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).
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberalmainline ProtestantChristian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran traditions, and with approximately 4,600 churches and 712,000 members.[2][3] The UCC is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism.[4][5] Moreover, it also subsumed the third largest Calvinist group in the country, the German Reformed.[5] Notably, its modern members' theological and socio-political stances are often very different from those of its predecessors.
The Evangelical and Reformed Church, General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches, and the Afro-Christian Convention,[6] united on June 25, 1957, to form the UCC.[1] The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches were themselves the result of earlier unions and had their roots in Congregational, Lutheran, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. At the end of 2014, the UCC's 5,116 congregations claimed 979,239 members, primarily in the U.S.[7] In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 0.4 percent, or 1 million adult adherents, of the U.S. population self-identified with the United Church of Christ.[8]
The UCC maintains full communion with other Protestant denominations. Many of its congregations choose to practice open communion.[9] The denomination emphasizes participation in worldwide interfaith and ecumenical efforts.[10][11] The national leadership and General Synod of the UCC have historically favored culturally liberal views on social issues, such as civil rights, LGBT rights, women's rights, and abortion. UCC congregations are independent in matters of doctrine and ministry and may not necessarily support the national body's theological or moral stances. It self-describes as "an extremely pluralistic and diverse denomination".[12]
The United Church of Christ was formed when three Protestant churches, the Evangelical and Reformed Church, the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Afro Christian Convention united on June 25, 1957.[13][14][15] The vote on the resolution had no dissenting votes from the delegates gathered.[1] This union adopted an earlier general statement of unity between the two denominations, the 1943 "Basis of Union".[16] At the time, the UCC claimed about twomillion members.[14]
On January 23, 1959, 30 theologians, pastors, and laymen finished writing the UCC's Statement of Faith.[17][18] The Statement of Faith was written with the intention of including the essential principles while being "broad enough for persons of varying points of view".[18] It affirms belief in the divinity of Christ and in the Trinitarian concept of God, but it does not explicitly mention the virgin birth of Jesus.[18]
The UCC adopted its constitution and by-laws on July 4, 1961.[14][19] The Constitution gives autonomy to local churches, and it provides for a representative-type of governance of regional and national church organizations.[19] Prior to the vote, 3,669 out of 4,036 Congregational churches voted to accept it.[19] There were 367 Congregational Christian churches that decided to stay out.[19] Some of those churches challenged it in court, saying that it was contrary to traditional Congregational principles.[19] Their court challenges were unsuccessful.[19] The vote to adopt the Constitution and by-laws was unanimous among the delegates that met in Philadelphia on July 4, 1961.[19]
The Afro-Christian Convention was a long-ignored "Fifth Stream" that had been neglected voice or visibility, resulting in an official apology from the denomination at the 2023 General Synod in Indianapolis, Indiana.[20]
Beliefs
There is no UCC hierarchy or body that can impose any doctrine or worship format onto the individual congregations within the UCC.[21] While individual congregations are supposed to hold guidance from the general synod "in the highest regard", the UCC's constitution requires that the "autonomy of the Local Church is inherent and modifiable only by its own action".[22]
South Parish Congregational Church and Parish House in Augusta, Maine, in 2013
Within this locally focused structure, however, there are central beliefs common to the UCC. The UCC often uses four words to describe itself: "Christian, Reformed, Congregational and Evangelical".[23] While the UCC refers to its Evangelical characteristics, it springs from (and is considered part of) mainline Protestantism as opposed to some doctrines in Evangelicalism. The word evangelical in this case more closely corresponds with the original Lutheran origins meaning "of the gospel" as opposed to the Evangelical use of the word. UCC is generally theologically liberal, and the denomination notes that the "Bible, though written in specific historical times and places, still speaks to us in our present condition".[23]
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, emphasizing freedom of individual conscience and local church autonomy.[citation needed]
Historic confessions
In the United Church of Christ, creeds, confessions, and affirmations of faith function as "testimonies of faith" around which the church gathers rather than as "tests of faith" rigidly prescribing required doctrinal consent. As expressed in 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.[22]
The denomination, therefore, looks to a number of historic confessions as expressing the common faith around which the church gathers, including:
In 2001, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research conducted a "Faith Communities Today" (FACT) study[24] that included a survey of United Church of Christ beliefs. Among the results of this were findings that in the UCC, 5.6% of the churches responding to the survey described their members as "very liberal or progressive", 3.4% as "very conservative", 22.4% as "somewhat liberal or progressive", and 23.6% 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%. Other statistics found by the Hartford Institute show that 53.2% of members say "the Bible" is the highest source of authority, 16.1% say the "Holy Spirit", 9.2% say "Reason", 6.3% say "Experience", and 6.1% say "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.[25] Starting in 2003, a task force commissioned by General Synod 24 studied the diverse worship habits of UCC churches. The study can be found online[26] and reflects statistics on attitudes toward 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 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".[citation needed]
