United Church of Christ
The Rev. J. Bennett Guess, news director
216-736-2177, 216-403-9862
newsroom@ucc.org
CLEVELAND -- The United Church of Christ's North Texas Association voted overwhelmingly to grant congregational standing to the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas during the Association's fall meeting on Oct. 28.
With 4,300 members, Cathedral of Hope becomes fourth largest congregation in the 1.2-million-member UCC and the largest church in the denomination's South Central Conference, which includes 80 churches in Texas and Louisiana. News of the Association's vote was shared with Cathedral of Hope members today during the congregation's annual meeting.
"This is an historic day in the life of the Cathedral of Hope," said the Rev. Jo Hudson, senior pastor and rector. "We are blessed to be a full partner in ministry with the North Texas Association and the United Church of Christ. We celebrate that our values of compassion, inclusion, tolerance and hope in service to the world by following Jesus are consistent with those of the United Church of Christ. We are proud to be a part of such a diverse body of churches and people."
The Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, said he welcomed the decision of the North Texas Association.
"We will be enriched by the vitality of Cathedral of Hope's ministry even as we hope that incorporation into our 50 year history will be a gift to them," Thomas said, from his office in Cleveland.
In joining the largely-northern UCC, Dallas' Cathedral of Hope becomes another in a series of sizeable southern churches to join the UCC in recent years. Four years ago, the 5,500-member Victory Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., became the UCC's second largest church when it, along with another former Southern Baptist church in Atlanta, were received into the UCC's Southeast Conference.
On Sept. 30, the UCC also received the 300-member Holy Trinity Church in Memphis. And, earlier this year, the 300-member Garden of Grace Church in Columbia, S.C., the 250-member Holy Trinity Church in Nashville, Tenn., and a new African-American church start, Unity Worship Center, in Montgomery, Ala., were granted congregational standing.
In accordance with the denomination's grassroots governance style, issues related to congregational standing and ministerial authority are dealt with at the Association level, meaning that Associations act on behalf of the UCC nationally when it makes decisions, such as receiving churches or ordaining ministers. Decisions by Associations cannot be overruled by the denomination's Conference or National settings.
The Cathedral of Hope touts itself as "the world's largest liberal Christian church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people." Its local and national ministries, outreach programs, pastoral counseling, and web-based and TV media touch thousands each day.
The Cathedral of Hope began exploring UCC affiliation many years ago when, in 1997, a congregational vote authorized consideration of the move. Over the years, various lay leaders gathered information on the UCC and completed preliminary evaluations.
In 2003, consideration of the UCC was again discussed by the congregation when the church voted to disaffiliate from the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In January 2005, the church's board of directors instructed its affiliation and expansion committee to resume exploration of affiliation in earnest. A congregational vote to request UCC affiliation was overwhelmingly approved on Oct. 30, 2005.
Since the UCC's national General Synod approved a resolution supporting same-gender marriage equality in June 2005, more than 100 local UCC churches, in addition to the denomination's Puerto Rico Conference, have voted to leave the denomination. At the same time, about 65 churches, such as the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, have sought UCC affiliation.
The UCC, formed in 1957 with the union of the Congregational Christian Churches in America and the Evangelical and Reformed Church, has about 5,700 congregations nationally.
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