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United Church of Christ

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Image:United Church of Christ logo.gif

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States, generally considered within the Reformed tradition, and formed in 1957 by the merger of two denominations, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. As such, the UCC therefore unites one of the earliest Protestant denominations in the United States with various other mostly Reformed traditions that sprang up in the United States in the 1700s and 1800s.

The United Church of Christ has approximately 1.3 million members and is composed of approximately 5,750 local congregations and two congregations in Canada organized in 39 Conferences.

Contents

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Origin

In 1957 the UCC was formed by the merging of two previously existing denominations, viz., the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

The Congregational Christian Churches trace their roots to the following:

Image:HennikerChurch.JPG

The Evangelical and Reformed Church hails from two distinct yet related waves of immigrant German Protestantism, as follows:

  • The Reformed Church in the United States, the German version of the Reformed/Calvinist movement. They looked to the Heidelberg Catechism as their primary confession and hailed primarily from areas near the Rhine River in Germany and also from parts of Switzerland. These mostly 18th-century immigrants settled heavily in Pennsylvania and northern Maryland, but also in a few other scattered areas.
  • The Evangelical Synod of North America. These 19th- and early 20th-century German immigrants settled primarily in the Midwest, especially Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. They came from the Evangelical Church of the Union, which was the result of an 1817 union between Lutheran and Reformed churches in Prussia. The group often identified as primarily Lutheran, but held a mixture of both Lutheran and Reformed beliefs and practices (so much so as to prevent this group from merging with other Lutheran bodies). They looked to both the Reformed Heidelberg Catechism and the Lutheran Luther's Small Catechism as their confessions (and eventually developed an "Evangelical Catechism", which merged views of both).
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Doctrine and Beliefs

The UCC uses four words to describe itself: Christian, Reformed, Congregational and Evangelical. The church's diversity and adherence to covenantal polity (rather than Presbyterian or Episcopal) give individual congregations a great deal of freedom in the areas of worship, congregational life, and doctrine.

The motto of the United Church of Christ comes from John 17:21: "That they may all be one." The UCC uses broad doctrinal parameters, honoring creeds and confessions as "testimonies of faith" rather than "tests of faith," and emphasizes freedom of individual conscience and local church autonomy. Indeed, the relationship between local congregations and the denomination's national headquarters is covenantal rather than hierarchical: local churches have complete control of their finances, hiring and firing of clergy and other staff, and theological and political stands.

In the United Church of Christ, creeds, confessions, and affirmations of faith function as "testimonies to faith" around which the church gathers rather than as "tests of faith" rigidly proscribing required doctrinal consent. As expressed on the United Church of Christ website, "The United Church of Christ embraces a theological heritage that affirms the Bible as the authoritative witness to the Word of God, the creeds of the ecumenical councils, and the confessions of the Reformation." The denomination therefore looks to a number of historic confessions as expressing the common faith around which the church gathers, including the Apostles' and Nicene creeds, the Reformation-era Heidelberg Catechism and Luther's Small Catechism, American confessions such as the Congregationalist Kansas City Statement of Faith and the Evangelical Synod's Evangelical Catechism and, of course, the current Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ.

The current hymnal endorsed by the denomiation is The New Century Hymnal, released at General Synod XX in 1995. Other hymnals that sometimes complement use of The New Century Hymnal in UCC congregations include the Pilgim Hymnal (from the Congregational Christian churches, first published in 1912 with two republications in 1931 and 1955), the 1941 Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and the 1973 Hymnal of the United Church of Christ. Following the controversy over language revision in The New Century Hymnal (see "Inclusive Language and The New Century Hymnal"), some congregations have instead adopted the 1995 Chalice Hymnal, by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), or "ecumenical" versons of either the 1990 The Presbyterian Hymnal or the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal.

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Polity/Organizational Structure

To quote the United Church of Christ Constitution, "The basic unit of the life and organization of the United Church of Christ is the local church." The ethos of local autonomy within wider interdependence characterizes the organization of the UCC. Each "setting" of the United Church of Christ relates covenantally with other settings, their actions speaking "to but not for" each other.

While the ethos of UCC organization is considered "covenantal," the structure of UCC organization is a mixture of the congregational and presbyterian polities of its predecessor denominations.

