Leadership Changes Celebrated at 2008 CCT Annual Meeting

Download this Press Release 52KB

Baltimore, Maryland, January 8, 2008 – Today, Christian Churches Together in the USA, began its second Annual Meeting since officially launching in Pasadena, California, in February 2007. In an evening worship service, the outgoing Moderator, Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, was thanked, and a new Moderator, Father Leonid Kishkovsky, was commissioned along with the first full-time Executive Administrator, Dr. Richard L. Hamm.

Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America, served as Moderator in this formative year but he was also acknowledged for his engagement in the five years of conversations across old denominational and theological boundaries that led to the development of Christian Churches Together.

Incoming Moderator, Father Leonid Kishkovsky, Director of External Affairs and Interchurch Relations of the Orthodox Church in America, was commissioned as the new moderator. He, too, has been a part of the CCT conversation since its beginning. Dr. Richard L. Hamm, the new Executive Administrator, is a Disciples of Christ pastor who served from 1993-2003 as head of his communion.

Christian Churches Together is the broadest table of conversation between Christian churches and organizations in the United States. There are now 37 participating churches and 6 participating organizations. The churches include representatives of five identified “families”: Evangelical/Pentecostal, Catholic, Orthodox, Historic Protestant, and historically Racial/Ethnic. Participating organizations include Bread for the World, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, Evangelicals for Social Action, Sojourners/Call to Renewal, and the American Bible Society.

Christian Churches Together seeks to bring Christians from across the theological and denominational spectrum together for fellowship and common witness. The two foci of CCT’s work are evangelism and domestic poverty. As the four day meeting unfolds, the group looks forward to further developing its strategies in these two important arenas.

Media and press inquiries may be directed to:
Philip E. Jenks, pjenks@councilofchurches.org 212-870-2228
Val Ruess, ValCCT@att.net