UCC Affirms Full Communion With United Church Of Canada

[Jobam]

http://www.ucc.org/news_general_syn...mmunion_with_united_church_of_canada_06292015



June 29, 2015
Written by Jeff Woodard

Delegates to the 2015 General Synod in Cleveland on Monday morning unanimously approved an amendment to recognize a full communion between the United Church of Christ and the United Church of Canada. The union fulfills the promise the churches made to one another in 2013.

"Let us dare to dream of the unexpected places we might discover as Uniting and United Churches in North America," said Karen Georgia Thompson, UCC minister for ecumenical and interfaith relations, echoing the theme of General Synod 30 in Cleveland June 25-30.

Passage of the amendment on June 29 drew a sustained 45-second applause from delegates, some of whom stood and cheered.

For the Rev. Michael Denton – UCC Executive Board member and Conference Minister of the Pacific Northwest Conference – the vote was cause for celebration.

"We share significant borders with Canada," said Denton, whose conference comprises Washington state, Northern Idaho and Alaska. "This is an opportunity for a cross-border-sharing ministry. Some UCC churches are closer to Canada than any other UCC churches."

"The United Church of Christ and the United Church of Canada are the only two ‘United and Uniting' churches in North America," said the Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, UCC general minister and president. "The two have known of each other, we've worked together and we hold many things in common. But there has been no formal relationship."

A full communion is an agreement for two or more churches to recognize each others' sacraments and the ordination of ministers, allowing them to be called by congregations of either denomination. This is the UCC's fourth full communion agreement and the first for the United Church of Canada, the largest Protestant denomination in Canada with about 3 million members in more than 3,500 congregations.

The UCC has a full communion with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); a four-way Formula of Agreement with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and a Kirchengemeinshaft with the Union of Evangelical Churches in Germany (UEK).

Both churches have common ecumenical partners and share similarities on their passion for social justice and peace, inclusion of LGBT people and ordination of women.

The churches began a formal conversation in April 2012, when the UCC made a historical visit to the United Church of Canada's offices in Toronto. After a year of study and engagement, six representatives from each church brought a common document to General Council 2015 and General Synod 2015.

Said Bernice Powell Jackson, pastor at First United Church of Tampa (Fla.), "When I was president of the World Council of Churches, I was shocked to find out we weren't already in communion already. I just wanted to add a word of joy and excitement about doing justice together. That is who we are, that is who they are. I rejoice in this moment."

 

[Luce NDs]

Thus the UCC is one and thus parallel entanglement theory is result of much ironic bending and hammering ... quite funny to outsiders that believe co-joining is a sin to isolationism ... thus some fund a'mentals believe we're odd and going to de' eLLe that's Ur alright the recomposed grand mutter within ...

As the saying goes about making people happy all the time ... and thus alternate times ... the other's side of mortal time ... there's a word for it ... a gross irony?

 

[GordW]

Now we see what GC42 will do (though I am operating under the assumption that they also will vote in favour).

One question in my mind is "so what?" What difference will this make? What are the costs and benefits?

 

[Jaebius]

Now we see what GC42 will do (though I am operating under the assumption that they also will vote in favour).

One question in my mind is "so what?" What difference will this make? What are the costs and benefits?

The denominations won't feel lonely anymore.

 

[Jaebius]

Congratulations

United Church of Christ & United Church of Canada

My greatest wish for the two of you is that through the years your love for each other will so deepen and grow, that years from now you will look back on June 29, 2015
as the day you loved each other the least.​

 

[Mendalla]

Actually, this sounds more like a business partnership or trade deal than a marriage, @Pr. Jae . Think of it as free trade in liberal Christianity. They are sharing resources and trading clergy, not hopping in the sack (I hope).

The relationship between the CUC and UUA is actually even closer given that we started as a Canadian offshoot of the American body and only started operating separately (but not completely independently) about a decade ago. We still use the UUA for credentialing of ministers and other services.

 

[Jaebius]

Actually, this sounds more like a business partnership or trade deal than a marriage, @Pr. Jae . Think of it as free trade in liberal Christianity. They are sharing resources and trading clergy, not hopping in the sack (I hope).

