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Transylvania
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Reformed Church in America
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Meeting
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Baptist Fellowship
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ECUMENICAL PARTNERS
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High
School Students Can Still Apply to Attend EcuCamp 2006
 Click
here to learn more about this unique anti-racism ecumenical experience
for young Christians in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This year,
full tuition scholarships are available to those who were displaced
by hurricanes.
Religious Scholar Comes to Lexington
 Huston Smith, will speak in Lexington's
UK Memorial Hall at 7pm on June 16, 2006. Admission is free.
Free parking for the evening presentation will be available behind
the Lexington Theological Seminary. Smith is a 93 year old scholar
who is known internationally for his best-selling book, The
World's Religions, which sold over two and a half million
copies. He is author of fourteen books including Why Religion
Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief
which won the Wilbur Award for the best book on religion published
in 2001. One of his most recent books, The Soul of Christianity:
Restoring the Great Tradition is known as his most personal
and passionate book on spiritual life.
Bishop Gulick Considered for Position of ECUSA
Presiding Bishop
 The current presiding bishop
of the 2.2 million member Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, is
retiring. Bishop Ted Gulick of Kentucky (shown here with one
of our EcuCampers)
is one of four nominees for the top office in the ECUSA. (Bishop
Gulick will lead a discussion about the Anglican and Roman Catholic
Dialogue at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington on March 29,
2006). Bishop Gulick nominated one of the other three finalists
for presiding bishop whose name was announced in January, but
he didn't say which person he nominated. A search committee released
the four nominees' names on Wednesday, January 25, 2006. If elected,
Bishop Gulick would be required to leave the Kentucky diocese
and work at the church's New York headquarters. Gulick’s
current diocese includes Louisville and the central and western
parts of the state. You can read more here.
Bishop Sauls Considered for Position of ECUSA
Presiding Bishop
 The current presiding bishop
of the 2.2 million member Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, is
retiring. Bishop Stacy Sauls of the Diocese of Lexington said
Tuesday March 14 that he has also agreed to be nominated for
the office of presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. (Bishop
Sauls will lead a discussion on "How We Live Togeher"
at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington on April 12.) The Episcopal
general convention will elect a new presiding bishop to a nine-year
term in June when it meets in Columbus, Ohio. If elected, Bishop
Sauls would be required to leave the Lexington diocese and work
at the church's New York headquarters. Sauls’ current diocese
includes Eastern Kentucky. You can read more here.
IRS Probes Political Activity of Churches
 Internal Revenue Service officials
have released a recent report on political activity by tax-exempt
organizations during the 2004 election campaign. The report found
some level of prohibited political activity by section 501(c)(3)
organizations in nearly three-quarters of the cases reviewed.
Click here
for more information and resources about this important issue.
Dr. Kemper Spoke at Statewide Rally for Working
Families March 7
 Thousands of Kentuckians attended a rally
on the Capital steps on Tuesday, March 7, 2006 in Frankfort,
KY to support the passage of of HB378 (without amendments). The Rev.
Dr. Nancy Jo Kemper spoke about the KCC policy statement Living and Minimum Wage that was adopted by the Annual Assembly of the
KY Council of Churches in October 2005. For additional questions
phone 502-875-3332. Click here
to read the text of her remarks.
Christian
Leaders Speak to Governor Fletcher about Expanded Gambling
A contingent of over 35
Christian religious leaders from across the state of Kentucky,
and representing the majority of churches and denominations in
the Commonwealth, convened in the Capitol Rotunda at 3:30 p.m.,
Thursday, January 26, prior to a meeting with Governor Ernie
Fletcher at 4:00 p.m. Click here for more information about the
most diverse gathering of KY Christian church leaders in recent
memory.
Interfaith
Alliance Honors KCC Executive Director
TIA of the Blugrass has
awarded the 2005 Faith and Freedom award the Rev. Dr. Nancy J.
Kemper. Click here
to read more.
Need Help With Medicare D
Options, Or Know Someone Who Does?
