Churches Uniting in Christ seeks
reconciliation
Leaders of the newly formed Churches
Uniting in Christ stand in 2002 on the balcony of the
Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., where the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. was killed in 1968. Two of the
ecumenical group's historically black founding churches
were absent from its January meeting in St. Louis. A
UMNS file photo by Mike
DuBose.
|
A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom* Jan.
18, 2008
Members of Churches Uniting in Christ are seeking to bring
two of its historically black partner denominations back to
the table.
The absence of representatives from the
African Methodist Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church during the organization’s Jan. 11-14 plenary in
St. Louis overshadowed the ecumenical event, according to
United Methodist representatives. The Christian Methodist
Episcopal Church, which is also historically black, was
present at the meeting.
United Methodist Bishop Albert "Fritz" Mutti,
chairperson of the event’s planning committee, said the
suspension of participation by the two denominations
"dominated our discussion."
Churches Uniting in Christ
was inaugurated in early 2002 as an outgrowth of and successor
to the Consultation on Church Union. For 40 years, members of
the consultation had discussed how to unify across
denominational lines. At the 2002 event in Memphis, Tenn., the
then-nine members formally agreed to maintain their own
identities and structures but engage in tangible acts of
cooperation.
Besides The United Methodist Church and
the three historically black Methodist denominations, member
communions include the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
Episcopal Church, International Council of Community Churches,
Moravian Church Northern Province, Presbyterian Church (USA)
and United Church of Christ. The Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America is a "partner in mission and
dialogue."
During the group's latest meeting, "the
question that was in the room but not on the table was what to
do about these who are absent," said Mutti, interim leader of
the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and
Interreligious Concerns.
The answer agreed upon by
about 60 participants in the Churches Uniting in Christ
plenary was to seek reconciliation with the two denominations,
specifically through a joint effort by the heads of member
communions.
Letter sent
A letter was sent on Jan. 16 to the top leaders of the AME
and AME Zion churches, with copies sent to the ecumenical
officers of both denominations, according to United Methodist
Bishop William Oden.
The letter, signed by each head of
communion, stressed that "we are incomplete without you," Oden
told United Methodist News Service.
Bishop William
Oden | Oden, who serves as
ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council of
Bishops, said questions of ministry and a lack of progress
regarding racism seem to be the two major issues of concern
regarding Churches Uniting in Christ for the AME and AME Zion
Churches.
Participants at the plenary were very aware
the group "has not lived up to its goal of dismantling
racism," according to Oden, but believe the AME/AME Zion
presence "is essential" to fulfilling that
priority.
The first call to action for Churches Uniting
in Christ was a pledge to combat racism. On Jan. 21, 2002,
participants in the Memphis event marched in support of Martin
Luther King Jr.’s dream and signed an appeal to its churches
on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where King was killed in
1968.
United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert, the
ecumenical officer at that time, said the appeal was the first
public step for the new group. "We didn't want to start with
something simple, something easy," Talbert said that day. "By
making combating racism our No. 1 priority, we're showing that
we're serious about responding to God's call."
Jerry
Ruth Williams, a member of the Commission on Christian Unity,
remembered the Memphis event as "a great experience." As a
participant in the St. Louis plenary, she said she is "totally
in agreement" about the need for reconciliation. "I think that
it is very important that we get our members back into the
family," she said.
The idea is to try to work through
the concerns "to listen to them and hear what they have to say
and hope that they decide to return," she said.
Top priority is reconciliation
The Rev. W. Douglas Mills, an executive with the Commission
on Christian Unity, pointed out that although the AME and AME
Zion Churches have not officially withdrawn from Churches
Uniting in Christ, "the top priority is to seek reconciliation
with the CUIC family. There’s no moving ahead until we get
that reconciliation."
Bishop Albert "Fritz"
Mutti | A consultant,
Billie Mayo of St. Louis, helped plenary participants focus
more closely on priorities around the issue of racism. Rather
than just setting goals, "we learned that dealing with racism
is dealing with relationships," Mutti explained.
Beyond the racism issue, the overwhelming barrier to
moving forward "with any form of unity" is the issue of
reconciliation of ministry, Oden said. This issue, especially
regarding the role of the episcopacy, was to be resolved by
last year but was not.
During the recent plenary, "we looked seriously at whether
or not we should continue," he added.
The members of
Churches Uniting in Christ agreed to carry on, with the heads
of communion vowing to take a more active leadership
role.
Members also re-committed themselves to the eight
"visible marks" of unity first adopted in 2002. Those marks
are: mutual and public recognition of each other as "authentic
expressions of the one church of Jesus Christ;" mutual
recognition of baptism; mutual recognition of apostolic faith;
celebration of the Eucharist together "with intentional
regularity;" engagement together in Christ’s mission;
intentional commitment to promote unity and oppose
marginalization and exclusion in church and society;
appropriate means for consultation and decision-making; and an
ongoing process of theological dialogue.
Worship
services during the plenary were designed to honor the
"visible mark" of unity regarding celebration of the Eucharist
with intentional regularity. The opening service was hosted by
the CME Church, with subsequent services following the
Reformed, Methodist and Anglican traditions.
*Bloom is
a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New
York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646)
369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org. Related Articles
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Churches Uniting in Christ
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious
Concerns |