The National Council of Churches’ annual general assembly met November 11-13 in Minneapolis, Minn., under the joint presidency of Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, NCC President and Legate of the Diocese, and Bishop Johncy Itty (who chairs the board of directors of the NCC’s outreach arm, Church World Service).

The meeting marked the last time the country’s largest ecumenical organization would gather under Archbishop Aykazian’s presidency. Elected to a standard two-year term of office in 2007, he is the first Armenian clergyman (and the first of the Oriental Orthodox family of churches) to be elected to head the NCC. Archbishop Aykazian also serves on the central committee of the World Council of Churches, and is an active figure in the national and international ecumenical arenas.

The 2009 NCC assembly called upon member churches and world governments to advance toward more universal justice and peace. The Rev. Michael Kinnamon, the NCC’s general secretary, and the Rev. John McCullough, executive director of Church World Service, made forceful presentations on combating poverty, and on addressing reform of the U.S. healthcare system. Click here to read more.