It sounds somewhat like a business deal, sure. At the same time, as they are bodies of Christians working together, they have been biblically called to be loving and supportive of one another. Hence the analogy to a wedding.

The relationship between the CUC and UUA is actually even closer given that we started as a Canadian offshoot of the American body and only started operating separately (but not completely independently) about a decade ago. We still use the UUA for credentialing of ministers and other services.

The FEBCC is an independent Baptist denomination, a member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, and an affiliate of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

 

[Luce NDs]

Loneliness in dealing with God on a personal business is a tough place to be ... but some people demand comfort ... the options are obvious for those told they are out in the cold, going to 'eLLe ... that warm feeling ... remember if your left standing ... who's going to lift you and who will put you down? What rises other than heat?

 

[Mendalla]

It sounds somewhat like a business deal, sure. At the same time, as they are bodies of Christians working together, they have been biblically called to be loving and supportive of one another. Hence the analogy to a wedding.
.

You and I think differently, I guess. To my mind, a wedding would be a full-on merger or at least a Ford-Mazda style partnership, which this is clearly not.

 

[Luce NDs]

A cars san people joining like in a lemon's sour impulse ... yellow fruit of that tree ... took flight before the sin of conjugation!

No moor whiskey sours --- Baudelaire on getting drunk on anything ... even bad po' Ethics ...!

 

[Carolla]

I like a lot of what the UC of Christ does & is about ... so I'm pleased by this.

 

[Luce NDs]

Now if we could assimilate Jimmy Carter with his message on female mutilation that leads to corruption of the genre ... see TED Talks ... some powers are liable to ban it to preserve male dominance.

Then many of those men don't know that they have some grandmother in them that will come back at them viciously in the end ... and thus roasted mules for Sister Sarah!

If receiving should one give a great deal? Tis not a republican trait gained in avarice ... like a runaway train or lateral thinking without entanglement ... Caduceus!

 

[Faerenach]

This is indeed very exciting... especially since there are other churches we are considering "mutual recognition" with (the 'churchspeak' term) including the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea and the United Church of Christ of the Philippines.

I'm also interested in this, because the UCChrist's model for recognizing and authorizing ministers had a big impact on the Competency approach being offered at this year's GC42.

 

[Luce NDs]

What is competency in a world that prizes naïveté? Thus those in the swamped system shouldn't know --- King J'Aimes ?

How he liked it ... and expected followers ...

 

[mgagnonlv]

Sorry for the late reply. As an Anglican, we have been through something similar with the full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada. So, to the question "why this?", I would have a few answers besides the "business deal".

– For clerics: it helps clerics who move around, as they can (usually) find jobs in whatever church denomination. I haven't seen lots of people finding jobs in the other denomination, but there have been a few. There also is less red tape if a cleric of one denomination is invited to preach or preside a liturgy in another denomination.

– For people in smaller communities: Villages have lost population, and less of them go to church. So many villages now have shared ministry. I have heard of places where they get Anglican service on weeks 1 and 3, and Lutheran or United on weeks 2 and 4. Again, some people feel they prefer to go to liturgy of "their kind" only. The full communion minimizes this close-minded behaviour.

– For people who travel: it may sound silly, but some people feel more at home when they find a church of their own denomination rather than a church of a "foreign" one. Sometimes it's just that people want to worship in a familiar way rather than explore other traditions; other times it's more serious like visiting an unknown church and find that you're not fully welcome because they practice closed communion, you are gay, etc. Having a sister denomination minimizes such a risk.

– People who move to a different part of the country: In our case, it's probably more important for Lutherans, as the ELCIC has lots of churches in Western Canada, a certain number in Ontario, and very few East of there. So a Lutheran moving from Edmonton to Eastern Canada will most likely need to find home in a non-Lutheran Church.

These points also make a lot of sense for the UCC – UCC communion as there are pastors and lay people who travel or move across the border.

 

[Carolla]

Thanks for your offering mgagnonlv - helpful to hear.

For anyone interested - you can read more in the GC42 workbook - reports section, reports 23-31 "A Journey to Full Communion"