Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC, formerly Consultation on Church Union, COCU). (United States Of America).

Best, Thomas F.

CHURCHES UNITING IN CHRIST (CUIC, formerly Consultation on Church Union, COCU): African Methodist Episcopal Church; African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Episcopal Church; International Council of Community Churches; Presbyterian Church (USA); United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church (official "partner in mission and dialogue": Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)

On 20 January 2002 in Memphis, Tennessee (USA), during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and on the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr, day, a new relationship began among nine churches in the United States. On that day the Consultation on Church Union (COCU), among the most venerable and enduring of the church union processes around the world, willed itself out of existence, giving way to a new form of relationship among these widely differing churches. From that date on, Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC) has signalled a fresh vision of--and a renewed commitment to--visible union among these prominent churches in the United States.

The previous COCU plenary, held in St Louis in January 1999 as reported in the last version of this survey, (1) identified "visible marks" of participation in this ongoing church union process. These deserve to be quoted in full as an expression of commitments made by churches which, though continuing to exist in their historic denominational forms, want nevertheless to manifest more fully the unity which is given them in Christ:

Entering into Churches Uniting in Christ means that the participating churches will express their relationship with one another through the following visible marks:

1. Mutual recognition of each other as authentic expressions of the one church of Jesus Christ. Specifically, this means that the participating churches will publicly recognize the following in one another:

-- faith in one God who through word and in the Spirit creates, redeems and sanctifies;

-- commitment to Jesus Christ as Saviour and as the incarnate and risen Lord;

-- faithfulness to the holy scripture, which testifies to Tradition and to which Tradition testifies, as containing all things necessary for our salvation as well as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith;

-- commitment to faithful participation in the two sacraments ordained by Jesus Christ, baptism and the Lord's supper;

-- commitment to the evangelical and prophetic mission of God and to God's reign of justice and peace;

-- grateful acceptance of the ministry the Holy Spirit has manifestly given to the churches.

2. Mutual recognition of members in one baptism. This also implies recognition of the ministry all believers share in the common priesthood and from which God calls those members who will be ordained.

3. Mutual recognition that each affirms the apostolic faith of scripture and Tradition expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, and that each seeks to give witness to the apostolic faith in its life and mission.

4. Provision for celebration of the eucharist together with intentional regularity. This recognizes that the sacrament is at the heart of the church's life. Shared celebration of the Lord's supper is a sign of unity in Christ. As Christians gather in all their diversity at one table of the Lord, they give evidence that their communion is with Christ, and that they are in communion with one another in Christ. When Christians are unable or unwilling to partake together of the one eucharist, they witness against themselves and give a visible demonstration of the brokenness of Christ's body and the human community.

5. Engagement together in Christ's mission on a regular and intentional basis, especially a shared mission to combat racism. The church engages in Christ's mission through worship, proclamation of the gospel, evangelism, education and action that embodies God's justice, peace and love. The commitment made by the members of Churches Uniting in Christ includes all of these, so that hearts and minds may be changed. The participating churches will also recognize, however, a particular and emphatic call to "erase racism" by challenging the system of white privilege that has so distorted life in this society and in the churches themselves. Indeed, this call is a hallmark of the new relationship.

6. Intentional commitment to promote unity with wholeness and to oppose all marginalization and exclusion in church and society based on such things as race, age, gender, forms of disability, sexual orientation and class.

7. Appropriate structures of accountability and appropriate means for consultation and decision-making. While some provision must be made for affecting the marks of the new relationship and for holding the churches mutually accountable to the commitments they have made, the structures developed for these purposes should be flexible and adapted to local circumstances. Apart from ongoing structures, the members of Churches Uniting in Christ may want to assemble from time to time in order to consider pressing issues and to bear witness together on matters of common concern.

