1/8/61

Scripture: Ephesians 2: 11-21

Text: Ephesians 2: 19 (Moffatt); “Thus you are strangers and foreigners no longer; you share the membership of the saints, you belong to God’s own household.”

Many of us are well aware of the movement of two major Christian denominations into a new union. Ours is one of them. The Congregational Christian churches, and the Evangelical and Reformed church have had under study and careful action, for nearly 20 years, the matter of forming the United Church of Christ. You found a chronology of events leading to the formation of the United Church of Christ inserted into last Sunday’s church calendar at morning worship. If any of you failed to get or keep that insert, and desire to have it, there are still copies available.

After informal discussion, then formal moves by the two denominations, a Basis of Union was formulated in 1947. Interpretations of this document were added in 1948. In February of 1949, with nearly three fourths of the Congregational Christian churches which voted having approved the document, the General Council of our denomination voted that this measure of approval constituted sufficient support of the Union to warrant the General Council to proceed with steps for its consummation. Meanwhile the E&R churches, through their synods, had already expressed their approval.

After certain litigation, the General Council authorized holding the Unity Synod of the United Church of Christ, together with the E & R church. The United Church of Christ, pursuant to the agreements reached in approval of the Basis of Union with Interpretations, was formed June 25, 1957 in Cleveland.

Two members of this church here in Wisconsin Rapids, representing the Wisconsin Congregational Conference, were delegates at that historic meeting. They are Mr. Henry P. Baldwin and myself, your pastor. At that meeting, no opposing vote was cast to formation of the United Church of Christ. This is not to say that there has not been some opposition which, unhappily I think, continues to this day. But the General Synod of the United Church of Christ was formed in June of 1957 by the affirmative votes of the delegates from both Congregational Christian and E&R churches, without any negative vote being indicated at that official gathering.

At that meeting, officers were elected, and certain commissions chosen, including one to prepare a constitution and one to prepare a statement of faith. The commission on Constitution worked for a couple of years on the document, submitted it to the churches for study and suggestions, revised it, and presented it to the Adjourned Session of the Second General Synod last July, 1960. Again, we had a member of our church, Mr. Baldwin, present as a Wisconsin Congregational conference delegate. That body, without a single dissenting vote, approved the proposed constitution for submission to the E&R synods and the CC churches. Their synods and our churches are asked to vote upon it before next June 1, 1961.

If at least two thirds of the E&R synods, and at least two thirds of the CC churches voting, approve the constitution of the United Church of Christ, the General Synod, which will meet next July in Philadelphia, is expected to declare it in force. And the vote of a CC church to approve this constitution will be considered its vote to be a part of the United Church of Christ.

There is an insert in today’s church calendar which offers some information on this constitution. Our church’s vote on the matter will take place next Thursday evening at the Annual Meeting. And so that meeting has a particularly important significance to us this year.

Copies of the constitution have been available for weeks on the Literature table. There are still a dozen copies there if there are that many more people who wish to study the document between now and Thursday. There were two study sessions on the constitution conducted here on September 25 and October 2.

Now, what is this constitution? It is a constitution for the United Church of Christ which has already been formed and is a reality since June of 1957. Its provisions define and regulate the General Synod and the recognized instrumentalities of the United Church of Christ. It describes the free and voluntary relationships which local churches, associations, conferences and ministers sustain with the General Synod and with each other. So far as local churches are concerned, they remain autonomous. That is, they continue to handle their own affairs; own their own property; adopt their own local constitution; call their own pastor -- just as we are accustomed to do now in the Congregation Christian fellowship.

The local church acquires, owns, manages and disposes of its own property and funds; controls its benevolences. If at some future time it should reach a decision to withdraw from the United Church of Christ, it may do so without forfeiture of ownership or control of any real or personal property owned by it. The local church is the basic unit of life and organization in the United Church of Christ.

What will we be called, if we vote in favor of this constitution and become a part of the United Church of Christ? Since we shall still be an autonomous local church, it is my belief that we may continue to be “First Congregational Church of Wisconsin Rapids” as long as we choose to be called by that name. If we vote approval of this constitution, as I hope we will; and when it is declared in force; I would hope that we may acknowledge our part in the union by adding on our church sign and on our stationery, in small letters under the name “First Congregational Church,” the words “United Church of Christ.”

