Results for United Church of Christ
On this page:
 
US History Encyclopedia:

United Church of Christ

Although the United Church of Christ (UCC) is a relatively young Protestant denomination, formed in 1957, the historical roots of its four constituent bodies go much deeper. The UCC brought together the Congregational Christian Church—itself the product of a 1931 union of Congregationalist and Christian churches—with the Evangelical and Reformed church—the product of a 1934 merger between the German Reformed and Evangelical Synod churches. This diverse historical background encompasses Calvinism, American revivalism, and German pietism, but to a considerable degree the four traditions have shared a common commitment to social witness and ecumenical efforts toward Christian unity.

Congregationalism arrived in New England in the 1620s and 1630s as a movement of Calvinist dissenters from the Anglican Church, emphasizing the autonomy of local congregations from state and episcopal control. Although these seventeenth-century Puritans did not champion religious tolerance—theological mavericks might be banished or summarily executed—they did affirm the necessity of informed individual assent to church teaching. The Congregational tradition thus placed great emphasis on an educated clergy and laity—a commitment realized in the formation of Harvard in 1636 and in the myriad of smaller colleges established in the nineteenth century, including several schools (Howard and Fisk) for African Americans. Although by the end of the nineteenth century two-thirds of all Congregationalists still resided in New England, the denomination's early leadership in foreign missions, abolitionism, and women's rights testified to its powerful and generally progressive role as cultural arbiter. In the late-nineteenth century, Congregationalists like Washington Gladden and Josiah Strong led the Social Gospel movement's call for social action among Protestant churches. Similarly, churchmen like George A. Gordon, Henry Ward Beecher, and Lyman Abbott popularized the tenets of the New Theology—emphasizing the immanence of God in creation, the humanity of Christ, and the importance of scientific learning for religious thought—in pulpits and seminaries.

The 1931 merger of the Congregationalist and Christian churches was in some ways an unlikely one. The Christian church was a product of early-nineteenth-century revivalism, a movement whose emotional excesses inspired distrust among many more rationally inclined Congregationalists. But the two traditions shared a dislike of ecclesiastical hierarchy, creedal tests, and sectarian competition; the early Christian churches modeled themselves on the first-century church and refused any denominational title. The Bible was to be their only arbiter of practice and teaching, and the unity of all believers their final goal. The movement was indebted to three main founders: James O'Kelly of Virginia, who left the Methodist Episcopal Church and founded the Republican Methodists (later Christians) in 1794; Abner Jones, a former Baptist who established the First Free Christian Church in Lyndon, Vermont, in 1801; and Barton W. Stone, who led a dissenting group of Kentucky Presbyterians out of the denomination in 1803. In 1820, these groups formed the Christian Connection, a relatively loose affiliation that enabled them to sustain two colleges (Defiance and Elon) and a vigorous publishing effort, dating back to Elias Smith's Herald of Gospel Liberty in 1808. But the group remained relatively small: at the time of the 1931 merger, the General Convention of the Christian Church numbered only 100,000 members, mostly in the Upper South and Ohio Valley, compared with about one million Congregationalists.

The Evangelical and Reformed merger brought together two German immigrant groups. The German Reformed church originated in 1747, when Michael Schlatter organized a German-speaking synod (coetus) in Philadelphia. In 1793 this body, then numbering around 15,000 members, declared itself the Synod of the German Reformed Church in the United States of America. As the denomination grew, it established a foreign mission board (1838), and various colleges and seminaries, including Mercersburg (later Lancaster) Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, and Franklin and Marshall College, also in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Two professors at Mercersburg, Philip Schaff and John W. Nevin, were influential critics of American Protestantism, particularly its incipient anti-Catholicism and its sectarian divisions. The Mercersburg Theology emphasized the importance of historic creeds, catechism, and liturgy as means of unifying a divided Christendom.

