United Church of Christ
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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.
Currently, the United Church of Christ has approximately 1.3 million members and is composed of approximately 5,750 local congregations.
Origin of the United Church of Christ
In 1957, the United Church of Christ formed through the organic union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church with the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches.
- The Evangelical and Reformed Church itself was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States and the Evangelical Synod of North America:
- The Reformed Church in the United States carried out the tradition of the German version of the Reformed/Calvinist movement, which many characterized as less rationalistically doctrinal than its Dutch and British Isles counterparts. The [German] Reformed Church employed the Heidelberg Catechism as its primary confession. Its roots trace mostly to 18th-century immigrants hailing primarily from areas near the Rhine River in Germany, but also from certain parts of Switzerland. The denomination was very strong in Pennsylvania, northern Maryland, and eastern Ohio, but was also present in more scattered patterns in states to the west and south.
- The Evangelical Synod of North America traced its roots to later waves of 19th- and early 20th-century German immigrantion, which settled primarily in the Midwest (especially Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan). Members of this group came from the Evangelical Church of the Union, which formed in 1817 as a union of the 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. Evangelicals 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).
- The Congregational Christian Churches trace their roots to the following:
- Many of the primarily Reformed/Calvinist Congregational churches, Image:HennikerChurch.JPG whose organizational structure was Congregationalism, this separating them from the theologically similar Presbyterians. This denomination was centered in New England (being the state churches of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut from colonial times until into the early 19th century). The church spread wherever New Englanders migrated, including significant numbers in the Great Lakes region of the Midwest (states like Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc.). The Congregational churches, in turn, traced their colonial-era origins to the separatist Pilgrims, who established Plymouth Colony in 1620; and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who landed in 1629 and 1630 and settled Boston. (At the time of the 1957 formation of the United Church of Christ, a few Congregational churches did not join. Some of the dissenting churches formed into two dissenting bodies: the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.)
- A portion of the American frontier Restoration Movement known as the Christian Churches. This group comprised a number of frontier movements that broke away from more established denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist) because they desired less rigid requirements of doctrine and church polity/organization. Adherents saw the Bible as the sole doctrinal guide and claimed "no creed but Christ." The Christian Church movement is part of the family of similar movements (Restoration Movement) that generated the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination, the independent Christian Churches, and the Churches of Christ. While the United Church of Christ has very close ties with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), it is theologically and culturally very dissimilar to the Churches of Christ despite their similar names--this has caused substantial confusion in some parts of the United States.
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 government by elders or bishops) 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.
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." An interplay of wider interdependence with local autonomy 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.
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. 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 local churches, associations, and conferences, but not for them; these settings are therefore not assumed to agree with or follow General Synod stances. Indeed, some local congregations are scarcely aware of the results of a given Synod meeting. General Synod considers three kinds of resolutions, as follows:
- Pronouncements: A Pronouncement is a statement of Christian conviction on a matter of moral or social principle and has been adopted by a two-thirds vote of a General Synod.
- Proposals for Action: A Proposal for Action is a recommendation for specific directional statements and goals implementing a Pronouncement. A Proposal for Action normally accompanies a Pronouncement. (See link above regarding Pronouncements.)
- Resolutions and Other Formal Motions Which may consist of the following three types:
- Resolutions of Witness: A Resolution of Witness is an expression of the General Synod concerning a moral, ethical, or religious matter confronting the church, the nation, or the world, adopted for the guidance of the officers, Associated, or Affiliated Ministries, or other bodies as defined in Article VI of the Bylaws of the United Church of Christ; the consideration of local churches, Associations, Conferences, and other bodies related to the United Church of Christ; and for a Christian witness to the world. It represents agreement by at least two-thirds of the delegates voting that the view expressed is based on Christian conviction and is a part of their witness to Jesus Christ.
- Prudential Resolutions: A Prudential Resolution establishes policy, institutes or revises structure or procedures, authorizes programs, approves directions, or requests actions by a majority vote.
- Other Formal Motions
As agents of the General Synod, the denomination maintains national offices comprising 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).