I see no necessary organic change in the local church in the approval of this constitution. There will be some changes in the fellowship of the churches, mostly due to the fact that there may be nearly twice as many local churches represented in the United Church of Christ fellowship as there are in the CC or E&R denominations alone.

The time may come when the Associations will be asked to rearrange themselves. For instance, our Winnebago Association of Congregational Christian churches and ministers is too large for efficient fellowship and work. When E&R and CC are ready to come together in Associations, we may find ourselves taking part in a fellowship that is just as numerous, though smaller in geographical area. The State Conference of the United Church of Christ would probably be made up of a smaller number of local church delegates than now, so that the conference should not become too unwieldy.

Representation in the national body, or General Synod of the United Church would be accomplished a bit differently from our present Congregational procedure. At present, delegates to our General Council are elected by the Associations. For instance, I am to be a delegate to the Congregational General Council meeting next June 29th at Philadelphia. I was suggested from this church. But I was elected by the Winnebago Association.

In the new United Church of Christ, the delegates to General Synod will be elected by the state conferences. Of course, the conference is made up of representatives of the churches, just as our state conferences are now. But responsibility for the election of delegates to the national meeting is lifted one step higher on the ladder of denominational fellowship in the United Church of Christ.

The constitution which we are considering for the United Church of Christ preserves the principle, precious to Congregational churches, of the autonomy of local churches. It will encourage the formation of associations and conferences similar to those we now have, with much less authority than the area groups which the E&R churches now have. The names are those to which we of the CC tradition are accustomed.

Only at the National level is the name more like the E&R tradition. For the national body is called the General Synod of the UCC whereas our national body has recently been called the general council of the CC churches, and earlier the National Council of the Congregational churches. Even so, the name “synod” is not unknown to Congregational circles, for it had some use in churches of the early New England heritage.

We have long spoken of our national body as a council of churches -- using the plural of the word church. The General Synod of the UCC uses the singular; suggesting, at the national level, only a somewhat more compactly regulated body. This will not bring any compulsion upon local churches, but may make possible a more effective work by our national body for itself and in our behalf.

The instrumentalities of the UCC will undergo some consolidation, which promises to make more efficient and effective the channels of our outreach in missions at home and abroad, fraternal aid and service, ecumenical relations with other denominations, Christian unity, education, publication, the ministry, ministerial pensions and relief, evangelism, stewardship, Christian action, health and welfare and any other appropriate area of need or concern. The General Synod recognizes the United Church Board for World Ministries as the agency for planning and conducting the work now done by the CC American Board of commissioners for Foreign Missions, the E&R Board of International Missions, the E&R Commission on World Service, and the CC Service Committee.

Corporate members of the United Church Board for World Ministries will be nominated and elected by the General Synod, just as corporate members of our mission boards are now chosen by the General council. The same will be true of Homeland Mission and Service.

The General Synod recognizes the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries as the instrumentality of the UCC for planning and conducting homeland mission enterprises not otherwise assigned. This will encompass at best 4 of the present boards of the E&R church and at least 7 of the CC agencies [he enumerates them]. We have seldom heard of these agencies as separate entities in recent years, since we have been accustomed to their grouping under the general title “Home Boards.”

Once the churches, through their conference-elected delegates to General Synod, have chosen the corporate members of these World Ministries and Homeland Ministries Boards, these Boards function as separate entities, making reports to the Executive Council of the General Synod. We are now accustomed to separate corporate entities for the Boards which have served Congregational channels.

The action which we are about to take is upon the United Church constitution itself; not on the Bylaws. The Bylaws are expected to be adopted by General Synod next July, if the constitution can then be declared effective pursuant to vote of the churches. The Union, which now exists based upon the Basis of Union and which will be made effective by the approved constitution, is one uniquely characterized by the drawing together of two somewhat different church polities. It has terrific appeal not only to the two denominations first concerned, but to others as well. Some Representatives of the Disciples of Christ can hardly wait to begin negotiations for entering into the United Church of Christ. For they see what they want in ecumenical church life. And they are now a fellowship organized along congregational lines in government.

