wfn.org | UCC/Justice issues dominate agenda at General Synod

[BARBARA_POWELL.parti@ecunet.org (BARBARA POWELL)]

June 17, 1999
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
William C. Winslow, press contact
(212) 870-2137
winsloww@ucc.org
On the Web: http://www.ucc.org

June 30-July 6:
General Synod Press Room
(401) 458-6701

Justice issues dominate business agenda at United Church of
Christ's General Synod 

     PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As has been true for its previous
21 national conventions, justice issues run strongly through the
business agenda of the 22nd General Synod of the United Church
of Christ, meeting at the Providence (R.I.) Civic Center July 1-6.
Of the 23 resolutions, more than half address social and civic
justice issues -- in many cases, concerns mirrored in today's
headlines. 
     A case in point is a moratorium on the catastrophic debt
owed by the world's poorest nations to international bankers. 
Some Third World countries owe more interest than their gross
national product.  Synod delegates will be asked to support
Jubilee 2000, an ecumenical movement calling for forgiveness of
debt.  Debt forgiveness was the subject of debate at a recent
conference in Cologne, Germany, of the world's eight richest
countries. And the House banking committee is now debating the
same issue in Washington, D.C.
     Resolutions are submitted by local churches, regional
conferences and their associations or national agencies of the
church, to be voted upon by the 700-plus delegates. General
Synod speaks only for itself and to the churches, not for them. 
But it does have the power of the bully pulpit, and many proposals
end up as programs and policy across the more than 6,100 local
churches, 39 conferences and 11 national agencies of the church.
     Health issues have always rated high in the United Church
of Christ.  What's different at this Synod is that three resolutions
address concerns of interest to clergy and lay
workers enrolled in the denominational health plan, but are issues
that parallel those of all Americans.  Open enrollment is one such
issue:  whether employees can come into a health plan at any time. 
A second resolution asks that claims for physical and mental
illnesses be treated the same, a crusade the Clinton administration
took up just this month.  Another proposal calls for stepped-up
efforts to recruit clergy with disabilities into the parish ministry.
     Teen and young adult suicide is another concern, with a
resolution for the church to study any connection between gender
identity and deaths.  Sponsors say that of the 5,000 suicides
publicly tracked, one-third of those who take their own life are gay,
lesbian, bisexual or questioning.
     On the international scene, there are calls for affecting
American foreign policy in such disparate arenas as Israel, East
Timor and American Samoa.  Previous General Synods have gone
on record in support of Palestinian rights, and delegates at this
Synod will be asked to work for a cessation of U.S. military aid,
both financial and in kind, to Israel. The resolution's backers argue
that Israel uses such resources to dominate Palestinian lands.
     On the broader world platform is global warming. Church
members will be encouraged to write their elected officials to
support U.S. ratification of the Kyoto Treaty to reduce greenhouse
gasses.  To date, 160 nations, but not the United States, have
signed on.
     While the United Church is known as a progressive
denomination, there is never unanimity in the votes on General
Synod resolutions, and floor battles can be expected in many of the
proposed actions, particularly the health proposals.
     The United Church of Christ is the largest and oldest
Protestant denomination in New England, stemming from its
Congregational heritage, one of four predecessor bodies of the
UCC.  The denomination, which has more than 1.4 million
members, was formed by the 1957 union of the Congregational
Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
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