In 1982, the World Council of Churches (WCC) published "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry",[30] a document that has served as a foundation for many ecumenical recognition agreements. As a WCC member church, the United Church of Christ issued a response as part of the process to work toward a statement of common theological perspectives.[31]
On October 17, 2015, representatives of the United Church of Christ and the United Church of Canada came together in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to sign a historic full communion agreement. This agreement had been approved at the 30th General Synod of the UCC and the 42nd General Council of the United Church of Canada in the summer of 2015 and signifies the mutual desire of both denominations to work in cooperation and openness in the areas of worship, mission, witness, ministry and the proclamation of a common faith. This agreement will allow the two denominations to recognize the validity of each other's sacraments and ordination of ministers and opens up the possibility of ministers being called to serve in congregations of either denomination.[32][33]
The UCC is a member of Christian Churches Together (CCT), an interdenominational fellowship in the United States aimed at strengthening ties between different branches of Christianity.[34] Through the CCT, the United Church of Christ is in communication with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for cooperation towards shared issues, as well as involvement in theological dialogue.[35]
Relationships with other religions
The United Church of Christ facilitates bilateral dialogues with many faith groups, including members of the Jewish and Muslim communities. This includes membership in the National Muslim-Christian Initiative.[36]
First Congregational Church in Springfield, Massachusetts
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." 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 presbyterianpolities of its predecessor denominations. With ultimate authority given to the local church, many see United Church of Christ polity as closer to congregationalism; however, with ordination and pastoral oversight of licensed, commissioned and ordained ministers conducted by Associations, and General Synod representation given to Conferences instead of congregational delegates, certain similarities to presbyterian polity are also visible.[citation needed]
The UCC's "Covenantal Polity" is best expressed in Article III of the 1999 revision of the Bylaws and Constitution of the United Church of Christ.
Within the United Church of Christ, the various expressions of the church relate to each other in a covenantal manner. Each expression of the church has responsibilities and rights in relation to the others, to the end that the whole church will seek God's will and be faithful to God's mission. Decisions are made in consultation and collaboration among the various parts of the structure. As members of the Body of Christ, each expression of the church is called to honor and respect the work and ministry of each other part. Each expression of the church listens, hears, and carefully considers the advice, counsel and requests of others. In this covenant, the various expressions of the United Church of Christ seek to walk together in all God's ways.[37]
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 or Christian Connection origin, have numerous relatively independent "boards" that oversee different aspects of church life, with annual or more frequent meetings (often conducted after a worship service on a Sunday afternoon) of the entire congregation to elect officers, approve budgets and set congregational policy. Other churches, mainly of Evangelical and Reformed descent, have one central "church council" or "consistory" that handles most or all affairs in a manner somewhat akin to a Presbyteriansession, while still holding an annual congregational meeting for the purpose of electing officers and/or ratifying annual budgets. Still others, usually those congregations started after the 1957 merger, have structures incorporating aspects of both, or other alternative organizational structures entirely.[citation needed]
In almost all cases, though, the selection of a minister for the congregation is, in keeping with the Reformed tradition of the "priesthood of all believers", vested in a congregational meeting, held usually after a special ad hoc committee searches on the congregation's behalf for a candidate. Members of the congregation vote for or against the committee's recommended candidate for the pastorate, usually immediately after the candidate has preached a "trial sermon;" candidates are usually presented one at a time and not as a field of several to be selected from. Typically the candidate must secure anywhere from 60 to 90 percent affirmative votes from the membership before the congregation issues a formal call to the candidate; this depends on the provisions in the congregation's particular constitution and/or by-laws.[citation needed]
Local churches have, in addition to the freedom to hire ministers and lay staff, the sole power to dismiss them also. However, unlike purely congregational polities, the association has the main authority to ordain clergy and grant membership, or "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). Such standing, among other things, permits a minister to participate in the UCC clergy pension and insurance plans. Local churches are usually aided in searching for and calling ordained clergy through a denominationally coordinated "search-and-call" system, usually facilitated by staff at the conference level. However, the local church may, for various reasons, opt not to avail itself of the conference placement system, and is free to do so without fear of retaliation, which would likely occur in synodical or presbyterian polities. However, many UCC congregations have constitutions that mandate that their called pastor be an ordained minister approved by the association, while others require that the call of a pastor be approved by the association committee on ministry. Participation in the search and call process is usually considered a sign of the congregation's loyalty to the larger denomination and its work.[citation needed]