Local churches are gathered together in regional bodies called Associations. Local churches often give financial support to the association to support its activities. Local churches send delegates, ordained and lay, to their associations. In the UCC the association provides primary oversight and authorization of ordained and other authorized ministries. The association ordains new ministers, holds ministers' standing in covenant with local churches, and is responsible for disciplinary action.

Local churches also are members of larger Conferences, of which there are 39 in the United Church of Christ. Typically, a conference comprises multiple associations (although a few conferences contain only one association). Conferences are supported financially by a portion of each local church's denominational support money (know as "Our Church's Wider Mission"). Conferences are the primary support for the search-and-call process by which churches select ordained leadership and also typically provide significant programmatic resources for their constituent churches. Conferences, like associations, are congregationally representative bodies, with each local church sending ordained and lay delegates.

Each conference sends delegates to the denomination-wide General Synod, which meets every two years. General Synod considers both organizational legislation and resolutions on social witness. While General Synod provides the most visible voice of the stance of the denomination on any particular issue, the covenantal polity of the denomination means that General Synod speaks to, but not for, local churches, associations, and conferences; these settings are therefore not bound to agree with or follow General Synod stances.

As agents of the General Synod, the denomination maintains national offices comprised of four "covenanted ministries": the Office of General Ministries, Local Church Ministries, Wider Church Ministries, and Justice and Witness Ministries. These structures carry out the work of the General Synod and support the local churches, associations, and conferences. The head executives of these ministries comprise the Collegium of Officers (the Office of General Ministries is represented by both the General Minister, who serves as President of the denomination, and the Associate General minister).

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Current issues in the UCC

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Liberal Identity?

For over 20 years, UCC has been in a struggle over its identity. Some believe that the UCC is primarily a "United and Uniting" church that merges Christian traditions and gets along despite doctrinal differences, and others believe that the pronouncements of the church indicate it is a gay-friendly, progressive social justice church. In 1999 John H. Thomas was elected General Minister and President of the UCC because of his experience at the local level and with the hope that he could help heal the perceived rift between local and national leadership. [1].

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Branding Campaign

In 2004 the UCC joined the United Methodist church and others in using paid commercial advertising to reach potential members. The "God Is Still Speaking" branding initiative featured "the comma," the colors red and black, and a quote by Gracie Allen warning, "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." In keeping with their covenantal rather than authoritarian structure, individual congregations were able to opt in or out of this initiative.

In December 2004 several U.S. TV networks, including NBC and CBS, refused to air an advertisement by the UCC, deeming it too controversial. The "Bouncers" advertisement showed bouncers allowing into the church building a white, well-dressed family consisting of a heterosexual couple and two children but rejecting a number of other people, including two men holding hands, an African American female, a Latino male, and a person using a wheelchair. The text displayed on the screen says "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." (CBS claimed that "Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations, and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the CBS and UPN networks.") The President of the denomination stated that commercial communicates that the UCC welcomes all persons, speaking to the sense of alienation from the institutional church felt by many in American society. The denominational brand campaign staff encouraged congregations to examine and improve their efforts at offering "radical hospitality" to all people.

Aspects of the campaign were designed to differentiate the UCC from the Churches of Christ. The text of promotional materials was deliberately arranged to feature a stacking of words with "UNITED CHURCH" on top, with "OF CHRIST" in a different font below it. Campaign managers suggested that "United Church of Christ" be pronounced with a pause in the middle, saying instead "United Church, of Christ."

Image:UCC branding logo.gif

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Advent 2005 ad (Katrina relief and fundraising concerns hamper ad buy)

Soon after the July 2005 resolution was passed, Ron Buford, coordinator of the UCC's Stillspeaking Initiative, made a plug for raising three million dollars and promised the new ad would be just as provocative as the "bouncer" ad that made national headlines the previous December. "It is going to be edgy again and it will create a buzz," Buford said. "There will be a buzz everywhere about it." Buford, however, refused at this point to discuss the ad concept in detail. "Tell people I'm being tightlipped about it," he said with a coy smile [2]. Throughout the summer and early fall, Buford continued to cross the country promoting fundraising efforts for the GISS campaign. As of Monday, October 3, it was reported that Buford had raised nearly $700,000 toward his goal of 1.5 million. [3] He remained confident he could raise the rest of the money by November so that he could receive another matching 1.5 million dollars from the UCC national office. [4]