8. An ongoing process of theological dialogue. Such dialogue will specifically attempt to;

-- clarify theological issues identified by the members of Churches Uniting in Christ in order to strengthen their shared witness to the apostolic faith;

-- deepen the participating churches' understanding of racism in order to make an even more compelling case against it;

-- provide a foundation for the mutual recognition and reconciliation of ordained ministry by the members of Churches Uniting in Christ by the year 2007. (2)

Since the St Louis plenary in 1999 COCU has been moving towards its transformation, in January 2002, into CUIC--Churches Uniting in Christ. This process, guided by general secretary Michael Kinnamon, has been marked by work on the two outstanding tasks to which the nine churches had committed themselves at their St Louis plenary: first, to pursue a "shared mission to combat racism" and, second, to work towards the full reconciliation of their ministries. The latter task has been addressed through discussions on the complicated and sensitive issues related to oversight in the life of the church, especially the question of whether the office of bishop is a necessary part of the way in which the church orders its life. The former task--addressing the systemic racism present in church and society--continues to loom large on CUIC's agenda. Already in anticipation of its inauguration, the leaders of CUIC's nine member churches, together with its partner in mission and dialogue, issued the following "Appeal to the Churches to Seek God's Beloved Community":

 In January of 2002, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, nine
 Christian communions will inaugurate a new relationship with each other
 called Churches Uniting in Christ. As the first step in this journey
 towards unity, we issue this appeal to every member of our churches, "that
 we all may be one" (John 17:22).

 The struggle for unity among the races and among the churches has a
 common denominator: racism. To envision unity, without addressing racism,
 is to ignore our history in North America and deny the insidious nature of
 that which divides us.

 If we are to overcome both the sin of disunity, including the sin of
 racism, then we must hold a common vision of God's beloved community:

 -- a community in which all people and their particular gifts are included,
 respected and valued;

 -- a community that seeks alternatives to violence to settle its
differences;

 -- a community whose core values stand in sharp contrast to a culture in
 which violence, obsession with profit, and the maldistribution of wealth
 and power is the norm;

 -- a community committed to eradicating racism and making no peace with
oppression;

 -- a community in which God is given the glory.

 To this vision, many known and unknown have given their lives in the
 hope that we shall overcome our separateness, heal our divisions, and
 ensure justice for all. It is fitting, therefore, that this appeal calls us
 to begin our new life as Churches Uniting in Christ on Martin Luther King,
 Jr. Day 2002.

 Our struggle is with principalities and powers. We affirm that love,
 repentance and forgiveness are powerful sources of unity, and reject the
 values of distrust, envy and personal institutional survival. We affirm
 that power is perfected in weakness, and reject any idea that the strong
 may do what they will and the weak are left to suffer what they must. We
 affirm the values of principle, human community and equality over against
 the values of profit, property and status. We affirm that Christ died for
 all people (see John 3:16). We proclaim that we are all children of God,
 made in the divine image, and accountable for our individual and collective
 actions. We engage in this struggle with the radical hope that springs from
 our resurrection faith, and the belief that those who seek to save their
 lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives for Christ's sake will
 save them.

 Emboldened by this vision, we appeal to you to join us as participants
 in Churches Uniting in Christ, as sojourners towards the beloved community.
 We will engage in a process of overcoming racism as we seek to demolish the
 institutional barriers which keep us from being a united Christian
 community that is truly catholic, truly reformed, and truly evangelical.
 Together, we will seek to find the common ground where we can all sing with
 integrity that it is on "Christ the solid rock we stand". We will do the
 painful work of honestly facing our history, seeking mutual compassion,
 developing a common vision and identifying the sacrifices we must make. Our
 purpose is to see the vision realized, to raise from the bedrock that is
 Christ the sure foundation for all our houses. We believe that God is
 calling us to this vision and to this task, and we know there is a balm in
 Gilead that heals the sin-sick soul.

 Our appeal to you is to join in the audacious and prophetic quest to
 incarnate this vision and, with God's help, renew our faith, proclaim the
 good news, unite our churches and heal the nation.

