The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) is a religious organization currently (2006) consisting of 35 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, African-American and historic Christian denominations in the United States, and is widely regarded as a leading force within the ecumenical movement of Christianity. NCC is related fraternally to hundreds of local and state councils of churches and interfaith organizations, and to the World Council of Churches, but though they may include many of the same member churches, these councils have no fiscal or administrative connections to each other. Image File history File links NCC_USA.jpg Summary Logo of the National Council of Churches Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links NCC_USA.jpg Summary Logo of the National Council of Churches Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... List of Christian denominations ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships. ... Christian ecumenism is the promotion of unity or cooperation between distinct religious groups or denominations of the Christian religion, more or less broadly defined. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the principal international Christian ecumenical organization. ...

The National Council of Churches was organized in 1950, and its forerunner, the Federal Council of Churches was founded in 1908. A sister organization, Church World Service, is a humanitarian and relief arm of the NCC's member denominations. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Church World Service is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States. ...

Headquarters are located in New York, New York, with a public-policy office on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Flag Seal Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location Location of Washington, D.C., with regard to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia. ...

Representatives of the NCC's member denominations meet together annually in a general assembly, with several other meetings each year by a smaller governing board.

Most of the Council's work is done through five ecumenical program commissions -- Communication, Education and Leadership Ministries, Faith and Order, Interfaith Relations, and Justice and Advocacy. Membership in these commissions extends far beyond the NCC's 35 member communions to involve participants from more than 50 U.S. faith groups, including Roman Catholics, Evangelicals and Pentecostals.

The NCC's current General Secretary, Rev. Bob Edgar, is a former pastor, seminary president, and six-term member of Congress. Rev. ...

Contributions

Among the NCC's contributions are:

• the translation and publication of the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, a preferred translation in seminaries and divinity schools.
• the Uniform Sunday School Lesson Series, used for more than a century by many denominations as the basis for curriculum and study materials.
• the publication of the annual Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, a comprehensive directory to the religious life of North America.
• extensive work on environmental, peace and social justice issues.
• administration of Worldwide Faith News[1], a web-based interfaith news distribution system affording large and small faith groups, even those in developing nations, equal access to media.

The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible that was popular in the mid-20th century and posed the first serious challenge to the King James Version (KJV) owing to its aim to be both a readable and literally accurate modern English translation of the Bible. ... The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, released in 1989, is an update of the Revised Standard Version (RSV). ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... First published as the Federal Council Year Book in 1916, The Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches is a comprehensive descriptive and statistical listing of major religious bodies and other important religion-related organizations in the U.S.A. and Canadian. ... Devils Punchbowl Waterfall, New Zealand. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Social justice refers to conceptions of justice applied to an entire society. ...

Criticism

Conservative

There has been an ongoing conservative reaction to the work of the NCC. Some evangelicals, fundamentalists, and the politically-aligned religious right, notably the privately-funded Institute on Religion and Democracy, generally accuse the NCC of being a left-wing organization. The NCC has long voiced support for minimum wage laws, environmentalist policies, affirmative action [2], and other policies generally opposed by the political right. In addition, some conservatives object that the translations of the Bible under NCC sponsorship have tended toward gender-neutral language. Some criticism includes past support for Marxist regimes, a biased policy towards Cuba, particularly support of Fidel Castro, and the relative silence by the NCC towards political and religious prisoners in countries with left-leaning and totalitarian leadership. In the 1950's and 1960's the NCC allegedly funded Marxist guerilla movements responsible for killing non-combatants, including Christian missionaries. "Reader's Digest" exposed these practices.^{[citation needed]} This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a tendency in diverse branches of conservative, almost always Protestant, Christianity. ... Fundamentalist Christianity is a fundamentalist movement, especially within American Protestantism. ... The term Religious Right is a broad label applied by both scholars and critics to a number of political and religious movements and groups that primarily are active around conservative and right wing social issues. ... The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) describes itself as an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Environmentalism is the advocation of preservation, restoration, and/or improvement of the natural environment, such as the control of air pollution. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Gender-neutral language (gender-generic, gender-inclusive, non-sexist, or sex-neutral language) is language that attempts to refer neither to males nor females when discussing an abstract or hypothetical person whose sex cannot otherwise be determined. ...

