wfn.org | In multi-city 'listening tour,' Geoffrey Black is hearing members' biggest hopes for the UCC

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

In multi-city 'listening tour,' Geoffrey Black is hearing members' biggest hopes for the UCC

> Written by J. Bennett Guess
> September 22, 2009

Embarking on a listening tour that will take him to at least 10 cities in his first few months in office, the UCC's incoming general minister and president, the Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, spent last weekend in northern California where he asked church members there to share with him their hopes, ideas and visions for the denomination.

Four events were hosted in Los Altos, Berkeley, Palo Alto and Oakland on Sept. 19-20 with several hundred in attendance and representing dozens of churches from across the Northern California ? Nevada Conference (NCNC).

Black introduced himself to audiences saying he was not an "expert" in any one aspect of church life, but rather draws upon his breadth of experiences as a local church pastor, university chaplain, seminary lecturer, national staff member, justice advocate, ecumenical enthusiast and Conference Minister.

"I'm a generalist, which may be the reason that got me thinking that maybe I could do this general minister thing," he quipped. "But I think it's important that the church have a sense of its breadth, because our reach is broad."

Black takes office on Oct. 1, succeeding the Rev. John H. Thomas, who will become a special advisor to the president of Chicago Theological Seminary starting in January. In addition to San Francisco, future listening sessions are being planned for the Hartford-Boston region, Washington, D.C., Des Moines, Chicago, Atlanta, among other cities.

Black said he hopes the listening sessions will help to set a new tone for conversations in the church, one that encourages "non-confrontational public discourse."

"We need to reinforce the things that keep us together, even when we don't agree. We need to teach and learn the process of dialogue, something that I think can become a demonstrated faith practice in the UCC," he said. "We need to use the technology that is now available to us to become a community that is continually in dialogue with one another."

Instead of asking Black to respond to direct questions, the Rev. Mary Susan Gast, NCNC Conference Minister, introduced each session by asking participants to offer their own dreams for the church.

"Right now he's still the New York Conference Minister," Gast said, "and he's here to be open to and shaped by our words and visions as he assumes this new role as general minister and president."

The topics addressed were as broad as the number of attendees: greater support for new and renewing churches; increased emphasis on ministry to children and youth; continued investment in UCC marketing and branding; an articulated growth strategy for the UCC; resources to foster better Christian-Muslim understanding; increased participation in the Open and Affirming program; and concern about rising seminarian debt, among other topics.

The Rev. W. Matthew Broadbent, pastor of Foothills Congregational UCC in Los Altos, said that, while he appreciated the UCC's impressive history of "firsts," he also hoped more attention would be paid to the legacy we are building now for future generations. "We teach the history, but what's our legacy?" he  said.

While many said they supported the centrality of justice advocacy in the UCC, some said they yearned for an even greater emphasis on particular issues ? such as health care reform, the environment; same-gender marriage equality, death with dignity, or transgender inclusion. Some cautioned that the denomination's justice work needs to be interpreted with greater theological clarity and biblical conviction.

At each of the four stops, at least one person spoke in appreciation for the UCC's ongoing Sacred Conversation on Race as well as the 100,000 for Health Care mobilization launched on Sept. 8.

Almost all who spoke offered words of affection for the UCC, often by sharing stories about the personal journeys that led them to discover the church.

"I know that I am part of a living organization, not one with rough, hard borders," said the Rev. Toni Dunbar, an associate pastor at City of Refuge UCC in San Francisco.

At Sunday's closing event at First Congregational UCC in Oakland, Gast invited the nearly 100 participants to come forward and lay hands on Black in blessing and affirmation of his new ministry.

"We are going to keep you in our prayers every day," she assured him.

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