Former UCC President Suspended Pending "program of growth"

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

Former GMP has ministerial standing suspended pending 'program of growth'

> Written by Gregg Brekke
> January 21, 2011

The Western Reserve Association's Department of Church and Ministry 
has suspended the ministerial standing of the Rev. John Thomas, the 
UCC's former general minister and president, for at least a year with 
reinstatement pending completion of a "program of growth."

United Church News reported a statement from the UCC's Collegium of 
officers in August 2010 that said, "The Rev. John H. Thomas, former 
general minister and president, has shared with UCC leaders, 
including the current Collegium of Officers, Conference Ministers and 
others, that he and his wife, Lynda, are in the process of divorcing, 
and that he has formed a relationship with another woman with whom he 
worked while in Cleveland."

The decision of a ministerial fitness review conducted by the Western 
Reserve Association of the United Church of Christ's Ohio Conference 
was released today to the UCC's Parish Life and Leadership team in Cleveland.

The Rev. David T. Hill, acting chair of the Western Reserve 
Association Department of Church and Ministry and pastor of The First 
Church (UCC) in Oberlin, Ohio, submitted the following statement:

"Please be advised that The Department of Church and Ministry of the 
Western Reserve Association of the Ohio Conference of the United 
Church of Christ has suspended the ministerial standing of Rev. John 
Thomas for a period of no less than 12 months with reinstatement of 
standing contingent upon completion of a prescribed program of growth."

The Western Reserve Association is comprised of 80 churches located 
in the northeast corner of Ohio, and is one of five Associations in 
the UCC's Ohio Conference. Members of the Association's Department of 
Church and Ministry, made up of clergy and lay members, conducted the 
review and issued their findings.

According to the UCC's Manual on Ministry, while suspended, "[a] 
person cannot perform the functions of the ministry for which he or 
she has been authorized."

Thomas, who served for 10 years as general minister and president, 
left office at the end of his term in September 2009. Due to term 
limitations, he was ineligible to seek re-election. Thomas is now a 
visiting professor in church ministries and special assistant to the 
president at UCC-related Chicago Theological Seminary.

Asked for a response to the committee's decision, Thomas responded, 
"I find it incomprehensible that within twelve hours of being 
informed on the telephone of the WRA Committee on Ministry's decision 
regarding my fitness review, that word has been communicated to PLL, 
from them to you, and now is about to be communicated publicly by the 
United Church of Christ. This is before I have received formal 
written notice, before I have the opportunity to share this word with 
my family, before I have had time to speak to my immediate colleagues 
at CTS including President Hunt, and before I have had time to 
reflect with close colleagues on how I should begin to consider my 
response to WRA.

"Quite apart from lacking any sense of human decency, this so 
violates what I understand to be concern for the sanctity and 
confidentiality of church and ministry proceedings, or the concern 
for covenantal responsibility among settings of the church, as to be 
breathtaking. However, given the voyeuristic nature of the church's 
approach to intimate details of my personal life over the past few 
months, I guess I should not be surprised."

The Rev. Bob Molsberry, the UCC's Ohio Conference Minister, issued 
the following statement: "The findings of the Committee on Ministry 
of the Western Reserve Association of the Ohio Conference regarding 
former General Minister and President, John Thomas, while they took 
longer to produce than expected or desired, were arrived at through a 
careful, prayerful and prescribed process.

"In the United Church of Christ, the ecclesiastical standing of our 
pastors, including that of national officers, is held in local 
Associations. Duly elected committees of clergy and non-clergy 
volunteers adjudicate issues of fitness for ministry that come before 
them. We continue to hold in prayer all who were involved, and to do 
what we can to provide support for all the parties who have been impacted."

Current UCC General Minister and President the Rev. Geoffrey A. Black 
commented, "We are reminded that in matters of concern regarding 
possible boundary violations by ministers authorized by the United 
Church of Christ, it is the responsibility of the Association 
Committee on Ministry to respond by carefully conducting a fitness 
review in accordance with the policies, practices and guidelines 
outline in the UCC Manual On Ministry.

"While I am very saddened by the course of events leading to the 
decision of the Western Reserve Association Committee on Ministry, I 
want to acknowledge the thoughtfulness with which the committee and 
staff adjudicated this very difficult review. It is my hope that 
concerned parties feel that they have been carefully listened to and 
appropriately cared for during the committee's process. It is my 
prayer that as a church, we will be gracious and compassionate with 
each other and move forward together in search of healing and reconciliation."