The Evangelical Synod of North America, which joined with the Reformed church in 1934, originated in 1817, when Prussia's King Frederick William III united his country's Lutheran and Reformed churches into one state-controlled body, the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union. In 1833, under the sponsorship of the Basel Missionary Society, the denomination began sending pastors to German immigrants in the United States. In 1840, ministers in the St. Louis area formed the German Evangelical Church Society of the West, which in 1866 became not a formal denomination but a more loosely organized "synod." In 1872, this German Evangelical Synod of the West joined with two other regional synods in the upper Midwest and Northeast; five years later the denomination was renamed the German Evangelical Synod of North America. The word "German" was dropped in 1927. Itself the product of missionary endeavor and heavily influenced by pietist zeal, the Evangelical Synod soon developed a wide array of evangelistic and humanitarian projects, including deaconess hospitals in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Evansville, Indiana. The denomination's two schools, Eden Theological Seminary and Elmhurst College, produced two leading American theologians, Reinhold Niebuhr, a central figure in the neo-orthodox movement, and H. Richard Niebuhr, an ethicist and church historian. At the 1934 merger, the Evangelical Synod numbered about 280,000 members and the German Reformed some 350,000.

The merger of these four traditions became final in June 1957, at the Uniting General Synod in Cleveland, Ohio. Not all congregations participated: the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference did not join because of disagreements on polity and theology. Since the 1960s, the UCC, like most other mainline American denominations, has endured membership losses and theological turmoil. Between 1960 and 1970, the UCC lost 12.5 percent of its members; in 2001, membership stood at about 1.4 million. The UCC has found much of its identity in social witness, particularly the civil rights movement, antiwar protest, and support for the ordination of women and homosexuals. It has pursued ecumenism as a member of the World and National Councils of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and in ecumenical partnership with the Disciples of Christ.

Bibliography

Dunn, David, et. al. A History of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Philadelphia: Christian Education Press, 1961. Reprint. New York: Pilgrim Press, 1990.

Gunneman, Louis. The Shaping of the United Church of Christ: An Essay in the History of American Christianity. New York: United Church Press, 1977.

Von Rohr, John. The Shaping of American Congregationalism, 1620–1957. Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 1992.

Zikmund, Barbara Brown, ed. Hidden Histories in the United Church of Christ. 2 vols. New York: United Church Press, 1984.

 
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: United Church of Christ,
American Protestant denomination formed in 1957 by a merger of the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches (see Congregationalism) and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The constitution for the new body was adopted in July, 1961, thus completing the union. The statement of faith promulgated in 1959 maintains the noncreedal position common to both religious bodies, holding only to baptism and communion as sacraments, ordination as an act of laying on of hands, and local autonomy in all matters of worship, doctrine, and congregational life. A general synod of the whole church meets biennially and establishes the various agencies through which its social action, ecumenical work, and missionary work are carried out. The church has about 1.4 million members (1997).

Bibliography

See L. Gunnemann, The Shaping of the United Church of Christ (1977).

 
WordNet: United Church of Christ
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: merger of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church

 
Wikipedia: United Church of Christ

Disambiguation: This article is about the United States denomination known as "United Church of Christ." For other merged denominations see United and uniting churches. For other churches that have the words "Church" and "Christ" in their name, see Church of Christ (disambiguation).


United Church of Christ
Classification Protestant
Orientation Mainline
Polity modified Congregationalist
Origin 1957
Merge of Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches
Associations Churches Uniting In Christ
National Council of Churches
World Alliance of Reformed Churches
World Council of Churches
Geographical Area United States
Statistics
Congregations 5,633
Members 1.2 million

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination principally in the United States, generally considered within the Reformed tradition, and formed in 1957 by the union of two denominations, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches.

According to the 2006 yearbook, the United Church of Christ has approximately 1.2 million members and is composed of approximately 5,633 local congregations.

Although similar in name, the UCC denomination is theologically, historically, and culturally distinct from the Churches of Christ, a loose affiliation of conservative congregations [1] that arose primarily from the Restoration Movement taking place in the Southeastern United States in the 19th century.

Origin of the United Church of Christ

In 1957, the United Church of Christ formed through the union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church with the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches.

Hidden Histories in the United Church of Christ (two volumes; 1987, ISBN 0-8298-0753-5) edited by Barbara Brown Zikmund chronicles the many different church backgrounds that are a part of the UCC. Volume one is available online[2], while the second volume is available from United Church Press.