At the end of 2008, 5,320 churches were reported to be within the UCC, averaging 210 members. Sixteen churches were reported to have over 2,000 members, but 64% had fewer than 200 members.[38] The latter statistic probably indicates where most of the denomination's declining membership has occurred, in formerly mid-sized congregations between 200 and 500 members or so. The reduction in a typical church's size has also meant that, increasingly, many congregations are no longer able, as they once were, to afford a full-time, seminary-educated pastor, and that some of them have to rely on alternatives such as one of their members serving the church under a license, the use of recently retired clergy on a short-term basis, or ordained ministers serving the church on a half-time (or less) basis while earning their primary income from chaplaincies or other occupations. While this has been occurring to a lesser degree in other mainline denominations as well, the UCC's congregational polity allows for churches to adopt such approaches without ecclesiological restraint, as might happen in a more hierarchical denominational structure.[citation needed]
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's main ecclesiastical function is to provide primary oversight and authorization of ordained and other authorized ministers; it also is the ecclesiastical link between the local congregation and the larger UCC. The association ordains new ministers, holds ministers' standing in covenant with local churches, and is responsible for disciplinary action; typically a specific ministerial committee handles these duties. Also, an association, again with the assistance of the ministerial committee, admits and removes local congregations from membership in the UCC.[citation needed]
Associations meet at least once annually to elect officers and board members and set budgets for the association's work; fellowship and informational workshops are often conducted during those meetings, which may take place more frequently according to local custom. 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.[citation needed]
Local churches also are members of larger Conferences, of which there are 36 in the United Church of Christ. Some cover an individual state, for example the Michigan Conference. Some states have more than one conference—for example Pennsylvania has four. Some cover more than one state—for example the South West Conference covers Arizona and New Mexico. 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" (formerly "Our Christian World Mission"), the United Church of Christ's denominational support system; unlike most associations, they usually have permanent headquarters and professional staff. The primary ecclesiastical function of a conference is to provide the primary support for the search-and-call process by which churches select ordained leadership; the conference minister and/or his or her associates perform this task in coordination with the congregation's pulpit search committee (see above) and the association to which the congregation belongs (particularly its ministerial committee). Conferences also provide significant programming resources for their constituent churches, such as Christian education resources and support, interpretation of the larger UCC's mission work, and church extension within their bounds (the latter usually conducted in conjunction with the national Local Church Ministries division).[citation needed]
Conferences, like associations, are congregationally representative bodies, with each local church sending ordained and lay delegates. Most current UCC conferences were formed in the several years following the consummation of the national merger in 1961, and in some instances were the unions of former Congregational Christian conferences (led by superintendents) and Evangelical and Reformed synods (led by presidents, some of whom served on only a part-time basis). A few have had territorial adjustments since then; only one conference, the Calvin Synod, composed of Hungarian-heritage Reformed congregations, received exemption from the geographical alignments, with its churches scattered from Connecticut westward to California and southward to Florida. Only one conference has ever withdrawn completely from the denomination: Puerto Rico, expressing disapproval of national UCC tolerance of homosexuality (as well as that of a large number of mainland congregations), departed the denomination in 2006, taking all of its churches.[citation needed]
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 members of the United Church of Christ Board (see below), the officers of the denomination, and representatives of so-called "Historically Underrepresented Groups", such as the disabled, young adults, racial minorities, and gay and lesbian persons.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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, affiliated, and associated 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.[citation needed]
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 to 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". On July 3, 2023, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ elected Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson as the first woman, and the first African-American woman, to lead the denomination as General Minister and President.[39]
Local Church Ministries (LCM) is responsible for evangelism, stewardship and church finance, worship and education, Pilgrim Press[ambiguous] 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 position of Executive Minister of Local Church Ministries is vacant.[when?]
