ELCA in Partnership with Churches Uniting in Christ

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ELCA) -- After almost 40 years of talks, the nine church bodies that formed the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) became Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC). A series of events here Jan.18-21, over the holiday weekend named for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., drew attention to the organization's emphasis on overcoming racism. While not one of the nine CUIC churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began its role as "partner in mission and dialogue."
Lutherans had been observers at COCU talks, which organized in 1962. The ELCA's 2001 Churchwide Assembly accepted an invitation to become a CUIC partner in mission and dialogue.
"The ELCA will participate with the nine member churches of CUIC in a program to combat all forms of racism," said the Rev. Darlis J. Swan, associate director of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs. "Secondly, the ELCA will participate as a full member of the dialogue on ministry," she said.
The CUIC member churches are the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church, International Council of Community Churches, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church. They include about 22 million Christians across the United States.
The nine churches will vote in 2007 about entering into full communion. "One of the things that will need to be more clearly defined as CUIC looks to the future is 'full communion.' What does that mean?" said Swan.
"The ELCA has very clearly defined 'full communion,'" said Swan. "I hope that this will be a challenge to the CUIC member churches to take a new look at their understanding of 'full communion' and what that will mean for the future," she said.
The ELCA is in full communion with three of the nine churches - - the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and United Church of Christ. The ELCA is also in full communion with the Moravian Church in America, which may become a CUIC partner in mission and dialogue, and the Reformed Church in America.
When the CUIC dialogue on ministry begins in June, key topics will include "what it means to be a bishop" and the "historic episcopate" -- a succession of bishops back to the earliest days of the Christian Church, which is part of the Episcopal tradition and not the Presbyterian tradition.
"They are looking to the ELCA to share some of our issues -- some of the things we have dealt with in regard to exchange of ministers and ministries," Swan said. "We have gifts from our experience that we can bring to that dialogue."
The ELCA delegation to the dissolution of COCU and inauguration of CUIC included Swan; the Rev. Jon S. Enslin, interim director, ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs; the Rev. Will Herzfeld, associate executive director, ELCA Division for Global Mission; the Rev. Philip L. Hougen, bishop of the ELCA's Southeastern Iowa Synod, Iowa City; Jennifer Nagel, a member of the ELCA advisory committee for ecumenical affairs, Minneapolis; the Rev. Karen S. Parker, a member of the ELCA Church Council and the advisory committee for ecumenical affairs, Huntington Beach, Calif.; and the Rev. Mark Wilhelm, associate director for theological education, ELCA Division for Ministry.
Hougen and Wilhelm will serve as full participants in the CUIC dialogue on ministry.
The ELCA is involved in direct dialogue with the African Methodist Episcopal Church and United Methodist Church.

CUIC INAUGURATION ACTIVITIES
"If we don't address the issues of racism, Christian unity isn't real. In this country the issues of the Reformation are important, but issues of race have also divided the church so surely," said the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, COCU general secretary and a pastor of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). "Churches Uniting in Christ is the first church unity effort that has really challenged the color barrier in American Christianity," he said.
Memphis is the headquarters of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the CUIC member churches, said Kinnamon. "Coupled with that was the fact that this was the place of the martyrdom of Dr. King," he said. "To make our commitment to combat racism together in the place that was associated with his life and death in such a way made a lot of sense to us."
About 300 church leaders took part in CUIC inauguration activities, which began with two days of workshops on topics from "getting to know you" to "what difference it will make." The dissolution of COCU came with a brief business session and worship service Jan. 19 at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral.
CUIC was inaugurated Jan. 20 with a service of the Lord's Supper at Mount Olive Cathedral, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Representing the ELCA during the liturgy's confession of sins, Enslin said, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America confesses that our strong focus on the children of our European, immigrant ancestors has resulted in a failure to reach out to people of other ethnic backgrounds and in our time has separated us from meaningful relationships with the poor."
"We made commitments to one another to share at the Lord's Table and to share members in Baptism," said Kinnamon. He called the weekend's events "the first public commitment" of CUIC members and partners to work together in God's mission and to combat racism.
The activities concluded Jan. 21, on the observation of King's birthday, with a rally at Memphis city hall and a march. "Dr. King was marching here with the sanitation workers, when he came here and was assassinated," said Kinnamon.
Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton took about 1,000 people on a 1.2-mile march from city hall to the spot where King died in 1968 -- the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, which is now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum. There a representative of each of the 10 churches signed an "Appeal to the Churches on Combating Racism."
Before signing the appeal for the ELCA, Enslin said, "Dear people, it is not yet a time for celebration. Still we weep, and we must work, until racism and all of its evil tentacles are fully destroyed.
"It is a great honor for me to represent Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and to fulfill the larger than 97 percent vote of our assembly to join with the Churches Uniting in Christ to work as hard as possible to destroy the evil of racism in our society," said Enslin. -- -- --
A video news story on the ELCA's role in the CUIC inauguration can be found at http://www.elca.org/co/news/video.index.html on the ELCA Web site.

CUIC maintains a site at http://www.cuicinfo.org on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html