wfn.org | Consultation on Church Union begins search for executive

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 24, 1999	News media contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-21-71B{162}

By United Methodist News Service

The search has begun for a full-time general secretary to lead the
Consultation on Church Union (COCU) into its transition as "Churches Uniting
in Christ" in 2002.

A search committee was named when COCU's executive committee met March 21-23
in Delray Beach, Fla. The Rev. Kathryn Bannister of Bison, Kan., a United
Methodist pastor and executive committee member, is part of the search team.

United Methodist Bishop William Boyd Grove said the executive committee "had
to make some other hard decisions" about staffing and finance. Because of
the expense, it is expected that COCU's Princeton office will close and
temporary space found until a general secretary is named.

Although COCU had substantial reserve funds eight to ten years ago, "the
communions haven't been giving enough to sustain the budget we have," Grove
pointed out. With only $6,000 left in reserves, "we have to live with what
we're getting."

Executive committee members approved a new annual budget of $197,000, which
will include $6,500 to begin rebuilding the reserve.

Grove said the executive committee is enthusiastic about the work ahead. "We
now see our task is to really fulfill the mandates we adopted in St. Louis
in January," he explained.

Those mandates call for the creation of a new relationship, to be celebrated
early in 2002, under the new name of Churches Uniting in Christ, and renewed
efforts to combat racism.

In order for all nine COCU member communions to fully participate in the new
relationship, more work needs to be accomplished on the issue of
reconciliation of ministries. It is hoped that recognition of ministries
will be achieved by 2002 and full reconciliation by 2007.

To begin that work, the executive committee has suggested that the two
communions with the biggest ministry-related concerns - the Episcopal and
Presbyterian churches - each name a representative to meet with a third
person to do some preliminary work. Later, Grove said, representatives of
all nine communions would meet to work at clarifying the meaning of
reconciliation of ministry.

The executive committee decided the documents adopted in St. Louis were "an
interpretation, a clarification and adjustment" to COCU's plan of action,
"Churches in Covenant Communion: The Church of Christ Uniting" and its
theological basis, "The COCU Consensus," not a replacement. Because the
United Methodist General Conference already approved those documents, Grove
believes no further action will be necessary.

Committee members also decided to delay the election of new officers until
the Oct. 17-19 meeting at Lake Junaluska, N.C.

COCU's nine member communions are the United Methodist Church, Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ), United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church
(USA), Episcopal Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, African
Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the
International Council of Community Churches.
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