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General Synod Update from the UCC Web Site.

SYNOD AFFIRMS FIDELITY AND INTEGRITY IN MARRIAGE AND 'COVENANTED
RELATIONSHIPS' 

Also: 
Votes for restructure amendments 
Adopts resolution on spirituality 
Urges action on seminary tuition crisis 

Contact: Hans Holznagel 
UCC Office of Communication 
July 7, 1997 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - General Synod delegates voted overwhelmingly on
Monday night (July 7) to "reaffirm that the standard for sexual and
relational behavior for members of the United Church of Christ is
fidelity and integrity in marriage and in other covenanted
relationships, or singleness, and in all relationships of life." 

The resolution said such values need to be emphasized because "we live
in a world often characterized by adultery, promiscuity, sexual
violence and pornography that have compromised our journey toward
human wholeness and human responsibility." 

Delegates voted to take no action on another resolution that would
have encouraged "fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness" as a
standard for ordained ministers in the denomination. 

They also asked four national church agencies to "develop a churchwide
dialogue on these matters" over the next two years. 

"As we know from our own struggle as a church with issues of covenant,
moral standards and sexual identity, and as we see from the divisive
engagement of similar issues within other communions, these are not
easy topics," said the Rev. Jana Norman-Richardson, Winter Park, Fla.,
who led a committee of delegates in studying and making
recommendations on both resolutions over the weekend. 

In commending to delegates the "fidelity and integrity" resolution,
Norman-Richardson said it signified a reiteration of existing 
standards of behavior and a "celebration" of diverse relationships "in
which covenant, commitment, fidelity and integrity are essential and
foundational." 

Existing UCC documents include a code in which ordained ministers
pledge to "live a life which honors my commitments to my family," and
pledges of faithfulness that are part of the Order for Marriage in the
UCC's Book of Worship. 

But the Rev. David Runnion-Bareford of Candia, N.H., director of the
UCC's Biblical Witness Fellowship, said the Synod was straying from
"fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness," which he saw as a
clear and absolute New Testament standard that the church should
uphold. He called the Synod resolution an "arrogant" attempt to
"redefine alternative relationships" to be on a par with heterosexual
marriage. 

The debate tonight was the latest manifestation of 20 years of tension
between the Synod and the Biblical Witness Fellowship over matters of
human sexuality. The BWF, a small group that sees itself as upholding
"the historic Christian faith" over and against the wider UCC, was
formed after the 1977 Synod adopted "Human Sexuality: A Preliminary
Report." 

The BWF believes the Bible sets clear, absolute rules in human
sexuality and many other areas, and wants the church to exhort members
to follow those rules. The Synod, in its 1977 document and others
since, has preferred to trust individuals, families and local churches
to consider matters of sexuality in the context of faith, and to
provide them with resources for studying the Bible as well as
principles such as mutual responsibility, honesty, justice, health and
age-level appropriateness. 

The Synod has also encouraged the denomination to be "open and
affirming" to gay and lesbian people. 

And yet there was a conciliatory note in the debate. Norman-Richardson
and other delegates said they hoped the Synod's choice to take "no
action" - instead of voting "no" - on the "fidelity and chastity"
resolution would be a strong signal that a variety of viewpoints,
including those of the Biblical Witness Fellowship and others who
disagree with the Synod, are welcome in the UCC. 

SYNOD ADOPTS AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION, PAVING WAY FOR RESTRUCTURING
OF CHURCHWIDE MINISTRIES 

Contact: Tim Kershner 
UCC Office of Communication 
July 7, 1997 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - After a moment of silent prayer and a verse of
"Amazing Grace," the United Church of Christ this afternoon took
another step in the process of restructuring its national settings,
preparing for the mission challenges of the 21st century. 

In rejecting proposed changes and delays and approving a series of
amendments to the UCC Constitution, delegates to the church's 21st
General Synod okayed a governance system for restructured national
agencies. Church leaders working on the restructuring plan said they
hoped the reconfiguring of nine national UCC offices into four larger
ministry units would contribute toward a more "covenantal"
relationship among the 6,100 local churches and their national and
international agencies and ministries. 

The constitutional amendments now go to the church's 39 regional
bodies, known as "conferences," for ratification. If the amendments
gain approval from two-thirds of the conferences, the new structure
will be put in place in June 2000 instead of 1999, thanks to a new
timeline also approved by delegates today. 

"This has been a Synod of enormous historic moment," said UCC
President Paul Sherry after the vote, which came less than two days
after a vote to enter into full communion with the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America. "I thank each of you for your efforts in
bringing about these changes, the honesty of your expressions, and
your vision of who we are and who we hope to be." 

If ratified, the changes will replace a governance system that dates
back to the founding of the United Church of Christ 40 years ago. The
church is approaching its "middle age," said the Rev. Talitha Arnold
of Santa Fe, N.M., who led a committee of delegates in studying and
debating the proposed changes this past weekend. "New ages teach new
duties and demand new structures." 

The constitutional changes call for the church's national
"instrumentalities" and executive offices to be grouped into four new
"covenanted ministries" - Local Church Ministries, Wider Church
Ministries, Justice and Witness Ministries and an Office of General
Ministries. In addition, "affiliated" and "associated" ministries are
created to account for two other agencies - The Pension Boards and
United Church Foundation - which operate under separate bylaws. 

