wfn.org | Local churches will get a larger voice in the UCC

[George Conklin <gconklin@wfn.org>]

United Church of Christ
Office of Communication
700 Prospect Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44115
contact: Barbara Powell
phone: 216-736-2222
email: powellb@ucc.org
http://www.ucc.org

PROVIDENCE, RI - July 6 1999 - 
Local churches will get a larger voice in the UCC

        The Rev. George C. Martz serves the three-church Landesburg Charge UCC
in central Pennsylvania. His churches, he said, felt the General Synod was not
listening to the local church, approving resolutions on social action and
public policy that they believed did not reflect the mood or desire of the
local congregations.
        A resolution sponsored by almost 40 churches from the UCC’s Penn
Central
Conference asks that most General Synod business items be submitted to the
denomination's 6,100 local churches for comment prior to action by Synod
delegates.
        The final version of the proposal calls for the UCC’s Executive Council
to develop a feedback mechanism for issues coming before the denomination's
twenty-third General Synod in 2001. Local church comments would be distributed
to all delegates prior to their deliberation on issues. Their comments would be
part of the deliberations yet not be binding on delegates. Currently, General
Synod delegates are drawn from local church membership, but they vote as
individuals. This process, says the Rev. Lyle Weible, Conference Minister for
the Penn Central Conference, would not interfere with a delegate's
independence, but would provide for input from the wider church. The churches'
comments would not be binding on delegates.
        With the advent of electronic communication, especially the Internet,
Martz believes gathering comments from local churches would not be difficult.
This year, he noted, in addition to Synod resolutions being mailed to delegates
as usual, business items were also posted on the denomination's website. Church
members and others visiting the website can review the various documents, and
even post their comments on a bulletin board.