Doctrine and beliefs

Statements of 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 regional 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 denomination's official literature 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 constitution:

The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole Head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession. It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. It claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God. In accordance with the teaching of our Lord and the practice prevailing among evangelical Christians, it recognizes two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.[3]

The denomination, therefore, looks to a number of historic confessions as expressing the common faith around which the church gathers, including:

While not functioning as creedal tests of faith, together these confessions and testimonies of faith situate the United Church of Christ solidly within the family of Reformation churches.

Studies and surveys of beliefs

In 2001, Hartford Institute for Religion Research did a "Faith Communities Today (FACT)" study [4] that included a survey of United Church of Christ beliefs. Among the results of this were findings that in the UCC, 5.6 percent of the churches responding to the survey described their members as "very liberal or progressive," 3.4 percent as "very conservative," 22.4 percent as "somewhat liberal or progressive," and 23.6 percent as "somewhat conservative" Those results suggested a nearly equal balance between liberal and conservative congregations. The self-described "moderate" group, however, was the largest at 45 percent. Another statistics based on the Hartford Institute report found that for opinion of the highest source of authority, 53.2% said "the Bible," 16.1% said "Holy Spirit" 9.2% said "Reason", 6.3% said "Experience" and 6.1% said "Creeds."

David Roozen, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research who has studied the United Church of Christ, said surveys show the national church's pronouncements are often more liberal than the views in the pews but that its governing structure is set up to allow such disagreements[5].

Starting in 2003, a task force commisisoned by General Synod 24 studied the diverse Worship habits of UCC churches. The study can be found online [6] and reflects statistics on attitudes towards Worship, Baptism, and Communion, such as "Laity (70%) and clergy (90%) alike overwhelmingly describe worship “as an encounter with God that leads to doing God’s work in the world.” "95 percent of our congregations use the Revised Common Lectionary in some way in planning or actual worship and preaching" and "96 percent always or almost always have a sermon, 86 percent have a time with children, 95 percent have a time of sharing joys and concerns, and 98 percent include the Prayer of Our Savior/Lord’s Prayer." Clergy and laity were invited to select two meanings of baptism that they emphasize. They were also to suggest the meaning that they thought their entire church emphasized. Baptism as an “entry into the Church Universal” was the most frequent response. Clergy and laity were also invited to identify two meanings of Holy Communion that they emphasize. While clergy emphasized Holy Communion as “a meal in which we encounter God’s living presence,” laity emphasized “a remembrance of Jesus’ last supper, death, and resurrection.”

Other theological publications and colloquiums.

Theological seminars, journals, and publications of the UCC may be helpful to understand the theologies of the UCC, but while they disseminate various theological opinions and news, none is used to speak authoritatively about church beliefs.[7]

In 1977 the Office for Church Life and Leadership (OCLL) began sponsoring an annual a "Craigville Colloquy" with the first topic: "Toward Sound Teaching in the United Church of Christ." According to a 2004 speech by current president John Thomas, "a group of prominent United Church of Christ theologians set forth an agenda as urgent today as it was then: Convinced as we are that our church, along with the American churches generally, is excessively accommodated to cultural values and perceptions, our thinking revolved around the conviction that the ministry of the church must become more intentional and disciplined in teaching the faith of the church, in valuing its theological tradition and in responding to the present place of the church in culture."[8]

Concurrent with these sentiments, the late 1970s/early 1980s brought the launch of several theological publications to include Prism and New Conversations.

New Conversations, an "annual" magazine of the United Church of Christ's Board for Homeland Ministries (BHM) that is actually published less often than annually.[9] The last known edition was 2002's "Medical Technology and Christian Decision Making dealing with bioethics".[10] The BHM has produced several issues of “New Conversations” dealing with Asian Americans, Micronesians, and Native Hawaiian Issues.[11]

  • Volume 1: (Spring/Summer, 1975),
  • Volume 4: no 2 (Fall 1979) -- Topic:"Order and Identity in the United Church of Christ"
  • Volume 5: No. 2, (Fall 1980) -- Topic:“The Design of Faith”
  • Volume 6: (Spring 1982)
  • Volume 11: (Fall 1988) -- Topic: "National Service" New Conversations.
  • (Winter/Spring 1989) -- Topic: American Missionary Association and Amistad
  • Spring 1995 -- Topic: "Don't Ask Questions"
  • Volume 15, Number 3 (1993) -- Topic: "New Conversations: Confronting and Combatting Christian Anti-Judaism" ed. by Nanette M. Roberts
  • Volume 17, no. 2 (Summer 1995) -- Topic: "The Church and the Public School"
  • Fall 2002 -- Topic: "Medical Technology and Christian Decision Making"

