NCC Public Policy Advocates Outline 1998 Goals
Episcopal News Service. January 15, 1998 [98-2068H]
(ENS) A meeting of public policy advocates for the National Council of Churches (NCC) and its member denominations recently decided to focus on public education as a means of addressing their goals of reducing poverty, fostering racial justice, protecting religious liberty, and promoting peace and human rights. The theme of public education "touches immigration, race, poverty -- virtually every issue we've said is among our priorities," commented NCC general secretary Joan Brown Campbell. Underscoring the urgency of the theme, advocates reported on Philadelphia schools without books, New York City's use of school bathrooms as classrooms, a $1 million shortfall for public education in one Virginia county after the state reduced taxes, enormous disparities between schools in affluent and poor communities and ongoing confusion about appropriate religious expression in public schools. The December conference was the second annual "working session on how churches engage in public policy advocacy from our heritage of faith," said NCC associate general secretary for public policy Albert Pennybacker.