Revised bylaws, which will add meat to the constitutional bones, are
scheduled for presentation at the next General Synod in 1999. 

Although the amendments were eventually approved by overwhelming
majorities, the final vote followed more than three hours of
discussion and debate. Of special concern to many delegates was the
Synod representation that the new governance system will give to the
boards of directors of the new covenanted ministries. The boards,
comprised of 55 to 58 members selected by the General Synod, will have
full voting rights at each biennial Synod. 

Some delegates worried about a "voting block" from national
ministries, fearing it could overwhelm the voices of delegates from
conferences. 

"The message this sends to the local church suggests a top-heavy
structure," said the Rev. Donald Freeman, Lancaster, Pa. He proposed
that only one-third of Synod delegates from covenanted ministry boards
be allowed Synod voting privileges. His motion and another motion,
proposed by David Hill, Jefferson, Ohio, which sought to eliminate all
voting privileges for Synod delegates from national ministries, were
both defeated. 

"We do not trust power in North Dakota," said Carl Limvere from the
Northern Plains Conference. "If we are to be in covenant, then we need
to be together. Those who do the work of the church should have a
voice in the church. It's not a question of accountability, it is a
question of covenant." 

Also defeated overwhelmingly was a proposal introduced July 3 by the
Central Atlantic Conference, which would have delayed the vote on the
new structure until 1999, when budgets, bylaws and other details will
be available. 

But the Rev. Mark Wakefield of Middletown, Md., said he hoped one
intention of the Central Atlantic resolution could still be achieved.
He called upon church leaders to create a system that would encourage
local churches to understand the fine points of the new structure in
the coming two years. "It is said the devil is in the details. Well,
the hope can be found there as well," he said. 

QUOTES OF THE DAY:

"In the United States we believe that the government is to protect the
human rights of all persons. When the military of the United States
provides assistance to other nations they are to do so under the
principles of democracy and equal justice. . . . The School of the
Americas has defamed the integrity of this nation by teaching persons
from other nations ways to destroy the rights of persons in other
societies." 
-- The Rev. Ralph Quellhorst, conference minister of the Ohio
Conference, at a demonstration of General Synod delegates calling on
the U.S. Government to close the School of the Americas, a training
center for Central American military personnel. 

"For a church with 'united' in its name, I sure heard a lot of calls
for 'division of the house'." 
-- Anonymous comment heard in the Convention Center men's room. 

"I love to see adults fighting over hymns." 
-- Arthur Clyde, editor of The New Century Hymnal, commenting on
requests for favorite hymns during a sing-in Saturday night. 

IN OTHER ACTION MONDAY THE GENERAL SYNOD: 

Called the United Church of Christ to rediscover, appreciate and
practice diverse spiritual practices among its multiethnic,
multicultural membership. National instrumentalities were requested to
collect and publish resources for renewing the UCC's spiritual life
and promote those already available such as The New Century Hymnal and
The Book of Worship. Seminaries were asked to include a variety of
spiritual disciplines in their curricula and to offer training in
spiritual direction for clergy. 

Asked that the Synod, individual churches, conferences and
associations "be educated about the anti-Semitic, racist activities of
the Christian Identity Movement," especially in places where the
movement is present. The Board for Homeland Ministries was requested
to provide educational resources that will help church members
dialogue with Christian Identity groups in their communities when the
opportunity arises. The decision-making body further encouraged
"peaceful and just public opposition to extremism whenever the need
arises." 

Condemned the 1996 Federal welfare reform act as unconscionable and
called upon local UCC churches, associations, conferences and
instrumentalities to become informed about how the new welfare system
will challenge their ministries. The various church settings also were
asked to engage in education and advocacy; provide personal support
and encouragement for persons currently on or who have recently
received public assistance; and offer child care and interim
transportation for working parents and other ministries of service. 

Voiced alarm at the financial plight of seminarians, many of whom
amass debts of $50,000 or more before they ever see a paycheck. It
directed the Office for Church Life and Leadership to develop a plan
for relief and recommended local churches commit 2 percent of their
operating costs to seminary support. 

Received a report from the Calvin Synod calling for adherence "to the
authority of the Holy Bible and the basic creeds and confessions of
our faith." The Calvin Synod is a non-geographical acting conference
of ethnic Hungarian Reformed churches in the UCC. 

ALSO IN SYNOD NEWS: 

About 250 Synod delegates marched at noon Monday to the Federal
Building in downtown Columbus to protest U.S. funding for the School
of the Americas. Graduates of the school - which trains military
officers from Central America - have been involved in acts of
terrorism and torture, including the deaths of six Jesuit priests in
El Salvador. The school's training manuals, leaked to the press,
instructed students in torture techniques. On Sunday, Synod voted to
ask Congress to close the School. On Wednesday, the U.S. House of
Representatives appropriations committee will vote on an amendment to
block funding. 

Contributors to the writing, editing and production of this update
were Laurie Bartels, Hans Holznagel, Tim Kershner, Andy Lang, Clifford
L. Willis and William C. Winslow. We're also grateful to our
volunteers: Lucy Brady, Beng Seng Chan, Carlen Brings Horse, Janet
Kelly, Truman McCombs Maxey, Virginia Michaels, Terrell Smith, Heather
Taken Alive and James White Mountain. 

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