At Chicago assembly, NCC reaches out to Muslims, evangelicals

c. 1996 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The National Council of Churches (NCC) bridged deep theological divides this week, reaching out to American Muslims, evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics during its annual general assembly held in Chicago. During the five-day meeting, which adjourned Friday (Nov. 15), the NCC _ which represents some 52 million mainline Protestant […]

c. 1996 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The National Council of Churches (NCC) bridged deep theological divides this week, reaching out to American Muslims, evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics during its annual general assembly held in Chicago.

During the five-day meeting, which adjourned Friday (Nov. 15), the NCC _ which represents some 52 million mainline Protestant and Orthodox Christians in 33 denominations _ took steps toward developing new interfaith ties to groups from which it has been historically estranged.


For the first time, a general assembly plenary session was addressed by an American Muslim, Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, spiritual leader of the nation’s largest African-American Muslim group.

The 270 delegates and others at the meeting also heard from the Rev. Don Argue, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. They also established a new award to be jointly granted by the NCC and Catholic leaders. It will be called the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Common Ground Award, named after the archbishop of Chicago who died Thursday.

In addition, the NCC upgraded its working group on interfaith relations to full commission status.

Margaret Thomas, who chairs the new interfaith relations commission, said the upgrade will give the commission increased importance within the NCC.”We believe the time has come for providing guidance to the council’s member churches on the entire range of interfaith exchanges,”she said.”It is our intention to provide guidance to both the council and the various churches. Part of this will be a statement on why Christians engage in interfaith activities.” Thomas said the commission will present a draft statement of interfaith guidelines to the NCC at the 1998 general assembly.

Although the NCC has heard from other Muslims in the past, Mohammed’s speech Friday was the first time a Muslim has addressed a general assembly plenary session.

Thomas said Mohammed was selected because the NCC wants to establish better ties with American Muslims and also because he resides in the Chicago area.”Many of the churches in the council have had relationships with foreign Muslims, but have had little contact with American Muslims,”she said.”We believe it is important to increase contacts with the American Muslim community, which has become a significant entity.” In his address, Mohammed noted cooperation between Muslims and Ethiopian Christians during Islam’s formative years in the seventh century. At an earlier breakfast meeting with NCC interfaith officials Friday, Mohammed also recounted the history of Islam among African-Americans.

Earlier in the week, Argue, the National Association of Evangelicals official, also addressed the group. It was the first time an official of the theologically conservative association has spoken to the NCC assembly, which tends to be more theologically liberal.


Argue described his organization’s mission statement and evangelical beliefs.

NCC officials hailed Argue’s appearance as a”first step”in fostering better understanding between the two Christian bodies.”As a turbulent century draws to a close, Christians need to come together to face the moral challenges that confront us,”said the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, NCC general secretary.

NCC general assembly delegates also reached out to the Catholic community by establishing the Bernardin award to recognize”persons whose lives have shown dedication to the unity of people.”Bernardin was the first recipient of the award, which the Rev. Thomas Baima of the Chicago archdiocese accepted Wednesday on the cardinal’s behalf.

Campbell praised Bernardin as a”bridge-builder among Catholics, between Catholics and Protestants, (and) between Catholics and Jews.” NCC officials said future recipients of the award will be determined by a committee that will include representatives of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

The NCC’s annual meeting also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Church World Service, the ecumenical relief and development arm of the NCC. As part of the celebrations, delegates participated in a symbolic”Cropwalk”from the Bismark Hotel to First United Methodist Church. A cropwalk is considered the pioneer of walking and running fund-raising events.

Most recently, Church World Service has launched an appeal to raise $500,000 in emergency aid for refugees displaced by fighting in eastern Zaire.

Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa led the anniversary celebrations. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate talked about the international community’s moral obligation to address the debt burden of Africa and other parts of Third World.”It is a biblical thing that says everything belongs to God,”he said.”Those burdened by debt, you set them free.” In business sessions, the NCC executive board and general assembly delegates approved a report from the Burned Churches Fund, established in June to aid what the NCC called the”growing universe”of mostly black congregations in need of rebuilding assistance. The fund has raised some $8 million in cash and in-kind contributions for its project. “There was affirmation and a resounding vote of thanks”for the fund’s staff and its work, said the Rev. Mac Charles Jones, NCC associate for racial justice, in an interview Friday.


Some conservatives, led by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Religion and Democracy, have been critical of the NCC fund, alleging that its program and staff members are advancing a liberal political agenda.

Jones said the board and delegates addressed the criticism by endorsing both the fund’s rebuilding work and its plan to”make the transition from rebuilding to taking on the issue of racism.” In other business, the NCC’s top decision-making body announced plans to sponsor a national”Ecumenical Consultation on the Implications of Homosexuality for Christian Unity”next year; urged President Clinton to release 15 Puerto Rican independence activists from lengthy U.S. prison sentences; and adopted a statement calling for Jerusalem to remain a holy city for”Muslims, Jews and Christians alike.”

MJP END RNS

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