 [signatures of the church leaders] (3)

The meeting in Memphis integrated all the diverse hopes and challenges of this major church union movement in the United States. Following a brilliant keynote address by Michael Kinnamon, (4) plenary sessions and stimulating workshops brought Consultation on Church Union delegates into the new reality of Churches Uniting in Christ. Further high points of the meeting were the worship services, on successive evenings, marking first the end of the Consultation on Church Union and then the birth of Churches Uniting in Christ. (5) Another was the march held on 21 January, Martin Luther King, Jr, day, from the plenary venue to the scene of Dr King's assassination (now part of the National Civil Rights Museum). Here the leaders of the member churches, together with their partner in mission and dialogue, signed a solemn pledge to join together in the struggle against racism. (6)

Thus Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC) signals a new relationship among churches which, although they retain their independence and inherited structures, have pledged before God "to draw closer in sacred things". They seek to share as much as possible of their worship, witness and service and to work together to resolve their theological differences, particularly in the understanding of ministry. And--also, of course, a "sacred thing"--they intend to work together to eliminate the scourge of racism from the lives of the churches in the United States.

CUIC is much more a new relationship than a new structure. As such it hopes to manifest itself in a series of "practical steps" undertaken by its member churches to manifest their unity in their daily lives. Thus CUIC asks, "What could this mean for your congregation?" and offers the churches the following suggestions for making their new relationship a day-by-day reality:

-- Pray for nearby CUIC congregations by name. Make their joys and sufferings your own.

-- Include representatives of neighbouring CUIC congregations in your baptisms, ordinations and installations.

-- Celebrate the Lord's supper with other CUIC congregations in your area, at least on special occasions.

-- Undertake mission projects with CUIC partners on a regular basis, especially projects aimed at overcoming racism.

-- Invite a member of a neighbouring CUIC congregation to serve on a board or committee of your church.

-- Invite other congregations to participate in your special events, from worship services to ice cream socials.

-- Organize shared youth retreats or adult education courses.

-- Teach about the other churches in your own education programme.

-- Add the words "Member of Churches Uniting in Christ" to your church signboard. (7)

Such small, realizable and eminently practical steps could have--quietly, and without great fanfare--an enormous impact upon church life in the United States.

In April 2002, Rev. Dr Bertrice Y. Wood was named director of Churches Uniting in Christ; it now falls to Dr Wood, with her wealth of ecumenical experience, to help the churches "make good on the promises they have made". (8) CUIC represents a radical commitment on the part of major denominations in the United States to make their unity in Christ effective in their own lives, and visible to the world. Have the forces of separation "had their day"? Are the major "ecumenical" churches in the United States ready for a new day in their relationships with one another? Finally, Churches Uniting in Christ will stand or fall on the degree to which local congregations take up the challenge to worship and work together, rather than separately.

NOTES

(1) See "Survey of Church Union Negotiations 1996-1999", by Thomas F. Best and union correspondents, The Ecumenical Review, vol. 52, no. 1, Jan. 2000, esp. pp.41-43.

(2) Available on the CUIC web site at http://www.eden.edu/cuic/unity/marksofunity.htm

(3) Available at http://www.eden.edu/cuic/racism/appeal.htm. Also Midstream, 41, 2-3, 2002, pp.27-29.

(4) "We have Come This Far by Faith: Reflections on Where We Have Been and Where We Are Headed as Churches Uniting in Christ", available at http://www.eden.edu/cuic/speeches/ kinnamon_speech.htm. Also Midstream, 41, 2-3, 2002, pp. 1-9.

(5) The inaugural service is available at: http://www.eden.edu/cuic/liturgy/liturgy.htm. Also Midstream, 41, 2-3, 2002, pp.41-51.

(6) The text which was signed, together with accompanying statements by church leaders, is available at http://www.eden.edu/cuic/speeches/heads_of_communion_comments.htm. For comments by some of the leaders, see Midstream, 41, 2-3, 2002, pp.23-26.

(7) See the CUIC brochure available at http://www.eden.edu/cuic/whatiscuic/whatiscuic.htm.

(8) Thomas F. Best, "To Make Good on the Promises that have been Made: The Church of Christ Uniting in Global Perspective," Mid-Stream, 37, 3-4, 1998, pp.431-52.

Contact: Rev. Dr Bertrice Y. Wood, Director, Churches Uniting in Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115-1100, USA, tel. +1.216 736.32.94, fax +1.216 736.32.96, email cuic@ucc.org, web site (provisional) http://www.eden.edu/cuic/cuic.htm

THOMAS F. BEST, Writing due to CUIC staff changes occurring at the time of ER production deadlines.