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in late summer, the UCC challenged UCC congregations to raise one million dollars for their "Hope Shall Bloom" hurricane relief campaign[5], which was raised to three million dollars [6] five days later when the enormity of the crisis was realized. At the same time that local congregations donated money to this cause, many of them also were responding negatively to various fundraising efforts by the denomination. [7]. At an October 14 meeting of the Executive Council, President John Thomas speculated that "Marriage equality, anticipated high heating fuel bills, special giving to tsunami or Katrina relief, anxiety over insurance premiums—all these are part of the picture."[8]. An October 14 press release from the UCC indicated that only $400,000 had been raised, and because of a lack of ability to raise funds, the UCC's 80-member Executive Council had approved a Lent ad buy but not an Advent one. "While not negating the December ad buy outright, the Council's references to a March 2006 run basically conceded that the Advent launch of the denomination's new commercial, now in production, was unlikely. As one member put it, 'We'd need a rich uncle to give us $1 million' before the end of October, the window of time necessary to purchase the air time." [9]. Despite that desired $1,000,000 contribution from the UCC's Local Church Ministries board a week later [10], the fundraising efforts fell short, and the difficult decision was made to postpone the ad buy until Lent. [11]

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Same Sex Marriage controversy

On July 4, 2005, the General Synod endorsed a same-sex marriage resolution, with an estimated 80% of the 884 delegates voting in favor of the resolution. (See above Polity/Organizational Structure section for an explanation of General Synod delegate representation.) With the resolution the UCC General Synod became the first major Christian deliberative body in the U.S. to make a statement of support for equal marriage rights for all people, regardless of gender, and is hitherto the largest Christian denominational entity in the U.S. supporting equal marriage rights (although other denominations have affirmed committed relationships for LGBT people in other forms). It is important to note that the resolution's primary focus is on calling for equal access to civil marriage regardless of gender; however, the resolution does call upon local congregations and other settings of the United Church of Christ to discussion and discernment around marriage equality and encourages congregations "to consider adopting Wedding Policies that do not discriminate against couples based on gender." (The General Synod only has the power to call on other settings of the church for action, not to enforce positions.) text of the resolution here.

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Responses in support of the resolution

Some in the United Church of Christ have heralded the resolution as furthering the prophetic witness of the United Church of Christ to both church and society. The United Church of Christ Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns, whose Open and Affirming Congregation program includes over 500 UCC congregations, vigorously supported the resolution during the Synod and rejoiced at its passage.

Several prominent congregations outside the UCC have made movement toward joining the denomination following the adoption of this resolution. These prominent congregations include:the formerly Metropolitan Community Church affiliated Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, TX, Plymouth Congregational Church (NACCC) in Minneapolis, and the Higher Dimensions Family Church charismatic megachurch in Tulsa, OK. There is no official indication from of most of these churches (Cathedral of Hope being an exception) that the EMRFA was necessarily the reason for considering the UCC.

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Responses in dissent of the resolution

This decision was viewed less favorably by some other local congregations, though, because the General Synod's highly publicized endorsement may or may not reflect the actual theological opinions of these congregations. The language used that asserts no distinction between same sex marriage and different sex marriage ("Therefore, theologically and biblically, there is neither justification for denying any couple, regardless of gender, the blessings of the church nor for denying equal protection under the law in the granting of a civil marriage license, recognized and respected by all civil entities.") has been considered by some to be an overstepping the Synod's role in asserting theological positions.

In response certain conservative "renewal movements" within the denomination made various responses to distance themselves from the resolution. The Biblical Witness Fellowship issued press releases questioning the legitimacy of the UCC as a Christian denomination [12], and churches in the Southern Renewal Conference signed onto the Lexington Confession [13], listing several points of dissent, but calling on UCC congregations to remain in dialogue with the UCC.

There is not uniform data available as to how many congregations have withdrawn from the denomination since the actions of General Synod 25. According to a January 19, 2006, article by United Church News, "Since July, about 49 churches — or less than one percent of the UCC’s 5,725 churches — have voted to disaffiliate, according to the denomination’s research office."[{{fullurl:}}#endnote_UCNews20060119] On the other hand, the conservative dissent group Faithful and Welcoming Churches lists 79 churches have decided to leave the denomination as of January 27, 2006. [14].