Liberal

The NCC has consistently declined to take public positions on issues where there is not consensus among its diverse constituent member bodies, and this results in criticism by some liberal Protestants. One issue raised is that the NCC has declined to extend membership to the Metropolitan Community Church, a communion whose ministry advocates full participation by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. Logo of the Metropolitan Community Churches The Metropolitan Community Church (in full, The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches or UFMCC, or more commonly MCC) is an international fellowship of Christian congregations. ... For other articles with similar names, see Gay (disambiguation). ... A lesbian is a female who is exclusively emotionally, sexually, and romantically attracted to other females. ... Bisexual redirects here. ... Transgender (IPA: , from trans (Latin) and gender (English) ) is an overarching term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at birth, as well as the role traditionally held by society. ...

Online

The NCC provides extensive, searchable online resources through its Web site (http://www.ncccusa.org) and at a membership-based public advocacy Web site, FaithfulAmerica (http://www.FaithfulAmerica.org). Occasional e-mailed updates and newsletters about these services, sent to constituents, sometimes cause critics to accuse the NCC of spamming; however, every such message provides a clearly identified "unsubscribe" option in full compliance with all regulations.

Member denominations (January 2006)

Wikipedia article -- [home page]

• African Methodist Episcopal Church -- [3]
• The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Alliance of Baptists -- [4]
• American Baptist Churches USA -- [5]
• Diocese of the Armenian Church of America -- [6]
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) -- [7]
• Christian Methodist Episcopal Church -- [8]
• Church of the Brethren -- [9]
• The Coptic Orthodox Church in North America -- [10]
• The Episcopal Church in the United States of America -- [11]
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America -- [12]
• Friends United Meeting -- [13]
• Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America -- [14]
• Hungarian Reformed Church in America -- [15]
• International Council of Community Churches -- [16]
• Korean Presbyterian Church in America
• Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
• Mar Thoma Church
• Moravian Church in America Northern Province and Southern Province -- [17]
• National Baptist Convention of America -- [18]
• National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. -- [19]
• National Missionary Baptist Convention of America -- [20]
• Orthodox Church in America -- [21]
• Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA -- [22]
• Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends -- [23]
• Polish National Catholic Church of America -- [24]
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) -- [25]
• Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. -- [26]
• Reformed Church in America -- [27]
• Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada -- [28]
• The Swedenborgian Church of North America -- [29]
• Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch -- [30]
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America -- [31]
• United Church of Christ -- [32]
• The United Methodist Church -- [33]

The Bitchy Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church, is a Christian denomination founded by Bishop Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816. ... History The African Methodist Episcopal Zion church, or AME Zion Church, was officially formed in 1848, but operated for a number years before then. ... The Alliance of Baptists is a fellowship of Baptist churches and individuals. ... ABCUSA American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a group of Baptist churches within the United States; headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. ... The insignia of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). ... The Christian Methodist Epsicopal Church is a historically black denomination within the broader context of Methodism. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Schwarzenau Brethren. ... Christ - Coptic Art Coptic Orthodox Christianity is the indigenous form of Christianity that, according to tradition, the apostle Mark established in Egypt in the middle of the 1st century AD (approximately AD 60). ... The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Washington DC is the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. ... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... Friends United Meeting is an association of yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) encompasing twenty-six yearly meetings in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. ... The Church of Greece is one of the fifteenth autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches which make up the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... The International Council of Community Churches (ICC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in Frankfort, Illinois. ... The Indian Orthodox Church (also known as the Malankara Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church of the East, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Orthodox Syrian Church of the East), is a prominent member of the Oriental Orthodox Church family. ... The Mar Thoma Church is a branch of the pre-16th century undivided Indian Church, and got its current identity in 1889, even though it was born much earlier. ... A Moravian is a Protestant belonging to a religious movement that originated in Moravia, Czech Republic. ... The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. ... National Missionary Baptist Convention of America - an association serving as a medium of cooperation and fellowship for African-American missionary Baptist churches. ... The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Herman. ... The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is a former member of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht and was the only member church of the Union of Utrecht based outside Western or Central Europe (though it was not so when the Philippine Independent Church or Aglipayan Church briefly joined the... This article needs cleanup. ... The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) is a convention of African-American Baptists emphasizing civil rights and social justice. ... Logo of the RCA The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Calvinist Reformed Protestant denomination that was formerly known as the Dutch Reformed Church. ... Flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) (Serbian: Српска Православна Црква / Srpska Pravoslavna Crkva; СПЦ / SPC) or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia. ... Swedenborgianism is a term based on the ecclesiastical organization of certain beliefs relating to Emanuel Swedenborgs writings and, as such, is considered a religious movement by some. ... The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination principally in the United States, generally considered within the Reformed tradition, and formed in 1957 by the merger of two denominations, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. ... This article is about the current denomination in the United States. ...

External links

• National Council of Churches USA home page
• FaithfulAmerica home page
• Church World Service home page