wfn.org | UCC actions re: gay/lesbian ordination

[powellb@ucc.org]

          Here is a UCC fact sheet and chronological listing of
          actions taken by UCC bodies on ordination of people who are
          gay or lesbian.

February 1996
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
Hans Holznagel (216) 736-2214
Barb Powell (216) 736-2217
or Andy Lang (216) 736-2215

On the World Wide Web:
http://www.apk.net/ucc

A D V I S O R Y :
Information available on discussing gay/lesbian issues and the
United Church of Christ

EDITORS AND PRODUCERS:  Due to the controversy in the Episcopal
Church regarding a bishop ordaining an openly gay man, attention
has been focused on stands taken by various denominations on the
ordination of people who are gay or lesbian.

To assist you in covering this issue, the United Church of
Christ has prepared a fact sheet and a brief chronology of
actions
by various UCC bodies.

For additional information, contact Hans Holznagel
(216/736-2214), Barb Powell (216/736-2217) or Andy Lang
(216/736-2215) at the UCC's Office of Communication in
Cleveland.

FEBRUARY 1996

F A C T    S H E E T
Lesbian and Gay Issues and the United Church of Christ

Among mainline Christian denominations in North America, the
United Church of Christ is considered the most welcoming to
people who are gay or lesbian.  However, that openness varies
from place to place within the church.

* The General Synod
The UCC's national body of delegates, the General Synod, has
encouraged local churches to be "open and affirming" and has
urged regional associations -- local groupings of UCC churches
-- not to deny ordination solely because of a candidate's sexual
orientation.

The General Synod does not provide or set churchwide policy for
the denomination on any moral matter.  It cannot "permit" or
"deny" such items as ordination or membership of gay and lesbian
people in the UCC.  However, it can and does recommend and
encourage regional conferences and associations, as well as
local congregations, to adopt policies similar to resolutions
passed by the Synod.  The Synod also provides moral guidance on
important questions facing the church.  

* Regional bodies of the United Church of Christ
Openly gay or lesbian people have been ordained to the Christian
ministry by several of the denomination's 204 regional
associations.  Associations set their own policies and standards
for ordination.  Some associations have written policies about
sexual orientation similar to the resolution voted by the 1983
General Synod, which recommended that "in considering a
candidate's qualifications for ministry, the candidate's sexual
orientation should not be grounds for denying the request for
ordination."  The Synod also advocated "that sexual orientation
not be a basis for discrimination within the United Church of
Christ in employment of staff or use of volunteers."  Some
associations are silent on the issue of gay/lesbian ordination;
a few will not ordain lesbian and gay people.

* Local United Church of Christ congregations
More than 180 of the United Church of Christ?s 6,200 local
churches have, after study and prayer, declared themselves "open
and affirming" of all people, including those who are gay or
lesbian.  Several congregations have called openly gay or
lesbian ministers to be their pastors.

Here are three brief ways to describe, and one way to avoid
describing, the United Church of Christ regarding the ordination
of gay and lesbian people:

Accurate:
"The United Church of Christ is the only American mainline
church whose national body has affirmed the gifts of gay and
lesbian people for the ministry -- though this policy is not
binding on local ordaining bodies."

Accurate:
"The United Church of Christ is the only American  mainline
church whose national body has recommended that local ministry
committees not deny ordination to gay and lesbian people on the
grounds of sexual orientation alone."

Accurate:
"Among American mainline churches, the United Church of Christ
is considered the most welcoming to gay and lesbian people as
members and ministers."
________________________

Inaccurate: 
"The United Church of Christ is the only major Protestant
denomination that permits the ordination of homosexuals."

Why it's inaccurate:

1.  Contrary to what this wording implies, the United Church of
Christ, in its churchwide or "national" setting, does not have
authority to "permit" or "prohibit" the ordination of anyone. 
The General Synod, the UCC's national body of delegates, has
urged that sexual orientation, in and of itself, not be a bar to
ordination.  But each of the UCC's 204 ordaining bodies, called
"associations," has the authority and responsibility to set its
own ordination policies.