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. WCM is sometimes referred to as the United Church Board for World Ministries, the historic successor to the Congregationalist American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and the E&R affiliated Board of International Missions[40] The current[when?] Executive Minister for Wider Church Ministries is the Rev. Rev. Jim Moos.
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. Traci D. Blackmon. JWM also maintains an office called "Minister for Children, Families and Human Sexuality Advocacy" that promotes the Our Whole Livessex education curriculum.[41]
Affiliated ministry
The Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ (PB-UCC) operates the employee benefits systems for all settings of the United Church of Christ, including health, dental, and optical insurance, retirement annuity/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.[citation needed]
The Insurance Board is a nonprofit corporation collectively "owned" by the Conferences of the United Church of Christ. It is run by a president/CEO and a 19-member Board, with the full corporate board consisting of Conference, Region and Presbytery ministers as well as laypeople. The IB administers a property insurance, liability insurance, and risk management program serving the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church(USA), and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) churches and related entities.[42]
Associated ministry
United Church Funds (UCF), formerly known as The United Church Foundation, provides low cost, socially responsible, professionally managed Common Investment Funds (CIFs) and other trustee services to any setting of the United Church of Christ. United Church Funds' offices are also located in New York City.[citation needed]
Activities
Civil Rights Movement
Everett Parker of the UCC Office of Communication, at the request of Martin Luther King Jr., organized UCC churches during 1959 against television stations in the Southern United States that were imposing news blackouts of information pertaining to the then growing Civil Rights Movement. The UCC later won a lawsuit that resulted in a federal court decision that the broadcast air waves are public, not private, property. That led toward the proliferation of people of color in television studios and newsrooms.[43]
Social activism
The UCC national body has been active in numerous traditionally liberal social causes, including support for abortion rights,[44] the United Farm Workers, and the Wilmington Ten.[14]
Same-sex marriage
Churches in the UCC may solemnize same-sex unions.[45] A resolution, "In support of equal marriage rights for all", was supported by an estimated 80 percent of delegates to the church's 2005 General Synod, which made the United Church of Christ the first major Christian deliberative body in the U.S. to endorse "equal marriage rights for all people, regardless of gender". It now is the second-largest Christian denominational entity in the US to support same-sex marriage, after the Presbyterian Church (USA). The resolution was one of 32 actions[46] by General Synod and other national bodies, beginning in 1969, which support civil rights for LGBT citizens and urge their full inclusion in the life of the church. The UCC's Open and Affirming movement, funded by the Open and Affirming Coalition,[47] is the largest LGBT-welcoming-church program in the world with more than 1,100 congregations and 275,000 members.[48]
On April 28, 2014, the UCC filed a lawsuit against North Carolina for not permitting same-sex marriage, the first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage bans in the US.[49][50][51] In the lawsuit, the church argues that prohibiting same-sex marriages violates the freedom of religion, as the ban forced ministers for same-sex marriages to not act on their beliefs.
Same-sex marriage is not supported by some UCC congregations, but it is rapidly gaining ground.[48] Opponents included the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico (United Evangelical Church in Puerto Rico), three fourths of which voted to withdraw from the UCC after the 2005 General Synod vote.[52] The Biblical Witness Fellowship, a small conservative evangelical organization within the denomination, opposes the denomination's growing support for same-sex relationships.[53]
United Church of Christ General Synod XXV 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 that 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 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".[54] The Anti-Defamation League stated that those same resolutions are "disappointing and disturbing" and "deeply troubling".[55] 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[56] to UCC President John H. Thomas expressing concern "with the precedent-setting implications of voted actions, integrity of process and trust".
Sexuality education
The United Church of Christ, along with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) of Congregations, created the Our Whole Lives curriculum (commonly known as OWL), which is a lifespan, comprehensive, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate sexuality education program. The Whole Lives includes modules for grades K–1, 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12, and for Young Adults and Adults. The Our Whole Lives curricula are secular. Congregations who use this program often also use "Sexuality and Our Faith" for the age level they are offering. Sexuality and Our Faith are separate manuals that bring in the UUA principles and scripture used in the UCC to support its teachings. The curriculum is based on guidelines provided by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.[citation needed]
Polyamory
In 2021, the UCC and the UUA presented "a study on polyamory by the Canadian Unitarian Council" as a part of its sexual education programs.[57] Prior to the sexuality education series, in 2016, the UCC published differing opinions on polyamory in the UCC Stillspeaking Daily Devotional, one in opposition and one in favor of affirming polyamory.[58][59][60]
"God Is Still Speaking" identity campaign
"God Is Still Speaking" banner on a UCC church in Rochester, Minnesota
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".[61] Formally launched during the advent season in 2004, the campaign included a 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 quotation "Never place a period where God has placed a comma" attributed to Gracie Allen. 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 into 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.[62] 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.[63][64] 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."[65]
Criticism
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. Nonetheless, some critics, mainly social and theological conservatives, are vocal about the UCC's theology, political identity, and cultural milieu.
