Task force appointed to ‘re-envision and restructure’ the National Council of Churches
The National Council of Churches Executive Committee has created a 15-member task force to “re-envision and restructure” the 62-year-old ecumenical body.
The National Council of Churches Executive Committee has
created a 15-member task force to “re-envision and restructure” the 62-year-old
ecumenical body.
The
appointment of the task force came at a three day gathering Feb. 22-24 of more
than 30 denominational leaders who have been laying the groundwork for change
over the past several months.
In
September, and again in November, the Council’s Governing Board — facing
chronic financial shortfalls and the Dec. 31 departure of the Rev. Dr. Michael
Kinnamon as general secretary for health reasons — appointed three task forces
to address the NCC’s financial sustainability, the current ecumenical landscape
in the country, and the NCC’s transitional leadership needs.
The
action of the Executive Committee also included the dissolution – with
affirmation and gratitude – of two of these task forces, and the continuation
of the third as a search committee for a transitional leader.
NCC
President Kathryn Lohre of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America called
the work of the three task forces to date and the appointment of the new task
force “a signal of the rebirth of the NCC.”
The
new task force is scheduled to engage its work intensively over the next six
months, bringing a final report to the Governing Board at its September 2012
meeting.
Those
gathered reaffirmed the NCC’s historic commitments to “visible unity in Christ
and to justice and peace,” adding that “the work of justice and peace is
integral to the manifestation of visible unity in Christ.”
The
Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA and chair of the transitional
leader search committee, said the group hopes to present a candidate for
transitional executive leadership of the council to the Governing Board “by the
end of the fiscal year” (June 30, 2012).
Clare
Chapman, NCC deputy general secretary and general counsel, has been serving as
Interim General Secretary.