Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

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The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) was founded in 1973 by clergy and lay leaders in an effort to provide interfaith support for abortion rights. In 1993, the original name - the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR) - was changed to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The Coalition is an accredited non-governmental organization with the United Nations Department of Public Information.[1]

Personnel

In 2009, the following worked for the Coalition:[2]

Board of Directors

Executive Committee:

  • Carol Blowers, Chair - Director of Government Affairs, Family Planning Advocates of NY State
  • F. Alexis Roberson, Vice Chair - President and CEO, Opportunities, Industrialization Center of DC
  • Richard Simms, Treasurer - Executive Director, DC Center for Independent Living
  • Lloyd Steffen, Secretary - University Chaplain, Professor and Dept. Chair, Ethics; Dept. of Religion Studies, Lehigh University
  • Ann Hanson, Chair of the Council of Governors - United Church of Christ, Justice & Witness Ministries
  • Reverend Loey Powell, Immediate Past Chair of the Board - United Church of Christ, Justice & Witness Ministries
  • Dr. Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, President and CEO (ex officio) - Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Directors:

Council of Governors

  • Ann Hanson, Chair - United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries
  • Linda Bales, Vice Chair - United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society

Members:

Staff

Executive Department:

  • Reverend Dr. Carlton W. Veazey, President & CEO
  • Sonya Crudup, Chief Operating Officer
  • Carolyn Miller, Accountant
  • Rosslyn Casey, Office Manager
  • Christine McCoy, Administrative Assistant
  • Cindy LeRoux, Program Manager, South Africa Initiative

Other Staff:

  • Marjorie Signer, Director, Communications Department
  • Alex McNeill, Director, Fund Development Department
  • Reverend Matthew Westfox, Director, Interfaith Outreach
  • Delia Allen-O’Brien, Director, Information Technology Department
  • Reverend Penny Willis, Director, MultiCultural Programs Department
  • Nicolette Paterson, Director, Public Policy Department
  • Sara Fatell, Interim Director, Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom

Affiliates

Programs

Black Church Initiative

The Black Church Initiative (BCI), begun in 1997, is RCRC’s effort to educate African-American religious communities about abortion and sexuality. It is an extension of commitments already evident in RCRC’s Women of Color Partnership, which in 1996 had published a brochure entitled "Black Ministers Support your Right to Choose." A large donation from the Ford Foundation in 2000 enabled RCRC to work toward shedding "its image as a coalition of primarily liberal white Protestants" by advocating acceptance of sexuality options (including homosexual and bisexual behavior) and "safe sex" education programs within the black church. RCRC employed these funds to host the National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality in July 2000. Among the speakers at this summit was former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, who said at the conference that condoms may break, "but I can assure you, the vows of abstinence break far more easily than any condom." A parallel "Iniciativa Latina" ("Latina/Hispanic Initiative") has now been started.[3]

Member Organizations

As at May, 2015, the following were member organizations of the Coalition:[4]

  • American Jewish Committee
  • American Jewish Congress
  • Anti-Defamation League
  • Catholics for Choice
  • Central Conference of American Rabbis
  • Disciples for Choice
  • Episcopal Church
  • Episcopal Women’s Caucus
  • General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church
  • Jewish Reconstructionist Movement
  • Jewish Women International
  • Lutheran Women’s Caucus
  • Methodist Federation for Social Action
  • Metropolitan Community Church
  • NA’AMAT USA
  • National Council of Jewish Women
  • Presbyterian Mission Agency
  • Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options (PARO)
  • Rabbinical Assembly
  • Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
  • Society for Humanistic Judaism
  • Union for Reform Judaism
  • Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
  • Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation
  • United Church of Christ
  • United Methodist Women
  • Women of Reform Judaism
  • Women’s League for Conservative Judaism

Donors

2009

The following made donations to the Coalition in 2009:[2]

Foundations:

  • The Burch-Safford Foundation
  • E. Rhodes & Leon B. Carpenter Foundation
  • Robert Sterling Clark Foundation
  • The Educational Foundation of America
  • The Ettinger Foundation
  • The Ford Foundation
  • General Service Foundation
  • Bernard F. & Alva B. Gimbel Foundation
  • Amy P. Goldman Foundation
  • Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund
  • Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund
  • The Green Fund
  • Sis-Bros Community
  • The Huber Foundation
  • Martin & Brown Foundation
  • The Moriah Fund
  • The New Morning Foundation
  • Stewart R. Mott Charitable Trust
  • The Overbrook Foundation
  • The Scherman Foundation
  • The Summit Fund of Washington
  • The United Nations Foundation

$2,500 and up:

  • John Lindstrom & Pamela Lindstrom
  • Patricia R. Mintmire
  • Berit Muh
  • Beverly K. Shulman
  • George Wallerstein

$1,000 - $2,499:

  • Suzanne Eleanor Allen
  • Joan Arnow and Robert Arnow
  • June G. Barrett
  • Dr. Leroy Carhart
  • Rev. James Donnell
  • Ruth D. Ewing
  • David Fox
  • Lois C. Harrison
  • Brownie W. Ledbetter
  • Jeanne Lindsay
  • Jill Morrison
  • Sara Nerken
  • Elizabeth Peelle
  • Elinor S. Prockop
  • Margaret Saunders
  • George Wallerstein
  • Alice F. Weston
  • Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Winsberg
  • Judith P. Yeakel

$500 - $999:

  • Jonathan Ater and Deanne Ater
  • Joan Brannick
  • Thomas W. Brown
  • Sonya L. Burgher
  • Reverend Steve Clapp
  • Dr. Vidal S. Clay
  • Gordon A. Collins
  • Carol Daniels
  • Reverend Consuelo Donahue
  • Barbara J. Foote
  • Jeanette Foster
  • Pamela Garrison
  • Henry Hillman and Elsie Hillman
  • Rabbi Richard Hirsh
  • Alfred Hoose
  • Mary R. Keller
  • Keith Kusunis
  • Julie Leach & Brock Leach
  • Frank MacArtor
  • Mr. & Mrs. Peter Malkin
  • Terry Meier
  • Robert J. Nagle
  • Mrs. C. Page
  • Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters
  • Marilyn Sherwood and Budge Sherwood
  • Genny Smith
  • Polly Z. Steinway
  • Julie Taylor
  • John Vanderstar
  • Susan Wanwig
  • Sylvia B. Weaver
  • Sibyl White
  • Nancy G. Whitney
  • David F. Yelen and Frances Yelen
  • UCC Justice & Witness Ministries

$200 - $499:

2008

Gifts of Estate

The following named the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice in their will, trust, or other planned gift. The Coalition honored them by naming them members of the Jim Barrett Memorial Society:[2]

* indicates deceased

2007

In 2007, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice received $52,968 from the Tides Foundation.[5]

Contact Details

References

  1. ↑ United Methodist Church: Support for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 2004 (accessed on Sep. 13, 2012)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 RCRC: 2009 Annual Report
  3. ↑ Holy Abortion? A Theological Critique of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, by Michael J. Gorman and Ann Loar Brooks
  4. ↑ http://rcrc.org/homepage/about/coalition-council/ RCRC: Coalition Members] (accessed on May 18, 2015)
  5. ↑ Tides Foundation Income Tax Exemption Form 990 2007
Last modified on 18 May 2015, at 13:45