The United Methodist Association
is partnering with CARxE to help you sort through choices or
to become trained to help people. For more information visit
http://www.carxe.org.
KY Day at National Cathedral
 The National Cathedral in Washington
D.C. will lift up the Commonwealth of Kentucky by paying special
tribute to its people on May 21, 2006. Everyone from Kentucky
and those who have ties to the commonwealth from across the nation
are invited to participate in the service. Acolytes and youth
from churches and houses of worship across Kentucky are invited
to bring banners and join the opening procession. Click here
for more information.
So Much Occurred During the 58th KCC Annual Assembly
 The Kentucky Council of Churches
adopted policy statements about nuclear weapons, livable and minimum wage, and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Click here to read more details about the
event.
Speaking of Faith
 Listen to the full radio interviews (and
visit the website to hear clips of the interview that were not
played on the air) with Joan Brown Campbell and Thomas Hoyt.
Click here.
Help Hurricane Victims
 Click here to learn more about how you can help. A cash gift is the most direct
and efficient way to help disaster survivors. When you make a
gift to any of the organizations listed here you can be assured
that it will actually make a difference and aid disaster survivors.
Click here to learn more about Compassion
Sunday.
Compassion Sunday
 National
leaders of religious communions came to Kentucky to call for
unity in our response to the victims of hurricane Katrina. THE
INTERNET WEBCAST OF THIS EVENT IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE. Please schedule a viewing of these clips from
these speakers with your congregation. This event was featured
on a national broadcast of the PBS show Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.
CUIC Enters New Phase
Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC), a relationship among nine
Christian communions, has made major decisions regarding an active
pursuit of establishing "full communion" by 2010. At
a meeting held earlier this month in Atlanta, Ga., CUIC's Coordinating
Council received reports on the work being done to promote mutual
recognition and reconciliation of ministries. The group also
talked about seeking a new interim director for CUIC, and a new
program that promotes racial justice. For further information
click here.
New Pew Poll: Religion a Strength and Weakness
for Both Parties
 Both major political parties
have a problem with their approach toward religion, in the eyes
of many Americans. More than 40% say liberals who are not religious
have too much control over the Democratic Party, while an almost
identical percentage says that religious conservatives have too
much influence over the Republican Party, according to the latest
national survey by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center
for the People & the Press. Overall, more Americans see the
Republican Party as friendly toward religion (55%) than see the
Democratic Party as friendly toward it (29%). Click here
for more information.
What Religious Groups Are Largest in Kentucky?
 The Glenmary Research Center
publishes information about Religious Congregations &
Membership in the United States. See what this data reveals
about Kentucky in this pdf
file.
Read The Statements About Full Communion by His
Holiness Benedict XVI
 "I would like to thank the
Lord who has blessed us with his mercy and instilled in us sincere
willingness to make his prayer our own: ut unum sint.
He has thus made us increasingly aware of the importance of moving
forward towards full communion.... Duc in altum! Let us
go forward with hope.... I feel strongly the need to reassert
the irreversible commitment taken by the Second Vatican Council
and pursued in recent years, also thanks to the activity of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The path to
the full communion desired by Jesus for his disciples entails,
with true docility to what the Spirit says to the Churches, courage,
gentleness, firmness and hope, in order to reach our goal. Above
all, it requires persistent prayer and with one heart, in order
to obtain from the Good Shepherd the gift of unity for his flock....
I ask you all to join with me in setting an example of that spiritual
ecumenism which, through prayer, can bring about our communion
without obstacles." Read the Pope's first statement to Delegates
of the Orthodox Churches, of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and
of the Ecclesial Communities of the West here.
You may read his second statement, in Cologne,Germany, AUG. 19,
2005 here.
Faithful America
Launches Darfur Campaign
 In what may be the worst human
rights tragedy of our time, nearly a half-million state-sanctioned
murders have occurred and continue as you read this. New reports
of armed officers gang raping and torturing children (some as
young as four!) simply cannot be ignored. The violence
has driven people from their farms, livestock and crops have
been destroyed, created a massive famine. Those who have not
been killed by the government-sponsored Janaweed militia are
in danger of dying of starvation and disease. Most of them are
children. Genocide in our time is unthinkable and unacceptable.
