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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 24, 2002

ELCA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHURCHES UNITING IN CHRIST
02-14-FI

     MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ELCA) -- After almost 40 years of talks, the
nine church bodies that formed the Commission on Church Union (COCU)
became Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC).  A series of events here
Jan.18-21, over the holiday weekend named for the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr., drew attention to the organization's emphasis on overcoming
racism.  While not one of the nine CUIC churches, the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began its role as "partner in
mission and dialogue."
     Lutherans had been observers at COCU talks, which organized in
1962.  The ELCA's 2001 Churchwide Assembly accepted an invitation to
become a CUIC partner in mission and dialogue.
     "The ELCA will participate with the nine member churches of
CUIC in a program to combat all forms of racism," said the Rev.
Darlis J. Swan, associate director of the ELCA Department for
Ecumenical Affairs.  "Secondly, the ELCA will participate as a full
member of the dialogue on ministry," she said.
     The CUIC member churches are the 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 (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ and United
Methodist Church.  They include about 22 million Christians across
the United States.
     The nine churches will vote in 2007 about entering into full
communion.  "One of the things that will need to be more clearly
defined as CUIC looks to the future is 'full communion.'  What does
that mean?" said Swan.
     "The ELCA has very clearly defined 'full communion,'" said
Swan.  "I hope that this will be a challenge to the CUIC member
churches to take a new look at their understanding of 'full
communion' and what that will mean for the future," she said.
     The ELCA is in full communion with three of the nine churches -
- the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and United
Church of Christ.  The ELCA is also in full communion with the
Moravian Church in America, which may become a CUIC partner in
mission and dialogue, and the Reformed Church in America.
     When the CUIC dialogue on ministry begins in June, key topics
will include "what it means to be a bishop" and the "historic
episcopate" -- a succession of bishops back to the earliest days of
the Christian Church, which is part of the Episcopal tradition and
not the Presbyterian tradition.
     "They are looking to the ELCA to share some of our issues --
some of the things we have dealt with in regard to exchange of
ministers and ministries," Swan said.  "We have gifts from our
experience that we can bring to that dialogue."
     The ELCA delegation to the dissolution of COCU and inauguration
of CUIC included Swan; the Rev. Jon S. Enslin, interim director, ELCA
Department for Ecumenical Affairs; the Rev. Will Herzfeld, associate
executive director, ELCA Division for Global Mission; the Rev. Philip
L. Hougen, bishop of the ELCA's Southeastern Iowa Synod, Iowa City;
Jennifer Nagel, a member of the ELCA advisory committee for
ecumenical affairs, Minneapolis; the Rev. Karen S. Parker, a member
of the ELCA Church Council and the advisory committee for ecumenical
affairs, Huntington Beach, Calif.; and the Rev. Mark Wilhelm,
associate director for theological education, ELCA Division for
Ministry.
     Hougen and Wilhelm will serve as full participants in the CUIC
dialogue on ministry.
     The ELCA is involved in direct dialogue with the African
Methodist Episcopal Church and United Methodist Church.

CUIC INAUGURATION ACTIVITIES
     "If we don't address the issues of racism, Christian unity
isn't real.  In this country the issues of the Reformation are
important, but issues of race have also divided the church so
surely," said the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, COCU general secretary and a
pastor of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  "Churches
Uniting in Christ is the first church unity effort that has really
challenged the color barrier in American Christianity," he said.
     Memphis is the headquarters of the Christian Methodist
Episcopal Church, one of the CUIC member churches, said Kinnamon.
"Coupled with that was the fact that this was the place of the
martyrdom of Dr. King," he said.  "To make our commitment to combat
racism together in the place that was associated with his life and
death in such a way made a lot of sense to us."
     About 300 church leaders took part in CUIC inauguration
activities, which began with two days of workshops on topics from
"getting to know you" to "what difference it will make."  The
dissolution of COCU came with a brief business session and worship
service Jan. 19 at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral.
     CUIC was inaugurated Jan. 20 with a service of the Lord's
Supper at Mount Olive Cathedral, Christian Methodist Episcopal
Church.
     Representing the ELCA during the liturgy's confession of sins,
Enslin said, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America confesses
that our strong focus on the children of our European, immigrant
ancestors has resulted in a failure to reach out to people of other
ethnic backgrounds and in our time has separated us from meaningful
relationships with the poor."
     "We made commitments to one another to share at the Lord's
Table and to share members in Baptism," said Kinnamon.  He called the
weekend's events "the first public commitment" of CUIC members and
partners to work together in God's mission and to combat racism.
     The activities concluded Jan. 21, on the observation of King's
birthday, with a rally at Memphis city hall and a march.  "Dr. King
was marching here with the sanitation workers, when he came here and
was assassinated," said Kinnamon.
     Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton took about 1,000 people on a
1.2-mile march from city hall to the spot where King died in 1968 --
the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, which is now the site of the
National Civil Rights Museum.  There a representative of each of the
10 churches signed an "Appeal to the Churches on Combating Racism."
     Before signing the appeal for the ELCA, Enslin said, "Dear
people, it is not yet a time for celebration.  Still we weep, and we
must work, until racism and all of its evil tentacles are fully
destroyed.
     "It is a great honor for me to represent Presiding Bishop Mark
Hanson and to fulfill the larger than 97 percent vote of our assembly
to join with the Churches Uniting in Christ to work as hard as
possible to destroy the evil of racism in our society," said Enslin.
-- -- --
     A video news story on the ELCA's role in the CUIC inauguration
can be found at http://www.elca.org/co/news/video.index.html on the
ELCA Web site.

     CUIC maintains a site at http://www.cuicinfo.org on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html