Ecumenical and inter-faith work

Bishop Harris served as first vice president of the Liberian Council of Churches (LCC) until his election as its president in December 2002. The LCC was organized as a fellowship of churches in Liberia, with the goal of working together to find solutions to crucial problems of public concern. Made up of 16 full members and 18 associate members and organizations, the LCC seeks unity among Christian churches working together, rather than being separated by doctrinal differences, and seeks to promote inter-religious dialogue. The work of the Council was greatly curtailed by the recent civil unrest in Liberia. The violence brought overwhelming destruction throughout the entire country, including the ransacking of the Council's new offices.

The LCL has also played a key-role on the Interfaith Council of Liberia, a body of Christian and Muslim leaders facilitating peace efforts during civil war.  In 2002, members of the LCC and the Liberian Muslim Council met with the leaders of rebel military forces and persuaded the rebels to enter into dialogue which had previously been impossible. At the same time, the LCC prevailed on the Parliament and Secretariat of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lift a travel ban on the two rebel factions, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). This action allowed the rebel leaders to travel to Sierra Leone in 2002 for the first peace talks.  The Council of churches was represented at the Accra, Ghana, peace talks in 2003, leading to the formation of the present Transitional Government.

In 2005, the Council of Churches will be accredited by the National Elections commission to be official civic educators and elections monitors for the October elections. Through the LCC, all of Liberia's churches will have a significant role in the electoral process.  The LCC will hold seminars in 8 different counties on the role of party officials, the role of the media, the pre-election process of voter registration, and the election process itself.  The council is committed to discouraging violence, and it is now attempting to get a written agreement from all presidential candidates committing themselves to nonviolence during the elections.

Through designated coordinators in each of its member churches the LCC will raise awareness of basic civic principles and educate citizens of their rights and roles as active participants in the elections process.