Prism is a theological journal of the United Church of Christ published jointly by the seven seminaries of the United Church of Christ, and produced twice a year.[12] A journal for the whole church, Prism offers "serious theological reflection from a diversity of viewpoints on issues of faith, mission, and ministry." Prism was founded in 1985, and is edited by Clyde Steckel, United Seminary's emeritus professor of theology, and Elizabeth Nordbeck of Andover Newton Theological School.[13]

The Living Theological Heritage of the United Church of Christ an 835-page, 7-volume set edited by Rev. Barbara Brown Zikmund and a team of 13 editors, four associate editors and an editorial board of seven.[14] The materials, which span the first century through the 20th century, were included in the volumes because, according to editors, they had impacted the shaping the UCC's theological identity.[15]

UCC beliefs expressed to the World Council of Churches

In 1982, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches unanimously adopted a statement in Lima, Peru regarding "Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry." The 1982 UCC General Synod adopted an official tentative response in 11-pages that reflects a UCC theological response to this document[16].

Polity/organizational structure

System and ethos of polity

Quoting the United Church of Christ Constitution, "The basic unit of the life and organization of the United Church of Christ is the local church."[17] 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 United Church of Christ organization is considered "covenantal." The structure of UCC organization is a mixture of the congregational and presbyterian polities of its predecessor denominations. With ultimate authority on most matters given to the local church, many see United Church of Christ polity as closer to congregationalism; however, with ordination and pastoral oversight conducted by Associations, and General Synod representation given to Conferences instead of congregational delegates, certain presbyterian similarities are also visible.

Local churches

The basic unit of the United Church of Christ is the local church (also often called the congregation). Local churches have the freedom to govern themselves, establishing their own internal organizational structures and theological positions. Thus, local church governance varies widely throughout the denomination; some congregations, mainly of Congregational origin, have numerous relatively-independent "boards" that oversee different aspects of church life, while others have one central "church council" or "consistory" (especially in former Evangelical and Reformed parishes) that handles most or all affairs, while still others have structures incorporating aspects of both, or other alternative organizational structures entirely.

Local churches also have the freedom to hire and dismiss their own pastors and other leadership. However, unlike purely congregational polities, the association has the main authority to ordain clergy and grant standing to clergy coming to a church from another association or another denomination (this authority is exercised "in cooperation with" the person being ordained/called and the local church that is calling them). Local churches are aided in searching for and calling ordained clergy through a denominationally-coordinated "search-and-call" system, usually facilitated by staff at the conference level.

Associations

See also: Associations of the United Church of Christ

Local churches are typically gathered together in regional bodies called Associations. Local churches often give financial support to the association to support its activities. The official delegates of an association are all ordained clergy within the bounds of the association together with lay delegates sent from each local church. The association provides primary oversight and authorization of ordained and other authorized ministers. The association ordains new ministers, holds ministers' standing in covenant with local churches, and is responsible for disciplinary action. [In a few instances where there is only one association within a conference, or where the associations within a conference have agreed to dissolve, the Conference (below) assumes the association's functions.]

Conferences

See also: Conferences of the United Church of Christ

Local churches also are members of larger Conferences, of which there are 38 in the United Church of Christ. A conference typically contains multiple associations; if no associations exist within its boundaries, the conference exercises the functions of the association as well. Conferences are supported financially through local churches' contribution to "Our Church's Wider Mission", the United Church of Christ's denominational support system. Conferences provide the primary support for the search-and-call process by which churches select ordained leadership and often provide significant programming resources for their constituent churches. Conferences, like associations, are congregationally representative bodies, with each local church sending ordained and lay delegates.

General Synod

See also: Resolutions of the United Church of Christ

The denomination's churchwide deliberative body is the General Synod, which meets every two years. The General Synod consists of delegates elected from the Conferences (distributed proportionally by conference size) together with the boards of directors of each of the four covenanted ministries (see below, under National Offices).

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. Thus, the other settings of the church are allowed to hold differing views and practices on all non-constitutional matters.