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Thomas on the Lexington Confession

General Minister and President John Thomas, who endorsed the same-gender marriage equality resolution a week before it was adopted by the General Synod, praised those who have chosen to sign the Lexington Confession as embodying some of the core values of the UCC. "In the United Church of Christ we expect local churches to hold in high regard the decisions or advice of the General Synod, but we do not expect each local church to agree," Thomas said on July 14, 2005. "The Lexington Confession takes the Synod seriously, even in its dissent, and I am grateful that those who have signed it have expressed their desire to honor the covenants we share even in the midst of sharp disagreement as we continue to walk together in God's ways." [15] While he praised the efforts of those signing the Lexington confession, Thomas spoke on October 14, 2005, with reference to the parable of he prodigal son and said, "that, during the three months since the General Synod voted overwhelmingly to affirm a same-gender marriage equality resolution, he has seen ample evidence of 'the older brother who resents the celebration of his brother's restoration to home.'" [16] To some, Thomas's analogy seemingly implied that opponents to the resolution represented a pharisaical point of view, and that their resistance was due to not wanting to see the undeserving be welcome into UCC congregations. Thomas went on to specifically call out Evangelical Association of Reformed, Christian and Congregational Churches and the Biblical Witness Fellowship because of their association with the "right-wing Institute for Religion and Democracy." Thomas acknowledged that no one group was to blame, that "there is in each of our souls, and in the soul of the United Church of Christ, an older brother who undermines our faithfulness as surely as the storm surge overwhelmed New Orleans' levees." Thomas primarily used the story of the Prodigal Son to focus on the dissentful, unwelcoming nature of the older brother, and did not employ the analogy to suggest anything for or against the "wild living" of the younger brother, in contrast to the Gospel of Luke which does.

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Divestment and "Tear Down the Wall" resolutions

The same General Synod that passed the resolution calling for equal marriage rights also passed two resolutions concerning the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East. The first calls for the use of economic leverage to promote peace in the Middle East, measures which can include government lobbying, selective investment, shareholder lobbying, and selective divestment from companies which profit from the continuing Israel-Palestine conflict, and specifically from Israel. The second encourages Israel to tear down the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank without asking the Palestinians to stop the terror attacks Israel says the wall was built to prevent. The Simon Wiesenthal Center stated that July 2005 UCC resolutions on divestment from Israel are "functionally anti-Semitic." [17] The Anti-Defamation League found that those same resolutions are "disappointing and disturbing" and "deeply troubling." [18]. At a UCC sponsored event in Minnesota, Jonathan Kutab, a prominent Palestinian human rights lawyer, advocated for the UCC resolutions on behalf of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, an organization that supports economic divestment from Israel. [19].

In addition to the concerns raised about the merits of the resolution, additional concerns were raised about the process in which the General Synod approved the resolution. Michael Downs of the United Church of Christ Pension Boards [20] (who would be charged with implementing any divestment of the UCC's Pension Board investments) wrote a letter [21] to UCC President John Thomas expressing concern "with the precedent setting implications of voted actions, integrity of process and trust."

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Ecumenical relations

The United Church of Christ is in a relationship of full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Reformed Church in America through a formal declaration known as the Formula of Agreement, with the Union Evangelischer Kirchen (Union of Protestant Churches) in Germany, and with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) through an ecumenical partnership. The church is a founding member of Churches Uniting in Christ and is in dialogue about deeper relations with the Alliance of Baptists. It is a member of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), and the World Council of Churches. The UCC also allies with other congregations in support of Church World Service efforts in domestic and foreign development and relief efforts.

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United Church of Christ Institutions

The following are institutions related to the United Church of Christ:

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See also

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References

  1. ^  J. Bennett Guess, "Since newsworthy General Synod, UCC reports both positive, negative fallout", United Church News, online edition, accessed 28 January 2006 at <http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=440&Itemid=1>.
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External links

Denominational Websites:

Websites of groups/caucuses with Executive Council Seats:

Websites of other UCC related groups (including professional associations, dissent groups, other caucuses, etc):

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