Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina CCN Center

Prior Projects/Events:

June 15, 2003: Fourth in a four-month series on racial reconciliation.
May 18, 2003: Third in a four-month series on racial reconciliation.
April 27, 2003: Second in a four-month series on racial reconciliation.
March 16, 2003. The meeting will kick off a four-month series on racial reconciliation with the documentary film, "Journey Towards Peace." This film follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu, renowned historian John Hope Franklin, and a diverse group of young people as they discuss issues of racial peace and reconciliation. This month we will watch the first half of the film and share our impressions.
February 16, 2003: Meeting cancelled due to ice storm.
January 19, 2003: This month's topic: Reconciliation in the Face of War. We watched "The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It," a documentary about conscientious objectors during WWII. Discussion included connections to the Civil Rights movement and Dr. King's views on war, God's working during times of conflict, and our personal reflections and decisions.
January 4, 2003: We met with Paula McKenzie, Church of the Good Shepherd, Protea Village, Cape Town, South Africa, to learn more about the Protea Village's efforts for land reclamation and how we might help.
December 15, 2002: St. Paul created a Kwanza celebration in which we all shared a delicious Kwanzaa soup and learned more about this family-oriented celebration full of ceremony and symbolism.
November 20, 2002: Pullen Baptist CCN in Raleigh invited Steven Stanley and Andy Dobelstein to make a presentation of their South African visit.
November 17, 2002: The topic was “Keeping the Spirit through the holiday season” and we looked at ways to stay focused on our spiritual lives and the Common Discipline during this busy and commercialized time of year.
October 20, 2002: Connie and Mike Domino from Pullen Baptist CCN in Raleigh shared about their CCN center, which was designated in 1977.
October 6th & 13th at 10:20AM: Two Adult Education programs at Chapel of the Cross were presented about South Africa.
September 15, 2002: The program focused on the history and philosophy of the Community of the Cross of Nails. The Organizational Structure draft and By-Laws draft, which were finalized by the Board on July 15, 2002, were unanimously ratified by the members present at the meeting. A Pledge-Membership Form draft will be reviewed at the next meeting.
August 18, 2002: Views from Another Side: Two Jews Visit the West Bank: Tom Stern and Tema Okun shared slides and observations from their visit to the West Bank at the end of May, 2002. The Durham couple had the opportunity to tour many cities currently in the news before a 24-hour curfew made travel there virtually impossible. Mr. Stern and Ms. Okun joined a 12-member National Lawyers Guild delegation which documented living conditions in the West Bank. They traveled to Ramallah, Jenin, Nablus, Bethlehem and East Jerusalem, meeting with many people, both Israeli and Palestinian, who generously shared their experiences of living and working in the West Bank. Tom and Tema had traveled the West Bank at the end of May, 2002, following the 40-day offensive that ended in mid-May.
July 22nd-August 3, 2002: Creating Connections Summer Day Camp. The camp focuses on bridge-building and youth development and will be held at Cameron Park Elementary School in Hillsborough. The age group has been expanded this year to 12 through 19 years. The theme is "issues of diversity" and participants work together to build a "Wall of Reconciliation." The program will include historical research, exchanges between diverse groups and obtaining oral histories from young adults in the community. The location of the camp changes annually to increase its availability to all Orange County Youth. Pick up and drop off hours have been extended to allow for the commute.
July 21, 2002: The July program focused on an essential element of the Community of the Cross of Nails, that of the CCN Spiritual Discipline.
June 23, 2002: Stephen Stanley and Andy Dobelstein returned with much to share from a South Africa pilgrimage in May, 2002. They provided handouts, a short video and an inspiring discussion about their visit to Protea Village in Cape Town. The Rev. Paula McKenzie, pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Protea, joined the discussion as she happened to be visiting Chapel Hill for a one month clergy exchange with the Rev. Lisa Fishbeck of the Church of the Holy Family in Chapel Hill. The Rev. McKenzie is a full time radiologist and "self-supporting" priest in the South African Anglican Church.
May, 2002: Stephen Stanley and Andy Dobelstein undertook a pilgrimmage to South Africa, visiting the Church of the Good Shepherd in Protea Village in Cape Town.

NOTE: Our sister CCN center in South Africa prays together at noon on the first Friday of each month, which will be 6:00 AM EST. Please join with us as we pray together. You can do this wherever you will be at 6:00 AM by observing a few moments of prayer.

February through May, 2002: A series of planning meetings were held by the entire membership to discuss the following questions: 1. WHO ARE WE?, 2. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? and 3. WHO IS GOING TO DO IT? During this period a St. Paul AME/Chapel of the Cross CCN (SPCOC-CCN) Board was elected, a Program Committee was formed, and several working papers were developed: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, BY-LAWS, and VISION STATEMENT.
January 16-20, 2002: Chapel Hill CCN hosted the CCN-USA Futures Conference, which was led by Jim Diamond, CCN-USA President, and facilitated by Mahan Siler, the retired pastor of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh.
October 22, 2001: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sponsored a panel discussion on "Reconciliation." This event was held on the UNC Campus and was open to the public. The distinguished panel included the Rt. Rev. Colin Bennetts from Coventry as well as the bishops from both of the sister parishes. This event was one of the highlights of a weekend of celebrations. The Sister Parish Center celebrated the 137th anniversary of St. Paul AME Church and the 7th anniversary of the Sister Parish Covenant between the COTC Episcopal Church and St. Paul AME.
September 18, 2001: "Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women--Three Faiths--One Shared City" The Community Church, Chapel Hill. The local CCN and ECM co-hosted an important program on the struggle for a just peace in the Mid East. Partners for Peace, Washington, DC, brought these speakers to the Triangle to help Americans have a better understanding of the reasons behind the violence taking place and what can be done to establish a just and lasting peace.
July 23-August 3, 2001: Creating Connections Summer Day Camp. Chapel Hill CCN supported In Our Hands's unique Summer Day Camp, focusing on bridge-building and youth development in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro-Durham area. This year's theme: "Changing Faces, Changing Places," explored changing neighborhoods through residents' stories and recollections.