wfn.org | Two churches in D.C. area welcomed into UCC

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

> Two churches in D.C. area welcomed into UCC

> Written by J. Bennett Guess
> February 28, 2010

The Central Atlantic Conference received two churches into the UCC on
Feb. 27, when Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and United
Christian Church in Lexington Park, Md., were granted congregational
standing by the UCC's Potomac Association.

Covenant Baptist Church is known throughout the D.C. area for its
vibrant worshipping community and its prophetic ministries of justice
and service. Founded in 1945 as an all-white Southern Baptist
congregation, a racial transition began in 1969 when the church called
an African-American pastor to serve its European-American
congregation. In its decades of service to its economically challenged
neighborhood in southeast Washington, the predominately
African-American congregation has developed a reputation for being a
beacon of hope, inclusiveness and liberation for the oppressed and
marginalized.

Last year, the congregation's senior pastors, the Rev. Dennis and
Christine Wiley, were among the visible religious leaders that
supported D.C.'s adoption of a controversial law that legalized
same-gender marriage.

"Many new members are joining the church, excited by our vision," the
Wileys wrote in a Washington Post op-ed column explaining their
position. "? Some who disagree with us have condemned us to hell. But
we believe that God has granted us the courage of our convictions."

United Christian Church in Lexington Park, Md., under the leadership
of the Rev. Annie Blackwell, is an ecumenical partnership congregation
of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of  Christ.

Formerly known as the Southern Maryland Faith Community, United
Christian Church is committed to inclusivity, service and speaking to
the holistic needs of those they serve.

"Christ calls us to be 'citizens in the world,' reads the church's
website. "We believe that our social expression of Christ's love seeks
justice for all humankind."

The Rev. Henry E. "Hank" Fairman, moderator of the Potomac
Association, says the two new congregations represent how the UCC
"continues to live into the future as a united and uniting church."

"Today we took an affirming step into the future in ministry in
community together," Fairman said in a written statement. "Isaiah
reminds us, 'Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of
Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.'
Thanks be to God for challenging us to be a progressive, liberal voice
in Christian faith, and for gathering us all in as a united church."

A formal service of reception for United Christian Church will be held
at Bethany Christian Church in Fort Washington, Md., on Palm Sunday,
March 28. A service welcoming Covenant Baptist Church will take place
on May 16.

The Rev. John Deckenback is Conference Minister of the Central
Atlantic Conference, which includes New Jersey, Delaware, District of
Columbia, and portions of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.