General Synod considers three kinds of resolutions:

  • 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

National offices: covenanted, associated, and affiliated ministries

As agents of the General Synod, the denomination maintains national offices comprising four "covenanted ministries", one "associated ministry", and one "affiliated ministry". The current system of national governance was adopted in 1999 as a restructure of the national setting, consolidating numerous agencies, boards, and "instrumentalities" that the UCC, in the main, had inherited from the Congregational Christian Churches at the time of merger, along with several created during the denomination's earlier years.

Covenanted 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 five member Collegium of Officers, which are the non-hierarchical official officers of the denomination. (The Office of General Ministries is represented by both the General Minister, who serves as President of the denomination, and the Associate General minister). According the UCC office of communication press release at the time of restructure, "In the new executive arrangement, the five will work together in a Collegium of Officers, meeting as peers. This setting is designed to provide an opportunity for mutual responsibility and reporting, as well as ongoing assessment of UCC programs." The main offices of the Covenanted ministries are at the "Church House", the United Church of Christ national headquarters at 700 Prospect Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio.

  • The Office of General Ministries (OGM) is responsible for administration, common services (technology, physical plant, etc), covenantal relations (ecumenical relations, formal relations to other settings of the church), financial development, and "proclamation, identity and communication". The current General Minister and President is the Rev. John Thomas and the current Associate General Minister is Ms. Edith Guffey.
  • Local Church Ministries (LCM) is responsible for evangelism, stewardship and church finance, worship and education, Pilgrim Press and United Church Resources (the publishing house of the United Church of Christ), and parish life and leadership (authorization, clergy development, seminary relations, parish leadership, etc.). The current Executive Minister of Local Church Ministries is the Rev. José Malayang.
  • Wider Church Ministries (WCM) is responsible for partner relations* (relations with churches around the world, missionary work, etc.), local church relations* (as relates to world ministries and missions), global sharing of resources, health and wholeness ministry, and global education and advocacy*. The starred '*' ministries are carried out through the Common Global Ministries Board, a joint instrumentality of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The current Executive Minister for Wider Church Ministries is the Rev. Cally Rogers-Witte.
  • Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) is responsible for ministries related to economic justice, human rights, justice for women and transformation, public life and social policy, and racial justice. In addition to its offices in Cleveland, JWM also maintains an office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The current Executive Minister for Justice and Witness Ministries is Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo. JWM also maintains an office called "Minister for Children, Families and Human Sexuality Advocacy" that promotes the Our Whole Lives sex education curriculum.

Associated ministry

The Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ (PB) operates the employee benefits systems for all settings of the United Church of Christ, including health, dental, and optical insurance, retirement/pension systems, disability and life insurance, and ministerial assistance programs. The Pension Boards offices are located in New York City, where the headquarters of all UCC national bodies had been located prior to their move to Ohio in the early 1990s.

Affiliated ministry

The United Church Foundation (UCF) operates a collective financial management and investment system available to any setting of the United Church of Christ that wishes to place its assets with UCF. The United Church Foundation offices are also located in New York City.

The United Church of Christ Insurance Board is a nonprofit corporation collectively "owned" by 38 of the 39 Conferences of the United Church of Christ. It is run by a president/CEO and a 15-member Board, of with the full corporate board consisting of participating Conference ministers. The UCCIB administers a property insurance and liability insurance program serving the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) churches and related entities.[18][19]

United Church News

The denomination's official publication, United Church News, was begun in 1985 by the Rev. W. Evan Golder, founding editor.[20] The current editor, the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, succeeded Golder in 2003 after serving as "minister for communication and mission education" for the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries.[21]

United Church News is published by the Office of Communication, United Church of Christ, which is related to the Proclamation, Identity and Communication Ministry of the United Church of Christ, led by the Rev. Robert Chase of Lakewood, Ohio. Chase began work at the UCC’s national offices in Cleveland in April 1999.[22]

Several regional editions are published by conferences as inserts to the nationally distributed edition. At its inception, the newspaper charged a subscription fee, but in the early 2000s this was discontinued in favor of free distribution. Recently, to save money, UCN reduced frequency of publication.[citation needed]

Current issues in the United Church of Christ

"God Is Still Speaking" identity campaign

Main article: God is Still Speaking
Example from UCC media branding campaign
Example from UCC media branding campaign

