Makes reversal of arms race a
major emphasis for three years.
October 21, 1982: Security
and Peace
Calls on US, USSR for
bilateral arms freeze; support
conscientious objectors.
December 9, 1982 Security
and Peace in Central America
and May 3, 1983 Calls on US leaders to end aid to juntas in El Salvador and Guatemala; withdraw US troops from El Salvador and Honduras; accept refugees here.
December 1, 1983 Grenada
Deplores
invasion--contravenes international law and the UN Charter.
May 7, 1985 Selective
Conscientious Objection
In favor of US military
accepting SCO by those drafted to serve.
May 1, 1986 A
Just Peace
Pledge to work for just
peace; encourages churches to do so.
May 1, 1986 Bombing
of Libya
Bombing does not fit just war
theory; against retaliatory violence.
December 13, 1989 Situation
in El Salvador
May 24, 1990 Abhorrence at murder of priests and cook; calls for US inquiry into murders and immediate cease-fire, end of all military-related assistance to El Salvador.
December 14, 1990 Gulf
Policy
Halt US buildup of troops;
vs. invasion
of Kuwait;
for multilateralism.
December 14, 1990 Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty
Endorsed treaty; call on
churches to urge elected officials to sign.
January 17, 1991 Statement
on the Gulf War, by Exec. Dir. Kilburn
No blood for oil; invasion
was about American greed.
May 16, 1991 End
of the Gulf War
For restitution & humanitarian aid for Iraq; responsible US energy policy; for political and economic self-determination for people of the Middle East.
December 18, 1991 Conditions
for U.S. Aid to Israel (Peace and Security Comm.)
US aid to Israel contingent
on no new settlements; compensate Palestinians.
Urged churches to help change
government priorities; less military spending.
December 2, 1998 Support
Legislation to Close the School of the Americas
Condemn violence on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; use US monetary leverage to stop Israeli incursions and end settlement in occupied territories; support international monitoring force—HR 205, Mideast Peacekeepers Plan bill.
In 2002, Sister Evelyn Mattern had begun gathering Peace Circles. These were groups of North Carolinians of many faiths and denominations who shared an interest in coming together not only for peace action but also for spiritual sustenance. This work stopped when Evelyn became ill.
1968: The Council
called on the U.S. Administration to help preserve the integrity of all nations
in the Middle East and work for a just settlement for refugees.
October 1990:
Program Associate Sister Evelyn Mattern went to Iraq as part of a
delegation of 20 (three from NC) with the pacifist group, Fellowship of
Reconciliation.
This was a fact-finding ministry of solidarity with
the Iraqi people, in which medicines and goods were brought and friendships
developed. The delegates publicly
condemned the invasion of Kuwait as well as the presence of U.S troops there. One of the NC members of the delegation, Rev.
Jim Lewis of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, returned to write a book
on this effort, “The Gulf War: The
Churches & Peacemaking,” and the Council promoted it through our
venues.
In 1990, the Peace Committee of the Council decided to make
the Middle East its primary focus for the following two years. Council staff and others wrote, spoke, and
organized against the Gulf war.
November 5-17, 1991:
The
Council sponsored a Jewish/Christian delegation to Israel and Palestine,
“Mideast Witness Visit to Israel and the Occupied Territories.”
Throughout the 1990’s, Collins Kilburn and
especially Sister Evelyn wrote, lobbied, and educated about the devastating
effects of U.S. sanctions against Iraq.
In 1997, the Council published and distributed “The Gulf
War: The Churches & Peacemaking,”
by Jim Lewis, and hosted readings.
September 30, 2001: The Council sponsored a large interfaith prayer service, “A Time for Healing and Hope,” at Raleigh’s RBC Center after the World Trade Center attacks of September 11.
Fall 2001, statement by Sister Evelyn Mattern, “Invading Iraq the Moral Equivalent of 9/11.”
October 8, 2002: The Council organized a large body of North
Carolina religious leaders to sign on to a national letter to President Bush,
calling on him to refrain from preemptive attack on Iraq. Ours was called: “NC Religious Leaders Oppose Attacking
Iraq.”
April 4, 2003: The Council co-sponsored an ecumenical prayer gathering at the Martin Luther King Gardens in Raleigh, “Prayer Vigil for Peace and a Call to Action,” on the second Gulf war on Iraq.
Individual and Denominational Activity