This Union is a most significant contribution to the ecumenical movement -- that is the Christian Church conviction that all the world is one; that humanity, created by one God, ought to have its alienations healed in a sense of oneness, and that the church should be making the most significant and leading steps in this direction.

Most of us do not realize how ecumenical the church now is! This local church is an astonishing cross-fertilization of Christian church culture. We have some folk in our membership who have been CC members all their lives and who in some cases are descendants of a long line of Congregationalists. We have not a few who came from Presbyterian training and membership. There are a number of former E&R folk now participating actively in this fellowship; some who were formerly Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Disciples or “Christian,” Baptist, Reformed and some of Unitarian persuasion. We have had former Quakers. We need not fear Union with one other communion when we already get on as well as we do with each other!

Our Communion service is already open to members of other churches. At the Lord’s table, we welcome those who sincerely love the Lord and accept His leadership. And the United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole Head Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of Men. It acknowledges as brethren in Christ all who share in this profession or confession.

We sing the hymns of many churches; in fact, the hymnal is probably the most ecumenical book we have!

Dr. Howard Schloeser, President of the Chicago Theological Seminary, has noted several points at which the constitution of the United Church of Christ is in harmony with both the ecumenical vision and the self-understanding of the Congregational tradition.

1) The Constitution now submitted accords with the New Testament practice of the early church. It also accords with the early conviction of the Pilgrims to whom polity meant little, but the gospel meant everything.

2) The constitution recognizes that the denomination does not create churches, but local churches create the denomination. “The United Church of Christ is composed of local churches, associations, conferences and the General Synod. The basic unit of the life and organization of the United Church of Christ is the local church” and it is a covenanted fellowship.

3) Nothing is to impair or restrict, or abridge the autonomy of the local church now, or at any future time.

4) The responsibility and liberty of the local church are rooted in the responsibility and liberty of the individual disciples who are members of that church.

5) The ordained minister who is pastor and teacher is recognized, and his status and standing preserved, in the same way to which we are now accustomed, without any hint of built-in clericalism, but with freedom to approach a deeper understanding of the meaning of “ministerial standing” and “pastoral service.”

6) Associations and conferences, corporate expressions of the churches in face of the world’s challenges, nevertheless have meaning only as extensions of local churches.

7) The General Synod likewise is an instrument in the hands of conferences which elect its corporate membership. It is a free and voluntary national organ.

8) The specialized agencies -- the Boards of Missions and the like, are balanced in freedom and coordination, yet drawn together for cooperative effectiveness.

9) Amendment is provided wherein a two thirds vote of members in General Synod may modify the constitution when it appears necessary.

10) Unity of spirit is expected without requiring uniformity of faith or action or organization.

The voting of the Congregational Christian churches is proceeding slowly thus far, but is now gathering momentum. Last month’s December 29th copy of United Church Herald informed us that 657 churches reporting up to that time reported 616 churches voting yes to approval of this constitution; 37 voting no, and 4 abstaining. More will be taking their votes at this time of annual meetings and other deliberative gatherings. Every Congregational Christian church is asked to vote. All ought to vote. Even those who do not vote formally will be casting a kind of voice on this important matter. And so we now approach the time for our expression of opinion and participation.

I commend to you the constitution of the United Church of Christ. For myself, I shall vote yes on the matter of approving it. And I earnestly hope that you, the members of this church, will be present in significant numbers on Thursday night to express your conviction about it.

I feel that we have opportunity not only to make a choice, but to be a leading voice in drawing together two communions, without break in their traditions, but putting them into cooperative relationship in a church that is not an erasing merger so much as it is a union of two significant Christian bodies.

I, for one, hope that we shall become a “Congregational Church” part of the emerging United Church of Christ for the sake of the gospel of one Christ whose body in earth the church is meant to be.

Said Paul to the Christians at Ephesus: “Thus you are strangers and foreigners no longer; you share the membership of the saints, you belong to God’s own household.”

The “household” can be brought one great step closer together in the United Church of Christ.

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, January 8, 1961.