At the 2003 General Synod, the United Church of Christ began a campaign with "emphasis on expanding the UCC's name-brand identity through modern advertising and marketing."[23] that was formally launched Advent 2004. The campaign included coordinated program of evangelism and hospitality training for congregations paired with national and local television "brand" advertising, known as the "God is Still Speaking" campaign or "The Stillspeaking Initiative." The initiative was themed around the quote "Never place a period where God has placed a comma," and 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, signifying their support as well as their willingness to receive training on hospitality and evangelism. An evangelism event was held in Atlanta in August 2005 to promote the campaign[24]. Several renewal groups panned the ad campaign for its efforts to create an ONA/progressive perception of the UCC identity despite its actual majority in centrist/moderate viewpoints.[25][26][27][28] According to John Evans, associate professor of sociology at University of California, San Diego, "The UCC is clearly going after a certain niche in American society who are very progressive and have a particular religious vision that includes inclusiveness… They are becoming the religious brand that is known for this."[29]

The first television advertisement in the campaign, the "Bouncers" advertisement, showed bouncers allowing a white, well-dressed family comprising a straight couple and two children into a church building while rejecting a number of others, including an African American female, a Latino male, a gay couple, 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 winter 2005 issue of The Witness (a renewal group publication) noted, ‘Some controversy continues about the controversy itself. Some reports indicate that NBC and CBS notified the UCC about its decision not to run the “bouncer” ads several months before the campaign launch date, while approving a second “little girl” ad which UCC officials chose not to use until three weeks into the month. All the press releases about this controversy have come from the UCC to coordinate with the release of the Ad. NBC and CBS have not commented, leading some to speculate that the creation of the controversy was an intentional effort to draw attention to the campaign. Ironically, the one major network to accept the Ad is FOX, which is generally considered to be less liberal than the three other networks.’[30]

During Lent 2006, the UCC launched several sites prior to the release of the commercial, including iUCC.org, UCCVitality.org, RejectionHurts.com, AccessibleAirwaves.org. Also, at Buford’s request, the commercial was previewed by an estimated 800 people March 17-19 at the UCC’s New England Women’s Gathering. In January 2006, Sojourners Magazine published an inverview of Buford describing the commercial[31]. This Sojourners' information was subsequently published on several forums and blogs, (namely, UCC forums, Philosophy over Coffee, UCCTruths). In reaction, the United Church news stated that "details of UCC's new TV ad [had] emerge[d] earlier than planned" and therefore issued a complete description of the ad a full week before its planned press conference.[32]

In the second major commercial, known as the "Ejector Seat" commercial, church pews "eject" people in a fashion similar to aircraft ejector seats; among the persons "ejected" from the church are an African American mother holding a crying infant, two men holding hands, an Arab-American man, and a person with a walker. The commercial again concluded with the line "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we", and cut to a scene of a diverse church gathering and a voice-over stating "The United Church of Christ: No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here." The "Ejector Seat" commercial was originally announced to air during Advent 2005, but due to inadequate funding available at the time, the Executive Council delayed this until Lent 2006.

In December 2006, UCC launched a blog-centered ad campaign. "UCC ads will be placed on various internet sites and blogs, with the hope of reaching general audiences in addition to targeted groups, such as youth, young families with children, gays and lesbians, social justice advocates, and the Spanish-speaking community."[33]

The United Church of Christ Executive Council announced at its April 2006 meeting that the denomination would integrate the campaign into the overall program of the national setting. Ron Buford, the campaign manager, subsequently resigned.

Controversial Resolutions from General Synod XXV (2005)

Main article: Resolutions of United Church of Christ General Synod XXV
See also: Resolutions of United Church of Christ

Two resolutions from the United Church of Christ General Synod XXV, meeting in Atlanta, Georgia from July 1–5, 2005, generated significant controversy both in and outside the denomination, some of which continues presently. As noted in the Polity section above, the General Synod cannot enforce positions on local congregations, speaking "to, but not for" them.