Current issues in the United Church of Christ
"God Is Still Speaking" Identity Campaign
Image:UCC branding logo.gif In 2004 the United Church of Christ began using paid commercial advertising to reach potential members, joining the United Methodist Church and others who have also begun such efforts. The multi-year "God Is Still Speaking" identity initiative was themed around a quote by Gracie Allen warning, "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." Campaign materials, including print and broadcast advertising as well as merchandise, featured the quote and a large "comma," with a visual theme in red and black. United Church of Christ congregations were asked to "opt in" to the campaign, signifiying their support as well as their willingness to receive training on hospitality and evangelism.
The first television advertisement in the campaign, "Bouncers" advertisement, showed bouncers allowing a white, well-dressed family comprising a different-gender couple and two children into a church building while rejecting a number of other people, including an African American female, a Latino male, two men holding hands, and a person using a wheelchair. The text displayed on the screen says "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." In the initial December 2004 run, the NBC and CBS television networks refused to air an advertisement by the UCC, deeming it too controversial.
The United Church of Christ intended to run a new television commercial during the December 2005 period, as a continuance of the campaign. At General Synod XV in July 2005, Ron Buford, coordinator of the UCC's Stillspeaking Initiative, made a plug for raising $3 million 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.
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[1], which was raised to three million dollars [2] five days later when the enormity of the crisis was realized. Given the confluence of financial demands on congregations, an October 14 press release from the UCC indicated that only $400,000 had been raised for the advertising. Because of a lack of funds, the UCC's 80-member Executive Council had approved a Lent (March-April 2006) ad buy rathern than an Advent (December 2005) one. [3]
Equal Marriage Rights controversy
On July 4, 2005, the United Church of Christ General Synod XV endorsed an "Equal Marriage Rights For All" resolution, with an estimated 80% of the 884 delegates voting in favor of the resolution. 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). 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." As noted in the Polity section above, the General Synod cannot enforce positions on local congregations, speaking "to, but not for" them. text of the resolution here.
Response to the resolution was mixed.
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 600 UCC congregations (as of March 2006), 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, Tex., Plymouth Congregational Church (currently NACCC-affiliated) in Minneapolis, and the Higher Dimensions Family Church charismatic megachurch in Tulsa, Okla. 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.
Responses in objection to the resolution
Others in the United Church of Christ viewed this decision unfavorably, though, because the General Synod's highly publicized endorsement may or may not reflect the actual theological opinions held by individual members or their local 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, founded originally in 1977 in reaction to that year's Synod addressing homosexuality seriously for the first time, issued press releases questioning the legitimacy of the UCC as a Christian denomination [4], and churches in the Southern Conference Renewal, founded by a group of conservative congregations in North Carolina, signed onto the Lexington Confession [5], 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."Template:Ref However, the conservative group Faithful and Welcoming Churches(FWC) claims that nearly 100 churches have left the denomination as of March 2006. [6].
Middle East policy and economic leverage resolutions
United Church of Christ General Synod XV also passed two resolutions concerning the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East. One calls for the use of economic leverage to promote peace in the Middle East. "Economic leverage" can include measures such as government lobbying, selective investment, shareholder lobbying, and selective divestment from companies which profit from the continuing Israel-Palestine conflict. The other resolution, named "Tear Down the Wall", calls upon Israel to remove the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank.
Responses to the Middle East policy and economic leverage resolutions
Opponents of the "Tear Down the Wall" resolution were quick to note that the resolution does not specifically call upon the Palestinians to stop the terror attacks that Israel claims the wall was built to prevent.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center stated that July 2005 UCC resolutions on divestment from Israel are "functionally anti-Semitic." [7] The Anti-Defamation League found that those same resolutions are "disappointing and disturbing" and "deeply troubling." [8].
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. [9].
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 [10] (who would be charged with implementing any divestment of the UCC's Pension Board investments) wrote a letter [11] to UCC President John Thomas expressing concern "with the precedent setting implications of voted actions, integrity of process and trust."
