UCC GS28 approves Unified Governance, sends to Conferences

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

GS28 approves Unified Governance, sends to Conferences

> Written by Eric Anderson
> July 4, 2011
> The Rev. Bernard Wilson, chair of the Unified Governance Working 
> Group and pastor of Norfield Congregational UCC in Weston, Conn., 
> addresses General Synod 28 delegates as they debate the Unified 
> Governance bylaw and constitution changes. (photo Scott Griessel)

After discussion and debate that stretched from afternoon into the 
evening, delegates to the UCC's General Synod 28 approved the Unified 
Governance revisions to the constitution and bylaws by a vote of 613 
in favor, 161 against and 10 abstaining.

The UCC's 38 Conferences will now be asked to ratify the 
constitutional amendments before the next General Synod in 2013. The 
amendments will combine the five existing governance boards into a 
single, 52 member United Church of Christ Board.

Delegates wrestled for quite some time with the desire of some to 
amend the proposal. Because of the notification requirements of the 
constitution, the Executive Council had offered a clarifying ruling 
that substantive changes to the proffered amendments would be rules 
out of order.

"The General Synod has their own collective insight," argued the Rev. 
Graylan Hagler, pastor of Plymouth Congregational UCC in Washington, 
D.C., and moved to open the debate to allow substantive revisions of 
the amendments.

Assistant Moderator Caroline Peters Belsom of Hawaii ruled the motion 
out of order prompting Hagler to challenge the ruling of the chair, 
putting the decision about amending the proposal squarely in the 
hands of the delegates. The Rev. T. Michael Rock of Minnesota 
supported expanding the revision mandate, noting that local churches 
generally open their bylaws revisions in their general meetings. 
"What is our authority?" he asked.

Synod delegates, however, voted to uphold the chair, and did so again 
when the Rev. Madison Shockley of the Southern California Nevada 
Conference submitted an amendment to a section defining local 
churches as believing in the "triune God." Shockley objected to the 
language because he believed it limited the acceptable theologies of 
UCC churches. But again the delegates would not consider the amendment.

After over two hours, the plenary session recessed for the evening's 
dinner break, and General Synod voters refreshed themselves before 
returning to the debate. Robb Kojina of Hawaii endorsed the plan, 
saying, "This structure of governance is a missional model for us to 
do ministry in a post-modern world, that makes us responsible to 
discern God's voice in our settings."

Ryan Mathews of Ohio, a board member of the Office for General 
Ministries and active with UCC Disabilities Ministries, was troubled 
that people with disabilities and LGBT members are left with only one 
reserved seat each. "It's a message that's being sent that it doesn't 
matter that you have these gifts, because we only need one token," he said.

Jeff Whitman, Conference Minister of the Missouri Mid-South 
Conference, questioned the race and gender allocations specified for 
the new Board. "I have great trouble," he declared, "with 
guaranteeing 50 percent of this board to 10 percent of the body of 
the UCC. Have you really considered who will be denied a spot at this 
table because of the color of their skin or their gender?"

Shortly thereafter, the delegates voted to end debate and 
subsequently voted to approve the amendments to the constitution and bylaws.

If the amendments are ratified by two-thirds of the Conferences, the 
governing Boards of the Covenanted Ministries and other affected 
organizations will need to revise their own governing documents to 
accord to the new constitution and bylaws. The Executive Council will 
coordinate the process until the formal creation of the new United 
Church of Christ Board.