  • The resolution "In support of equal marriage rights for all", supported by an estimated 80% of the 884 General Synod Delegates, made the United Church of Christ General Synod 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 rights 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." Although eighty percent (80%) of the delegates at the United Church of Christ General Synod XV endorsed an "Equal Marriage Rights For All" resolution, national response to the resolution remains mixed. 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. 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. Of particular note, on June 10, 2006, the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico, since 1931 a conference of the Congregational Christian Churches/UCC, voted by a 3–1 margin to withdraw its affiliation with the UCC as a body, over the issue[34].
  • 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, which 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. Opponents of the "Tear Down the Wall" resolution have noted that the wall's supposed purpose is to prevent terrorist attacks, and that the resolution does not call for a stop to these attacks. The Simon Wiesenthal Center stated that the July 2005 UCC resolutions on divestment from Israel were "functionally anti-Semitic"[35]. The Anti-Defamation League stated that those same resolutions are "disappointing and disturbing" and "deeply troubling"[36]. In addition to the concerns raised about the merits of the "economic leverage" 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 (who would be charged with implementing any divestment of the UCC's Pension Board investments) wrote a letter[37] to UCC President John Thomas expressing concern "with the precedent-setting implications of voted actions, integrity of process and trust."

Criticism of conservative critics

Leaders of the United Church of Christ have recently begun to issue criticism of the Institute for Religion and Democracy and groups associated with it. 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.[38]

At Gettysburg College on March 6, 2006, Thomas again warned against collusion with the IRD, calling 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 "Welcoming and Faithful Movement" [sic], 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."[39]

Following the speech, the Simon Wiesenthal Center denied any connection to the IRD and stated:

John Thomas made some conspiratorial charges about the Wiesenthal Center at a recent speech at Gettysburg College. These charges are completely inaccurate and are not based on fact and the irresponsible nature of these comments should make reasonable people wonder if the leadership of the UCC is being equally irresponsible with the facts about the Middle-East."[40]

Faithful and Welcoming, one of these groups named by Thomas as being aligned with IRD, held their first annual gathering in August 2006 and invited the UCC leadership to dialogue on the future of conservatives and other non-liberals in the UCC. Shortly thereafter, the August–September issue of the United Church News was published during that included a pastoral letter by Thomas and point counterpoint articles by Bob Thompson and Nancy Taylor disagreeing over the goals of Faithful and Welcoming.[41][42] Thomas' letter does not take an explicit stand on FWC, but is clear that pastors within the UCC need to "distinguish loving critics from hurtful ones" and that not all conservative critics of UCC resolutions should be automatically associated with IRD. Taylor's ONA counterpoint explicitly stated "Thompson is not a loving critic."[43]

However, Faithful and Welcoming is not and was not aligned with IRD. This controversy stemmed from a short-lived link to IRD inadvertently posted on the FWC website's links page. This link was not representative of an association or alignment with IRD.

Thomas' letter said:

It is clear that we face two kinds of critics today. There are many loving critics who care deeply for this church, seek ways to support it, and yearn for its growth and vitality. They find themselves in dissent from some of the positions of the General Synod and its leaders, finding in the Bible and the church's tradition differing understandings of how we are to view contemporary social and moral issues. We need to listen with care, humility and deep respect to these loving critics, assuring them of their honored place within the diverse life of this church, finding ways for them to support those aspects of our national and global ministries that they can fully embrace. We need to be open to the truth that they have spiritual insights to nurture, even challenge us toward greater faithfulness.

It's also the case that there are critics who do not love this church, who seek to disrupt, distract, diminish, even destroy our life. These critics, within and beyond, encourage local churches to withhold financial support of our wider ministries, offer advice and counsel on how to leave the denomination, establish parallel structures for the placement of clergy and the sending of mission personnel, and regularly disseminate deliberately misleading or false information about the denomination and its leaders. Those who love this church, and cherish its legacy, need to be clear in saying no to this form of critique which falls outside the bounds of acceptable Christian behavior.

Discerning between these two types of critics is one of the great challenges of leadership today. It requires a deep humility to embrace the loving critics, no matter how uncomfortable their critique may be, never saying, "I have no need of you." But it also requires the courage to name those whose actions are out of bounds, saying to those who would disrupt, distract, even destroy, "I will not let you damage what is precious or diminish a vocation that is a critical dimension of the Gospel witness." Such discernment is not easy. May God grant us the wisdom required for it, and the discipline to do it.