Criticism of the Institute for Religion and Democracy
Leaders of the United Church of Christ have recently begun to issue criticism of the Institute for Religion and Democracy. In a speech October 14, 2005, President John Thomas accused the IRD of becoming over-involved with conservatives within the UCC. He said, "In the midst of all of this we are increasingly aware of the challenge of groups within and beyond the United Church of Christ that claim to represent the call to honor theological diversity in the United Church of Christ, that encourage the voice of more conservative sisters and brothers among us, but which are in fact intent on disrupting and destroying our life together. Groups like the Evangelical Association of Reformed, Christian, and Congregational Churches, and the Biblical Witness Fellowship are increasingly being exposed even as they are increasingly aggressive. Their relationship to the right wing Institute for Religion and Democracy and its long term agenda of silencing a progressive religious voice while enlisting the churches in an unholy alliance with right wing politics is no longer deniable. They are clearly using marriage equality, and our commitments to Palestinian people as a wedge to divide unsuspecting UCC folk and churches. They distribute manuals laying out strategies for leaving the UCC. They disseminate deliberately deceptive information about our life and our commitments. As the title of a new book about all of this puts it, "they play hardball on holy ground." United Church of Christ folk like to be "nice," to be hospitable. But, to play with a verse of Scripture just a bit, we doves innocently entertain these serpents in our midst at our own peril. [12]
At Gettysburg College on March 6, 2006, Thomas again warned against collusion with the IRD, calling called the IRD "a sophisticated 'inside the beltway' organization well funded by conservative foundations and closely aligned with a neo-conservative political agenda." Thomas criticized IRD's association with the Association of Church Renewal, with the Biblical Witness Fellowship, with the "Welcoming and Faithful" [sic] movement, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center . Further, Thomas described IRD's modus operandi as follows: "The IRD pursues its political agenda in the churches through three strategies: campaigns of disinformation that seek to discredit church leadership, advocacy efforts at church assemblies seeking to influence church policy, and grass roots organizing which, in some cases, encourages schismatic movements encouraging members and congregations either to redirect mission funding or even to leave their denominations. Indeed, the Mainline churches are facing hardball tactics. " [13]
Critics asked what makes the IRD's behavior any different from that of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, a group that influenced the denomination's policy on the Middle East.
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 denominations in support of Church World Service efforts in domestic and foreign development and relief efforts.
United Church of Christ Institutions
Officially related Educational Institutions
Seminaries
- Andover Newton Theological School (Newton Centre, Massachusetts) website
- Bangor Theological Seminary (Bangor, Maine) website
- Chicago Theological Seminary (Chicago, Illinois) website
- Eden Theological Seminary (Webster Groves and St. Louis, MO) website
- Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) website
- Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley, California) website
- United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (New Brighton, Minnesota) website
Colleges & Universities
These 19 schools have affirmed the purposes of the United Church of Christ Council for Higher Education by official action and are full members of the Council.
- Catawba College (Salisbury, North Carolina) website
- Deaconess College of Nursing (St. Louis, Missouri) website
- Defiance College (Defiance, Ohio) website
- Dillard University (New Orleans, Louisiana) website
- Doane College (Crete, Nebraska) website
- Drury University (Springfield, Missouri) website
- Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, Illinois) website
- Elon University (Elon, North Carolina) website
- Heidelberg College (Tiffin, Ohio) website
- Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, Texas) website
- Illinois College (Jacksonville, Illinois) website
- Lakeland College (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) website
- Lemoyne-Owen College (Memphis, Tennessee) website
- Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin) website
- Olivet College (Olivet, Michigan) website
- Pacific University (Forest Grove, Oregon) website
- Piedmont College (Demorest, Georgia) website
- Rocky Mountain College (Billings, Montana) website
- Talladega College (Talladega, Alabama) website
- Tougaloo College (Tougaloo, Mississippi) website
Secondary Academies
- The Massanutten Academy (Woodstock, Virginia) website
- The Mercersburg Academy (Mercersburg, Pennsylvania) website
Historically Related Educational Institutions
Historically Related Seminaries
- Hartford Seminary (Hartford, Connecticut) website
- Harvard Divinity School (Cambridge, Massachusetts) website
- Howard University School of Divinity (Washington, DC) website
- Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, Georgia) website
- Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico (San Juan, Puerto Rico) website
- Union Theological Seminary (New York, New York) website
- Vanderbilt University Divinity School (Nashville, Tennessee) website
- Yale University Divinity School (New Haven, Connecticut) website
Historically Related Colleges and Universities (Council for Higher Education)
"These colleges continue to relate to the United Church of Christ through the Council for Higher Education, but chose not to affirm the purposes of the Council. Though in many respects similar to the colleges and universities that have full membership in the Council, these institutions tend to be less intentional about their relationships with the United Church of Christ." (from the United Church of Christ website)
- Beloit College (Beloit, Wisconsin) website
- Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) website
- Cedar Crest College (Allentown, Pennsylvania) website
- Fisk University (Nashville, Tennessee) website
- Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) website
- Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa) website
- Hood College (Frederick, Maryland) website
- Ripon College (Ripon, Wisconsin) website
- Ursinus College (Collegeville, Pennsylvania) website
- Westminster College of Salt Lake City (Salt Lake City, Utah) website
Other Historical Colleges and Universities (Unrelated)
These colleges and universities no longer maintain any relationship to the United Church of Christ, but were founded by or otherwise related historically to the denomination or its predecessors.
- Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire)
- Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) -- Harvard was founded by Congregationalists, but sided with the Unitarians in their 1825 breakaway
- Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)
List of famous UCC members or attendees
This section lists notable people known to have been raised in or current members of the United Church of Christ or its predecessor denominations.
- U.S. Senator Judd Gregg (Republican Senator -- New Hampshire)
- U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (Democratic Senator -- Hawaii)
- U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords (Independent Senator -- Vermont)
- U.S. Senator Max Baucus (Democratic Senator -- Montana)
- U.S. Senator Jon Corzine (Democratic Senator -- New Jersey)
- U.S. Senator Barack Obama (Democratic Senator -- Illinois)
- Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham (Democrat -- Florida)
- Civil rights leader and former member of Congress, UN ambassador, and mayor of Atlanta, GA, Andrew Young (Democrat -- Georgia). Young is also an ordained UCC pastor. [14]
- Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean
- Bill Gates
- Iowa Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson
- David Letterman
- H. Richard Niebuhr and Reinhold Niebuhr, theologians
- Paul Tillich, theologian
- Walter Brueggemann, contemporary theologian, poet, and UCC minister
- William Sloane Coffin, UCC minister and activist; 'pastor, prophet, poet'
- Phillip Schaff and John Nevin, theologians [15]
- Former Virginia Governor Mills Godwin
- Marilynne Robinson --Pulitzer prize-winning (2005) author of the novel Gilead
- Leonard Pitts-- Nationally syndicated Pulitzer prize-winning (2004) columnist
- Julian Bond -- Chair NAACP (2004-present) and the first African American nominated as Vice-President of the United States [16]
See also
References
- Template:Note 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>.
External links
Denominational Websites:
- United Church of Christ
- United Church News
- Discussion Forums
- stillspeaking.org God Is Still Speaking campaign site
- Forums for discussing ministerial calllings
- iucc.org prototype seeker-friendly virtual community launched March 1, 2006
- www.uccvitality.org launched March 1, 2006 "will help persons “try on” the UCC, especially in areas where no UCC yet exists"
- rejectionhurts.com launched March 26, 2006 "a space for people to share their personal stories of religious rejection and to find support in their search for a more-welcoming Christian experience"
- accessibleairwaves.org launched March 26, 2006 "an action outlet for mainline Christians who feel their voices are being silenced by corporate media"
Websites of groups/caucuses with Executive Council Seats:
- United Church of Christ Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns (The Coalition)
- United Black Christians (UBC)
- Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM)
- Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic Justice (MRSEJ)
- UCC Disabilities Ministries
- Council for Youth and Young Adult Ministries (CYYAM)
Websites of other UCC related groups (including professional associations, dissent groups, other caucuses, etc):
- Association of United Church Educators
- Biblical Witness Fellowship
- Confessing Christ
- Council for Health and Human Services Ministries
- Faithful and Welcoming Churches (FWC)
- UCC Musicians Association
- UCC Musicians Network
- UCC Stillspeaking (Myspace.com group)
- Order of Corpus Christi
- Outdoor Ministry Association
- UCC Truths
- UCC Unityde:United Church of Christ