wfn.org | UCC/Committee recommends terminating Chavis' standing

[powellb@ucc.org]

April 24, 1997
United Church of Christ
In Cleveland:
Hans Holznagel, (216) 736-2214
holznagh@ucc.org
Laurie Bartels, (216) 736-2213
bartelsl@ucc.org
In North Carolina
The Rev. Rollin Russell (910) 222-8771
On the Web:  <http://www.ucc.org

Church committee denies Chavis' request,
recommends termination of his ministerial standing

      DURHAM, N.C. -- A United Church of Christ committee today
recommended termination of the Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.'s standing
as an ordained minister in the church, after hearing him discuss his
conversion to the Nation of Islam and ask to remain a UCC minister.
      The 12-member Church and Ministry Commission of the UCC's
Eastern North Carolina Association announced its decision after a one-
and-a-half-hour conversation with Chavis, now known as Chavis
Muhammad, and after further deliberations that lasted 40 minutes.
      The commission reached its decision "painfully and with much
discussion," said its chairperson, the Rev. J. C. Cheek of Durham's
Mount Calvary United Church of Christ, where the meeting was held.  
      The difficulty came "because Ben is a friend, and has been a
friend and colleague for many years," said the Rev. Rollin Russell,
Conference Minister of the UCC's regional Southern Conference.
      Among the 11 committee members who voted, seven were African
American and four were white.  Cheek -- who, as chair, did not vote --
is also an African American.  Though the vote was not unanimous, it
was a clear majority, with people of both races voting each way,
Russell said.
      In its formal motion, which Russell read aloud at a news
conference after the meeting, the commission recommended that Chavis
Muhammad's standing be "terminated without prejudice."
      "We commend Dr. Chavis Muhammad for his consistent efforts to
bring people together across racial and religious lines and to bring
about reconciliation among all people," the motion said.  "We commend
his efforts to unite the insights of Christianity and Islam in the
service of a world in need, and especially of African-American
communities.  We long for a closer working relationship with all faith
communities for the benefit of all humankind, and confess our need to
learn more about the Nation of Islam."
      Nonetheless, Russell said, there were both religious and
professional reasons for recommending termination of standing.
      "Our confession is that Jesus Christ is Son of God, Savior and
Lord," Russell said, responding to reporters' questions.  "If I could
sum up the feeling of many on the commission, it is that 'there needs
be no other name.'
      "We understand that he has become a member of another world
faith."
      And while his vision of reconciliation, unity and cooperation is
admirable, the majority of the committee believed his work with the
Nation of Islam "is not a ministry that requires UCC ministerial
standing," Russell said. 
      The recommendation by the Church and Ministry Commission now
awaits consideration, probably in May or June, by the Eastern North
Carolina Association's Board of Directors, who already acted on March
21 to suspend Chavis Muhammad's standing temporarily, pending today's
hearing.
      While the commission was deliberating, Chavis Muhammad told
reporters he intended to be "obedient to God," regardless of the
decision.
      "I joined the Nation of Islam as a result of my calling by God
Almighty and I intend to work with the church and with the mosque
promoting unity among our people," Chavis Muhammad said.
      Chavis Muhammad expressed joy in working with Louis Farrakhan,
whom he described as "beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most effective -
- not just black leader -- but the most effective leader" in the
world.
      "But none of my present work negates my past work," he added.
"I've been a minister of the United Church of Christ most of my life
and I will always respect the United Church of Christ."
      The March suspension and today's recommendation mean that Chavis
Muhammad is not authorized to preach, administer the sacraments or
perform other kinds of pastoral leadership as a minister of the 1.5-
million-member UCC.  Approval by the Board of Directors would confirm
that removal of standing.
      Technically, Chavis Muhammad could seek ministerial standing
with another UCC association.  He would have to convince such an
association that he had received a call to ministry that could be
considered "ministry in behalf of the United Church of Christ."
      In the United Church of Christ, with its decentralized form of
governance, the ordination and discipline of ministers is handled by
the denomination's more than 200 associations.  Chavis was ordained in
1980 by the Eastern North Carolina Association and has maintained his
standing there ever since.  He worked in various capacities for the
UCC's national Commission for Racial Justice from 1968 to 1993,
including as its executive director from 1985 to 1993.
      The United Church of Christ, with national offices in Cleveland
and more than 6,100 local churches in the United States and Puerto
Rico, is the 1957 union of the Congregational Christian Churches and
the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
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