It is counter to every religion, philosophy, and creed of decency.
Visit their website (www.faithfulamerica.kintera.org/leadondarfur) to send a letter to the
President of the United
States urging him to take action on this
human rights issue. Every day we fail to act brings millions
closer to the brink of starvation and death. To learn more on
this crisis,go to Faithful America's briefing room at Faithfulamerica.org.
Intercom Blog
 The
Executive Director of the Kentucky Council of Churches has launched
a "blog."
We want our former Intercom readers to be informed about church
life and to continue to receive news and editorials about our
life together. It will include Dr. Kemper's insights on religion,
politics, theology, and ecumenical life. Nancy Jo would welcome
you as a reader of her blog, and hopes that it will be helpful
to you in your life as a faithful citizen. The URL of her blog
is www.kycouncilofchurches.org/intercom.html. Click here
to check it out, then visit here to learn how to subscribe for an RSS feed!
World Council Assembly
 The 9th Assembly of the World
Council of Churches will meet in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 14 - 23
February 2006, addressing the theme "God, in your grace,
transform the world". The assembly will be a time of encounter,
prayer, celebration and deliberation for thousands of Christian
women and men from around the world.The World Council of Churches
is a fellowship of over 340 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, and
united and other churches in over 100 countries representing
more than 550 million Christians. To get the most out of this
Assembly, you
may use the free resources that appear here.
Living Will Information
 Kentuckians
legally have the right to make decisions about their own our
health care. No medical treatments may be given to you over your
objection, and necessary health care may not be stopped or withheld
if you object. Click here to learn more and download Kentucky's
legal Living Will documents.
Join With Others to Make A Difference
 Learn how you can be a part of
groups that are working to fight racism, attempting to be peacemakers,
striving for environmental justice, and are concerned about rural
life issues. Click here
to follow your passion and make a difference in Kentucky.
Adopt a Minefield
 Your Church can adopt a minefield
and help save lives by raising funds for mine clearance and survivor
assistance. The United Nations Association of the USA urges your
congregation or judicatory to "adopt" minefields identified
by the United Nations as being in urgent need of clearance. Your
group could raise raise funds to clear your adopted minefields
and return land to productive use. Every dollar raised is forwarded
to the United Nations for mine clearance operations. Since its
official launch in March 1999, this campaign has received over
$4 million in payments, pledges, and grants for the removal of
minefields in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia,
Croatia, Mozambique and Vietnam. For more information visit http://www.landmines.org.
As Service Women and Men Are Away and As They
Come Home...
 Kimberly Hoare of Yale Divinity
School has prepared a new annotated bibliography of resources
that will help our churches provide pastoral care to families
of persons serving in the military. She has agreed to make this
information available for our use. Please click here for an html
version of this resource, or click here for an MS
Word version
of this useful bibliography.
Worship and Ministry Resources for this Time
of War
The KCC is able to offer worship
resources for this time of war and its devastating aftermath.
Please click here
for access to these resources and to learn more about how Churches
in KY can respond to this war. As perhaps never before in our
lifetimes, our churches and our communities are going to need
moral guidance and spiritual support.
Christian Unity Curricular Materials are Available
Representatives from ten Christian denominations
have come together to launch a new ministry project. Forty-four
ecumenical leaders from Kentucky have now completed work on curriculum
materials about Christian unity. These materials were designed
for use as a four-hour workshop and include a written Leader's
Guide with interactive video segments. This curriculum, entitled
One in the Bond of Love, is now available to every Christian
congregation and parish in the Commonwealth.
We've Moved
The offices of the Kentucky Council
of Churches are now located at 1500 Leestown Road, Suite 108 Lexington, KY 40511.
Our telephone and fax numbers will remain the same as before.
Our office hours are 8:00am-3:00pm Monday through Friday.
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