Our UCC Legacy

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Our UCC Legacy

• That they may all be one

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UCC ConstitutionPreamble, Paragraph 2
The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its
sole Head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior.
It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who
share in this confession. It looks to the Word of
God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and
power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative
and redemptive work in the world. It claims as
its own the faith of the historic Church
expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in
the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers.
It affirms the responsibility of the Church in
each generation to make this faith its own in
reality of worship, in honesty of thought and
expression, and in purity of heart before God. In
accordance with the teaching of our Lord and the
practice prevailing among evangelical Christians,
it recognizes two sacraments Baptism and the
Lords Supper or Holy Communion.
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That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in
me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so
that the world may believe that you have sent
me.
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Congregational Churches

• English Puritan movement English Reformation
• 16th and 17th century England
• Rooted in Swiss and German reformations

John Foxe a noteworthy English puritan
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Puritan belief

• Deep sense of Gods sovereignty
• Belonging to God
• Seeking His wisdom in all things
• Determined opposition to political or
  ecclesiastical tyranny
• Endured significant persecution at the hands of
  Anglican church and English crown

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The new world

• Emigration to America 1620 onward
• Sought to establish a separation between the
  Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world
• Church should be separate from the world, while
  participating in its structures
• Puritan legacy
• Separation of church and state, religious
  liberty, freedom of worship

Rubbing from a pilgrim tombstone
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William Brewster and John Winthrop Early
pilgrim leaders
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Congregational Churches

• Local Church autonomy
• Separation of the church from the power and
  control of the state
• Emphasis on educated clergy
• Few restrictions on belief which led to various
  non-Calvinistic systems in America
• Deism, Unitarianism, Transcendentalism,
  Arminianism
• Large influence on Baptist and Presbyterian
  groups in America

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Henry Ward Beecher Congregationalist,
abolitionist, suffragist
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Jonathan Edwards Revivalist Preacher
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The German Reformed Tradition

• Huge influx of german and swiss immigrants in the
  early 1700s
• Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic regions
• Lutheran and reformed faith
• Driven from Europe as a result of political and
  religious warfare

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German Reformed in America

• Pastors were rare in the early years
• Heavy reliance on the Bible and Heidelberg
  Catechism for spiritual direction for church life
  and education
• Growth of clergy led to power being given to
  church consistories for decision making
• In order to balance influence of clergy and laity
• Pietism
• Movement in later years
• Mercersburg movement Phillip Schaff
• Re-emphasized the importance of the church and
  the value of liturgy and sacraments.

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Phillip Schaff
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German Evangelical Tradition

• Early 1800s in America
• Came due to difficult political and economic
  situation in Europe
• Many settled in Ohio and the midwest
• Experiential form of pietism common to this
  movement
• Response to growing rationalism in Europe

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German Evangelical Contributions

• Concern for church union believed to be the
  will of Christ
• Downside of which was a lack of theological
  precision among churches participating in union
• Can be seen in the church activities spawned by
  the Great Awakening

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Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr famous ER
Theologians
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The Christian Churches

• More Uniquely American than the other three
  that make up the UCC
• New England and Kentucky fellowships heavily
  influenced by Second Great Awakening
• Strong desire to return to the practice of the
  first Christians

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Christian Church Beliefs

• Simplicity in worship
• Strong emphasis on development of Christian
  character
• Belief in Bible as only rule of faith and
  practice
• Concern for unity among all Christians who held
  to these principles
• Deep appreciation for democratic form of
  governance

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Christian Church Contributions

• From their study of Biblical scripture
• An early voice against slavery
• Encouragement of women in ministry

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James OKelly Christian Church Leader
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A Series of Unions

• Congregational-Christian
• 1931
• Evangelical and Reformed
• 1934
• CC/ER merged into the United Church of Christ
• 1957

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The United Church of Christ
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Why?

• Several shared historical concerns
• WWI and WWII
• Growing awareness of racism
• Commitment to Christ and Christian unity

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A common vision

• Basic Christian beliefs in the United Church of
  Christ

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Gods Sovereignty

• He is the creator and sustainer of the universe
• Author of salvation, as manifested in the
  incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of
  Jesus Christ
• Christs Lordship extends over all areas of life

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Personal Transformation

• Through the work of the Holy Spirit there is an
  obligation to pursue a transformed life
• A movement from focusing on living exclusively as
  citizens of the world, to living as citizens of
  the Kingdom of God
• Pursuit of Christ-likeness

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The Church is Called by God

• The church is a people called by God
• Free from political control
• Individual transformation is extended to the
  transformation of society

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Local Church Autonomy

• The local church is the basic unit of Christian
  life
• Local Autonomy Guided by the Holy Spirit
• Handling its own affairs
• Managing its property
• Serving their community through evangelism,
  social service, and discipleship

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The Great Commission

• The Gospel is to be preached to all nations
• Modern missionary movement started by
  congregationalists
• Haystack prayer meeting
• Concern shared by other traditions that make up
  the UCC
• Not a current UCC emphasis
• Since it remains the will of God, FWC is
  determined to honor it.

Haystack Monument Williams College
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Women in Ministry

• FWC stands wholeheartedly with current a past
  leaders who fought for a womans place in
  ministry
• Rooted in the Gospel
• We celebrate the many thousands of successful
  women currently in ministry as well as those in
  the past.

Abigail Roberts Christian Church
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Social Service and Social Action

• Concern for freedom and justice is a profound
  Biblical emphasis
• UCC and its predecessor denominations
• Founding of universities and seminaries
• Hospitals and nursing clinics
• Homes for youth
• Leadership in the abolition of slavery
• Leadership in the modern civil rights movement
• Many of these concerns are central to those of us
  in renewal movements like FWC

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Challenges Today and in the Future
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Concerns of Renewal Movements

• All of the items just listed
• Shared concern for unity among Christians
• The great theological and cultural issues of our
  time necessitate cooperation among like minded
  church and renewal bodies

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The Challenge of Engagement

• Showcasing the shared appreciation for rich
  theological and ecclesiastical legacy of the UCC
• Continuing to engage those in the UCC who have
  moved further to the left
• Confronting the deep divide over Biblical
  interpretation as well as theological and ethical
  implications that flow from these differing
  interpretations

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What is Truth?

• In the 21st century, Truth has become quite fluid
• Loss of connection to history
• Historic Christian perspective
• Basic events and stories of the Biblical
  narrative are truth
• These events provide meaning to the Gods
  creation
• Science, for example, is limited in its capacity
  to explain many things
• The Christian worldview best provides an
  understanding for how we are to order our lives
  in the present day world

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Some Caveats

• Those of us committed to the historic faith have
  not always gotten things right
• Which is why our faith calls us to humility and
  conversation with all areas of the community of
  faith
• We do not disagree with UCC leaders on everything

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What troubles us most

• Use of traditional theological or Biblical
  language when it is not applicable
• Hearing that the Biblical narrative is so bound
  up with ancient culture that it lacks any
  trans-cultural value
• To yield to the liberal understanding of truth
  leads to a change in the meaning of salvation, of
  Gods interactions with the world throughout the
  Bible and through Christ to bring judgment and
  grace to the world through Christs atoning death
  and resurrection

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What we hold most dear

• What we in FWC uphold first and foremost is the
  powerful historic witness that these four
  traditions brought with them to the UCC
• These are Truths, a way of life, that we believe
  is not only good for ourselves, but for our
  children, and ultimately for everyone in the UCC
  and the world.