By Theodore A. Gill, Jr.

After more than forty years of conversation with partners in the Consultation on Church Union, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) became a founding member of Churches Uniting in Christ (C.U.I.C.) at inaugural ceremonies in Memphis on the weekend of January 18-21.

The nine full members of C.U.I.C. recognized their unity in faith, sacraments, ministry, and mission. They also pledged to work closely together, especially in witness and action against the sin of racism in American society.

The founding members of Churches Uniting in Christ are:

The African Methodist Episcopal [AME] Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion [AMEZ] Church
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Methodist Episcopal [CME] Church
The Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.
The International Council of Community Churches [ICCC]
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The United Church of Christ [UCC}
The United Methodist Church

In addition, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] has become a "partner in mission and dialogue" with the C.U.I.C. communions. The Moravian Church will vote at a national meeting in the summer of 2002 as to whether it will enter a similar status as the ELCA.

While many manifestations of the movement of "uniting and united churches" around the world have focused on unity in faith, the membership of three historically African American communions (the AME, AMEZ, and CME churches) make C.U.I.C. distinctive. One of the marks of unity that has come to be recognized in C.U.I.C. is the principle that one essential element of Christian unity is racial unity through racial justice and equality.

The fundamental promises that the Churches Uniting in Christ make to one another are found in the "Marks of the Unity of the Church" adopted by each of the members:

Marks of Unity

The opportunities and challenges posed by this new relationship among North American churches were well expressed by Michael Kinnamon, a professor at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis and the last General Secretary of the Consultation on Church Union. He made his remarks in Memphis at the closing Plenary meeting of the Consultation:

Kinnamon Speech.

Kinnamon emphasized that a key word in the new relationship is "Uniting." It is "a work in progress," not "a done deal." The success or failure of C.U.I.C. will depend on the cooperation of congregations in thousands of locations around the country.

Kinnamon warned those who participated in the inaugural events that "C.U.I.C. is not the church. Each of the communions will continue to baptize and ordain as separate bodies. But C.U.I.C. is a commitment, a substantive covenant, signifying that life together is an essential dimension of who we are as church. In this sense, Churches Uniting in Christ is not something we join. It is something we are."

C.U.I.C. continues to offer an open invitation to any and all churches seeking a new kind of unity to enter into dialogue with the members and partners already involved in C.U.I.C. Extensive information on Churches Uniting and the inauguration in Memphis is available at the C.U.I.C. web site:

www.CUICinfo.org

Presbyterian Involvement in COCU and C.U.I.C.

Presbyterians take pride that the proposal for a Consultation on Church Union was first presented in a December 1960 sermon by the late Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Dr. Eugene Carson Blake. He was preaching at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco on the eve of an annual assembly of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. In a sermon title "A Proposal Towards the Unity of Christ's Church," Blake suggested that the Presbyterian and Episcopal communions join to invite other US churches to enter a multilateral conversation on unity. By 1962, this proposal had resulted in the organization of the Consultation on Church Union, or COCU. The stated purpose of COCU was to seek in the United States of America a new expression of church that was at once "truly catholic, truly evangelical, and truly reformed."

Initially conceptualized in terms of a national, organizational merger, COCU found through forty years of dialogue that there was greater interest on the part of congregations in unity at the local level. A speaker at the inauguration of C.U.I.C. in Memphis summarized the opportunity today in these words, "We have been given permission by our national judicatories to create new models of church unity at the congregational level. Now that we have this permission, what are we going to do with it?"

At the national level, there is continuing dialogue in C.U.I.C. concerning the full recognition of the orders of ordained ministry among the member churches. This dialogue is assisted by a one-on-one conversation that has begun between the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches on offices of ministry, including the Episcopal office of bishop and the Presbyterian office of ruling elder. It is hoped that by 2007, the way will be clear for the mutual recognition of all these church's ministries and the proclamation of "full communion" among the C.U.I.C. communions.

How can congregations be involved? Here are some of the suggestions offered at Memphis:

• Pray for God to bless this effort to manifest our unity in Christ
• Organize a discussion of C.U.I.C. in your congregation or presbytery
• Pray for the organizing committee and its representatives of the member churches
• Celebrate the inauguration of C.U.I.C. with other participating congregations locally
• Read in worship a pastoral letter from the heads of the nine churches (and the ELCA) expressing a commitment to oppose racism together
• Promote common mission projects, especially in opposing racism
• Contact the ecumenical office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) about C.U.I.C.
• Cooperate with other C.U.I.C. congregations to hold regular, intentionally shared services of the Lord's Supper
• Invite representatives of other member churches to services of baptism and ordination in your congregation
• Visit www.CUICinfo.org

A small book introducing C.U.I.C.'s commitment to fight for racial justice is now available from the Office of the General Assembly. Its title is Signs of Hope - Promise of Change: In Celebration of the Inauguration, Churches Uniting in Christ, January 2002. It includes this chapter by Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

From the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

"Through the years in its annual denominational meetings, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has taken substantive and comprehensive actions on virtually every aspect of racial justice. The reality is, unfortunately, that much remains to be done to change attitudes and actions of individual church members in the broader society.

"This is not to suggest, however, that significant progress has not been made, as it has, through strong and vigorously stated church positions. Race Relations Sunday has been emphasized in the denomination, for instance, since 1950 when a declared goal was '…a non-segregated Church in a non-segregated society…' Earlier, in 1947, the activities of the Ku Klux Klan had been condemned, and in the southern section of the Church a 'special study of Negro work in the [Church]' was approved. In 1956, the northern branch of the Church urged Presbyterians to 'stop pointing the finger of accusation at areas of high tension or conflict… and to work to break patterns of discrimination wherever they appear.' In 1954, the southern branch supported desegregation in public schools just weeks prior to the announcement of a decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and the northern branch applauded the decision. Native American rights were hailed in 1949. The subject of the African American male was addressed in 1995. This year, our General Assembly will begin with anti-racism training for all our commissioners.

"In addition to official actions, church publications, especially Church and Society, have addressed the pertinent issues, and middle governing bodies and congregations not only spoke words, acted responsibly in living out their Christian faith in Christian social action.

"One of the fundamental reasons that Presbyterians keenly appreciate the new Churches Uniting in Christ is to be able to share more readily the positions, affirmations, and theological convictions which lead to programs and positive actions on the part of sister communions. For example, all devout Christians can resonate with the profound and dramatic April 2001 statement of the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as it confessed 'the corporate guilt we all share for these evils' (the institution of slavery, injustices, prejudice, and racism were listed) 'and heartily begs the forgiveness of God and of all God's children whose lives have been damaged or limited by these sins.' Sharing this same conviction, the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), at its meeting of June 6-19, 2001, took a similar action.

"Thus, as we unite there are clear Signs of Hope - Promises of Change as we seek to speak with one voice to a significant portion of the Protestant community in this country. Through our churches collectively we have the awesome opportunity, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to challenge and inspire this nation to a major turn away from such recognized evils as prejudice and racism to a more benevolent, just, pleasant, and hopeful society through courteous and friendly personal and corporate relations.

"The clarion call to us in all things is to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ."

Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)