Criticism over same-sex marriage
Following the decision of General Synod 25 in 2005 to endorse same-sex marriage, the UCC's Puerto Rico Conference left the church, citing differences over "the membership and ministry of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians".[66] A number of conservative congregations also ended their affiliation with the denomination after the decision in favor of same-sex marriage.[67]
Barack Obama and the UCC
A controversy arose over former U.S. president Barack Obama speaking at UCC gatherings, but the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) found that the UCC had adhered to the prohibition against churches campaigning for political candidates.
In 2007, longtime UCC member Barack Obama (then a Democratic presidential candidate) spoke at the UCC's Iowa Conference meeting and at the General Synod 26.[68] A complaint filed with the IRS alleged that the UCC promoted Obama's candidacy by having him speak at those meetings.[69]
Barry Lynn, an ordained UCC minister and the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, stated that although he personally would not have invited a presidential candidate to speak at the meetings, he believed "the Internal Revenue Service permits this to happen."[70] The church had consulted lawyers prior to the event to make sure they were following the law and had instructed those in attendance that no Obama campaign material would be allowed in the meeting. Nevertheless, in February 2008, the IRS sent a letter to the church stating that it was launching an inquiry into the matter.[71]
On February 27, 2008, in an open letter to UCC members, Rev. John H. Thomas announced the creation of The UCC Legal Fund, to aid in the denomination's defense against the IRS.[72] While the denomination expected legal expenses to surpass six figures, it halted donations after raising $59,564 in less than a week.[citation needed]
In May 2008, the IRS issued a letter that stated that the UCC had taken appropriate steps and that the denomination's tax status was not in jeopardy.[73]
Membership
At the time of its formation, the UCC had over 2 million members in nearly 7,000 churches.[74] The denomination has suffered a 44 percent loss in membership since the mid-1960s.[75] By 1980, membership was at about 1.7 million and by the turn of the century had dropped to 1.3 million.[74] In 2006, the UCC had roughly 1.2 million members in 5,452 churches.[74] According to its 2008 annual report, the United Church of Christ had about 1.1 million members in about 5,300 local congregations.[76] However the 2010 annual report showed a decline of 31,000 members and a loss of 33 congregations since then. The decline in number of congregations continued through 2011, as the 2011 Annual Report shows 5,100 member churches.[77] As of the 2014 Annual Yearbook of the UCC, membership is listed as 979,239 members in 5,154 local churches.[citation needed] According to the 2023 report for 2022 statistics, the membership had declined to 712,296 members in 4,603 congregations.[3] In the prior decade, from 2012 to 2022, the denomination had dropped from about 998,906 to 712,296 members, an almost 29% decline in a decade.[3]
Membership is concentrated primarily in the Northeast and Midwest. Pennsylvania, a bastion of the German Reformed tradition, has the largest number of members and churches. As of 2000, the state had over 700 congregations and over 200,000 members.[78] The highest membership rates are in the states of Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, situated in the heartland of the American Congregationalist movement.[78]
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.
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)[citation needed]
Other colleges and universities (historically related, now unrelated)
These colleges and universities were founded by or are otherwise related historically to the denomination or its predecessors, but no longer maintain any direct relationship.[citation needed]
Cathedral of Hope (Dallas) – the largest church in the United States with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Local membership exceeds 4,000 people, though the church claims over 52,000 worldwide constituents.
Lynnhaven Colony Congregational Church – Largest UCC church in the Hampton Roads area of Southeastern Virginia.
Central Union Church of Honolulu – The largest UCC church in the state of Hawai'i. Notable past member includes missionary and educator, Philip Delaporte, who proselytized in Nauru.
