Ecumenical group hopes to break new ground in addressing racism

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

Ecumenical group hopes to break new ground in addressing racism

> Written by Rebecca Bowman Woods
> January 18, 2011

Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC), an ecumenical
group inaugurated nine years ago to pursue
Christian unity and combat racism, will take an
in-depth look at racism in both the church and
the world as its members meet this week in Fort Lauderdale.

The theme of the gathering is "God's Gift of
Reconciliation: Our Journey Towards Wholeness."
The plenary begins Tuesday evening with a welcome
and overview session, dinner, and worship. During
the Eucharistic worship service, the liturgy will
center on remembering the victims of Haiti's
earthquake last January. Rev. Staccato Powell,
representing the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, will preach.

On Wednesday, ecumenical officers and leaders
from CUIC's 10 member communions will discuss
case studies on the intersection of race, church,
and three specific issues: international policy,
civil discourse, and the ordering of ministry among CUIC's members.

On Thursday, meeting participants will consider a
proposal for action relating to Wednesday's
sessions. The plenary concludes with a
Eucharistic service and a recommitment of CUIC
members to continue their work of expressing
Christian unity and combating racism.

Churches Uniting in Christ traces its roots back
to the Consultation on Church Union, which worked
for more than 40 years toward a vision of
reconciliation among various denominations. CUIC
was inaugurated in 2002 on Martin Luther King Jr.
Day in Memphis ? site of King's 1968
assassination. During the inaugural gathering,
the heads of each member communion affirmed eight
"marks of commitment" ? one of which was "a
shared mission to combat racism" ? as the basis for deeper relationship.

> By 2007, the group's efforts faltered,
> particularly in the area of racial justice
> issues, leading the three historically black
> denominations to express grave disappointment in
> CUIC. The African Methodist Episcopal and African
> Methodist Episcopal Zion churches did not
> participate in a January 2008 plenary in St. Louis.

During that plenary, CUIC's participating members
set aside the work they had planned to do, to
grieve the breach in relationship and to commit
to a more serious look at racism within their
denominational structures and within CUIC itself.
They decided to seek reconciliation with the
estranged members before continuing their work in
other areas, such as mutual recognition of
baptism and of each other's ordering of ministry.

CUIC met again last February in Baltimore to
discuss a new way forward. Bishop Warren Brown,
president of the AME Zion Church's Council of
Bishops, was present at the meeting and said the
AME Zion Church might return to full
participation. During that meeting, CUIC members
decided on several next actions, including a
plenary in January 2011 to re-affirm their
original commitments and to study the history of
Haiti, a country founded by slaves who won their
independence and impacted by racism throughout
its history and in the wake of recent disaster relief and recovery efforts.

CUIC's members are the African Methodist

Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), the Christian Methodist Episcopal
Church, the Episcopal Church, the International
Council of Community Churches, the Moravian
Church Northern Province, the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), the United Methodist Church, and the
United Church of Christ. The Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America participates as a partner in mission and dialogue.

The Rev. Rebecca Bowman Woods is an ordained
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister
and a regular contributor to United Church News
and StillSpeaking Magazine. She is providing
ongoing coverage from the CUIC meeting being held
in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jan 18-20, 2011.