2.  Contrary to what this wording implies, the UCC has no
consistent, churchwide practice in relation to the ordination of
gay and lesbian people.  Some of the denomination's 204
associations are "open and affirming" toward gay and lesbian
people in their ordination policies; some have policies that are
silent on the matter; and a few are formally opposed to the
ordination of gay and lesbian people.

3.  This wording ignores the fact that openly gay and lesbian
clergy do serve -- and in some cases have been ordained -- in
local or diocesan settings in other denominations, even though
the national bodies of those denominations have not passed
affirming statements similar to those of the General Synod of
the United Church of Christ.

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
FEBRUARY 1996 

A chronology of actions taken by various United Church of Christ
bodies regarding the ordination of gay and lesbian people

1996: There are more than 180 "open and affirming"
      congregations.  Three are predominately lesbian and gay
      congregations:  Liberation United Church of Christ in
      Cleveland, Spirit of the Lakes United Church of Christ in
      Minneapolis and Phoenix United Church of Christ in
      Kalamazoo, Mich.

1994: University Congregational Church, a UCC congregation in   

      Seattle, calls the first gay clergy couple in history to  

      serve a mainline Christian denomination.  A three-fourths 

      majority of the congregation votes to call the Rev. Peter 

      Ilgenfritz and the Rev. David Shull as associate
      ministers. 

1994: UCC leaders, including the Rev. Paul H. Sherry, president,
      join the "March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and
      Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation."

1994: In testimony to the House Armed Services Committee, Sherry 
      urges Congress to lift the ban on military service by gays 
      and lesbians.  "To allow the military to discriminate is
      morally intolerable and contrary to the values that
      undergird our society," he says.

1993: Hours after President Clinton authorizes military
      commanders to dismiss lesbians and gays from the armed
      forces, General Synod -- in session at the time -- votes
      by a wide margin to denounce the ban on homosexuals.

1993: The UCC publishes the only comprehensive curriculum for
      AIDS awareness and prevention designed for use in
      Christian education.

1991: The General Synod "boldly affirms, celebrates and embraces
      the gifts of ministry of lesbian, gay and bisexual
      persons." 

1987: General Synod declares opposition to all "sodomy laws" and 
      resolves to witness publicly against laws criminalizing    
      homosexuality whenever meeting in a state where a sodomy   
      law is still on the books.

1985: The General Synod calls on all UCC congregations and
      bodies to study homosexuality and declare that they are
      "open and affirming."

1984: The Rev. Diane Darling becomes the first openly lesbian
      woman called to parish ministry in the UCC, as pastor of
      College Avenue United Church of Christ in Modesto, Calif. 

1983: Early in the AIDS epidemic, the General Synod declares     
      "compassionate support" for people with AIDS and urges     
      increased funding for research.  1983: The Synod passes a  
      resolution recommending to UCC regional associations that  
      "in considering a candidate's qualifications for ministry,
      the candidate's sexual orientation should not be grounds
      for denying the request for ordination."  The Synod also
      "advocates that sexual orientation not be a basis for
      discrimination within the United Church of Christ in the
      employment of staff or use of volunteers."

1977: In Virginia, the Rev. Anne Holmes becomes the first openly
      lesbian woman ordained in the UCC.  1975: The General
      Synod declares that sexual orientation is not a legitimate
      ground to deny civil liberties.  The Synod supports
      federal, state and municipal laws to protect equal rights
      for all citizens.

1973: The UCC Executive Council, the main deliberative body of
      the church between biennial Synods, recommends that sexual
      orientation should not bar qualified candidates from
      ordination.  The UCC Gay Caucus receives official standing
      at General Synod.  The caucus will later change its name
      to the United Church Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns.

1972: The Rev. William Johnson becomes the first openly
      homosexual person ordained in modern times to the ministry
      by an historic or "mainline" Christian church.  He is
      ordained by the Golden Gate Association, a grouping of UCC
      congregations in Northern California.

1969: Two months before the Stonewall uprising in New York --
      generally recognized as the beginning of the modern gay
      and lesbian rights movement -- the UCC's Council for
      Christian Social Action declares opposition to all laws
      criminalizing private homosexual relations between adults.

      The council also opposes the exclusion of homosexual
      citizens from the armed forces.

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
FEBRUARY 1996