Plymouth Church, Des Moines, Iowa – is a historic congregation founded in 1857, located in Des Moines, Iowa. Plymouth is known for its long history of social justice work including anti-racism, climate care, and suffrage advocacy,
Plymouth Church Seattle – is a historic congregation located in downtown Seattle. Plymouth is known for its history of advocacy for social justice, its music program and its creation of programs to serve the homeless, such as Plymouth Healing Communities and Plymouth Housing Group.
Zion United Church of Christ – formerly known as the High German Evangelical Reformed Church and founded in 1762 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Zion UCC is sometimes known as the Liberty Bell Church. In 1777, eleven bells were brought there from Philadelphia for safe‑keeping during the Revolutionary War. Those bells included the State House Bell, now better known as the Liberty Bell.
This section lists notable people known to have been past or present members or raised in the United Church of Christ or its predecessor denominations.
Robin Meyers – author, peace activist, and philosophy professor who served as Senior Minister of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from 1985 to 2020
Meredith Willson – popular composer of "The Music Man", raised in First Congregational of Mason City, Iowa; longtime member of Westwood Hills Congregational, Los Angeles
Andrew Young – Civil rights leader, ordained UCC pastor, and former member of Congress, UN ambassador, and mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th century as a loose association of churches working toward Christian unity. These slowly formed quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure. At that time, a group of churches left in order to remain nondenominational.
An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term *ebiscopus/*biscopus, from the Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος epískopos meaning "overseer". It is the structure used by many of the major Christian Churches and denominations, such as the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Anabaptist, Lutheran, and Anglican churches or denominations, and other churches founded independently from these lineages. Many Methodist denominations have a form of episcopal polity known as connexionalism.
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of 2022, it has approximately 2.9 million baptized members in 8,640 congregations.
Congregationalism is a Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. These principles are enshrined in the Cambridge Platform (1648) and the Savoy Declaration (1658), Congregationalist confessions of faith. The Congregationalist Churches are a continuity of the theological tradition upheld by the Puritans. Their genesis was through the work of Congregationalist divines Robert Browne, Henry Barrowe, and John Greenwood.
The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is an evangelical Christian denomination in the Radical Pietistic tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association. It is affiliated with the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.
The Confessing Movement is a largely lay-led theologically conservative Christian movement that opposes the influence of theological liberalism and theological progressivism currently within several mainline Protestant denominations and seeks to return those denominations to its view of orthodox doctrine or to form new denominations and disfellowship (excommunicate) them if the situation becomes untenable. Those who eventually deem dealing with theological liberalism and theological progressivism within their churches and denominations as not being tenable anymore would later join or start Confessional Churches and/or Evangelical Churches that continue with the traditions of their respective denominations and maintaining orthodox doctrine while being ecclesiastically separate from the Mainline Protestant denominations.
The Congregational Christian Churches was a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United Church of Christ. Others created the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches or joined the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference that formed earlier in 1945. During the forementioned period, its churches were organized nationally into a General Council, with parallel state conferences, sectional associations, and missionary instrumentalities. Congregations, however, retained their local autonomy and these groups were legally separate from the congregations.
The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A minority within the RCUS remained out of the merger in order to continue the name Reformed Church in the United States. In 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the majority of the Congregational Christian Churches (CC) to form the United Church of Christ (UCC).
The Christian Connection was a Christian movement in the United States of America that developed in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, composed of members who withdrew from other Christian denominations. It was influenced by settling the frontier as well as the formation of the new United States and its separation from Great Britain. The Christian Connection professed no creed, instead relying strictly on the Bible.
The Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA), before 1927 German Evangelical Synod of North America, was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States existing from the mid-19th century until its 1934 merger with the Reformed Church in the United States to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. This church merged with the Congregational Christian Churches in 1957 to create the United Church of Christ.
The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of 304 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The body was founded in 1955 by former clergy and laypeople of the Congregational Christian Churches in response to that denomination's pending merger with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ in 1957.
The United Church of Christ is a Christian denomination. Periodically, bodies within the United Church of Christ issue resolutions for various reasons. These statements may or may not be representative of the United Church of Christ. This article documents notable resolutions from the various formal bodies of the United Church of Christ.
The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is a Congregationalist denomination in the United States. It is the most conservative and oldest Congregationalist denomination in America following the dissolution of the Congregational Christian Churches. It is a member of the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship and the National Association of Evangelicals.