Thompson voices his contention that the UCC is attempting a realignment along the lines of Tony Campolo's 1995 book, Can Mainline Denominations Make a Comeback? [that] advocated the "realignment" of denominations based on ideological lines." He says, "numerous individuals — along with entire congregations — have expressed interest in joining the UCC because of its bold pronouncements and extravagant welcome. More important than the numbers lost and gained, whatever they turn out to be, is this dual reality: those leaving the UCC more than likely consider themselves evangelical, conservative, orthodox, or traditional (ECOT) and those finding the UCC are likely liberal or progressive."… "We [FWC] do not seek to divide or disrupt. We are not a cover for an exit strategy. We are simply asking that our presence be recognized and valued."

In response, Taylor writes, "while Thompson writes that his Faithful and Welcoming Churches "are not a cover for an exit strategy" from the UCC, his activities tell a different story" she lists several including that "Thompson's own church, Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory, N.C., has dropped UCC from its name and the FWC website encourages other UCC congregations to drop UCC from their names. Moreover, his church has scheduled a congregational vote for September 9, 2007 regarding its continued UCC affiliation." She further criticizes Thompson for his church's withholding of OCWM funds, and concludes, "Thompson is not a loving critic."

General Synod 26

The 2007 General Synod featured a "Synod in the City" outdoor bazaar throughout the central city of Hartford, Connecticut with speakers, street musicians, and circus acts, as a celebration of the denomination's 50th anniversary. Several notable speakers such as Marian Wright Edelman, Lynn Redgrave, Bill Moyers, NBC's John Hockenberry, Leonard Pitts, Jr., Kevin Phillips, Senator Barack Obama, Ray Kurzweil, the Rev. Peter Gomes, and DJ Davey D were present during the festivities.

Obama's membership at Trinity UCC, Chicago

According to the UCC.org website:

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama says he has been deeply influenced by his church, Trinity UCC on Chicago's South Side, and its senior pastor, Jeremiah Wright. But that connection is now generating political controversy for Obama's presidential campaign. Conservative bloggers and pundits have raised concerns about Wright's Afrocentric theology and his liberal -- some say radical -- politics.[44]

Dr. Wright's self-described "self-determination" views, "from the principles of Kawaida, the second principle being Kuji Salawi" are seen by some as Black separatism. This is a source of controversy for Obama as he has publicized his membership in this Christian church in response to debunked claims that he is a Muslim.[45] Although some have pointed to the Clinton campaign as the source of these questions, it has never been confirmed and has been denied by her campaign.[46][47]

Barack Obama was invited to speak at the Iowa Conference meeting and also at the General Synod 26 a week later in Hartford Connecticut. In the final days before the General Synod 26, The American Spectator published a piece by a conservative UCC member, Jeffrey Lord, titled "Sharing a Church With Barack" where Lord challenged Obama to address the liberal dominance of the national offices and use his speaking opportunity within the Synod to:

'turn the page on the kind of politics' UCC members have had to endure not for six years but almost fifty. The old politics of the UCC has lost members, entire churches, and millions of dollars in contributions that could easily have been targeted to help seriously suffering human beings but were used instead to fund church bureaucrats lusting for the earthly pleasure of wielding political power. The dissenters do indeed "want a new kind of politics and a new kind of governance" in the United Church of Christ."

Lord challenged Senator Obama:

...to say anything approaching this to the liberal hierarchy of the United Church of Christ would instantly give him credibility as a politician of creativity and courage, unafraid to "speak truth to power" about the revolution stirring in the midst of his own church, to seriously walk the talk of his campaign rhetoric. But will he have that courage? Will my fellow UCC member actually stand up in a Hartford convention arena filled with a dwindling band of elitist mainline Protestant liberals and have the nerve to apply what he's saying in his presidential campaign to his own church?.[48]

In September, Lord also published an article[49] on a complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service regarding Sen. Obama's speech. The complaint, originally published by the notoriously anti-UCC blog, UCC Truths[50], stated that "the United Church of Christ violated every single point outlined in the IRS guidelines"[51]. The complaint alleges that the UCC allowed the Senator to speak as a candidate with his candidacy promoted by the UCC before and during his speech.

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 Evangelical 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

Colleges and universities

These 18 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.

Secondary academies

Historically related educational institutions

Historically related seminaries

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)