Biblical Witness Fellowship is an evangelical renewal movement composed of members of the United Church of Christ. Founded in 1978 as the United Church People for Biblical Witness, the movement reorganized as the Biblical Witness Fellowship at a national convocation in Byfield, Massachusetts in 1984, hosted by the current president of BWF, the Rev. Dr. William Boylan.
The Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches is an evangelical protestant denomination in the United States. It began as a fellowship of churches disaffected from the United Church of Christ due to that denomination's liberal theology. Churches of the Evangelical Association are free to hold dual affiliation with another denomination, as local churches observe congregational polity.
The United Church of Christ in the Philippines is a Christian denomination in the Philippines. Established in its present form in Malate, Manila, it resulted from the merger of the Evangelical Church of the Philippines, the Philippine Methodist Church, the Disciples of Christ, the United Evangelical Church and several independent congregations.
The Calvin Synod is an acting conference of the United Church of Christ, composed entirely of Reformed, or Calvinist congregations of Hungarian descent. Unlike much of the UCC, the Synod is strongly conservative on doctrinal and social matters, and many members of the "Faithful and Welcoming Movement," a renewal group acting to move the UCC in a more orthodox direction, belong to this body.
The General Synod of the United Church of Christ is the national decision-making body for the denomination, responsible for giving general direction to the evangelistic, missionary, and justice programs of the UCC. Because the UCC holds to an explicitly congregational polity, though, any decisions made by the Synod are not binding upon the UCC's congregations in any way, though the national offices and the UCC's Constitution and Bylaws expect serious consideration to be given them. The Synod is the legal successor the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches and the General Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The Synod is responsible for authorizing budgets and electing board members for the "Covenanted Ministries" of the UCC; those agencies have evolved over the years from a number of separate entities, with different organizational structures, into a more coordinated configuration in order to serve the denomination more efficiently. The home and international missions agencies in particular were the descendants of Congregationalist boards founded in the 19th century; they were "recognized" when the UCC began during the period between 1957 and 1961. The Synod usually makes pronouncements and passes resolutions on social and political issues judged to be of concern by delegates as well; most if not all have historically reflected liberal theological and political perspectives, including support for civil rights, feminism, environmentalism, and rights for homosexuals.
1 2 Queen, Edward L.; Prothero, Stephen R.; Shattuck, Gardiner H. (January 1, 2009). Encyclopedia of American Religious History. Infobase Publishing. p.818. ISBN978-0-81606-660-5. Retrieved October 31, 2012. Next in size and historical importance is the United Church of Christ, which is the historic continuation of the Congregational churches founded under the influence of New EnglandPuritanism. The United Church of Christ also subsumed the third major Calvinist group, the German Reformed, which (then known as the Evangelical and Reformed Church) merged with the Congregationalists in 1957.
↑ "Timeline of Mission". Global Ministries. Retrieved August 26, 2016. 1961 ABCFM merges with Board of International Missions to form the United Church Board for World Ministries (UCBWM)
Barman, Emily, and Mark Chaves. Strategy and restructure in the United Church of Christ (1999) online
Cavalcanti, H. B. The United Church of Christ in the Shenandoah Valley: Liberal Church, Traditional Congregations (Lexington Books, 2010) online.
Gladson, Jerry A. "Spiritual direction, social justice, and the United Church of Christ." Journal of psychology and theology 30.4 (2002): 346–354.
Johnson, Daniel L., and Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe. Theology and identity: traditions, movements, and polity in the United Church of Christ (1990) online
Newman, William M. The Meanings of the Merger: Denominational Identity in the United Church of Christ (Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993) online.
Steckel, Clyde J. New Ecclesiology & Polity: The United Church of Christ (The Pilgrim Press, 2009) online.
Primary sources
Zikmund, Barbara Brown, ed. The Living Theological Heritage Of The United Church Of Christ (7 vol. 1995–2005): Volume 1. Ancient and Medieval Legacies; Volume 2. Reformation Roots; Volume 3. Colonial and National Beginnings; Volume 4. Consolidation and Expansion; Volume 5. Outreach and Diversity; Volume 6. Growing Toward Unity; Volume 7. United and Uniting; documents covering the history of component parts from the early Church to Reformation to late 20th century.
↑ Although Presbyterianism itself originated in Scotland, those denominations stand out as having a more prominent Scottish heritage and/or connection with Scottish Presbyterian denominations.
↑ Those denominations allow member churches to be more diverse as regards the reformed tradition that they adhere to.
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