Archive

From September, 2005:

September 30, 2005

UCC Office of Communication, Inc.

Outdated media advocacy group of the UCC seeks relevance

Ask the rank-and-file of the UCC if they have ever heard of OC Inc. and you'll probably get a blank stare. The Office of Communication, Inc. (OC Inc. for short) is the media advocacy arm of the United Church of Christ - a legacy of the UCC's fight in the civil rights era when media options were limited to a few television and radio stations where the programming didn't reflect the ethnic diversity of the audience, primarily in the south. A generation ago, OC Inc. was influential and carried weight. Their support of an initiative in front of the FCC gave it instant credibility.

Today, however, OC Inc. is a relic of a generation that was dependant on public airwaves for information. Challenges by OC Inc. to the FCC are rarely successful and often reflect personal, political grudges. In an effort to broaden influence and credibility, OC Inc. has even partnered with Issue Dynamics, a lobbying firm for the telecommunications industry. In 2003, OC Inc. partnered with Issue Dynamics in a campaign against WorldCom on behalf of WorldCom's competitors who had everything to gain by the demise of WorldCom. Separately, Issue Dynamics, dutifully defending their telecom clients, is currently part of a campaign against municipal Wi-Fi initiatives that would bring low cost wireless broadband access to cities like Philadelphia, in part, to bring internet access to those who can't afford it to help break the "digital divide". The UCC and OC Inc. would like you to think their initiatives are about the "public interest" but instead of challenging it's own partner, Issue Dynamics, the UCC and OC Inc. would rather play political games. If OC Inc. was serious about serving the "public interest" and in breaking the "digital divide," it should start by focusing it's energies where it might be most effective.

The world has changed and the information age we live in is becoming less dependent on the conventional broadcast media that existed when OC Inc. was originally created. It's time to consider a different mission for OC Inc.

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September 30, 2005

Former Hawaiian UCC Moderator blasts General Synod apology

(headline corrected 1/8/2006)

Interesting article in the Hawaii Reporter that's based on an apology issued by General Synod in 1993 for the Congregational Church's role in over-throwing the Queen. From the article...

The article goes on to say...

The apology by United Church of Christ is based on a flawed premise that the Church was complicit in the overthrow of the Queen in 1893. The Blount and Morgan Reports, including Queen Liliuokalani autobiography, fail to identify any complicity by the Church in the overthrow. Without any evidence of complicity, there is no justification for the call of an apology by the Church to the Native Hawaiians. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Exodus 20:16

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September 28, 2005

PSCE Conference minister gives bizarre sermon on unity

Pennsylvania Southeast Conference Minister F. Russell Mitman has posted a sermon on PSCE web site on unity titled "Christ-minded-ness". Mitman has recently been criticized for sending out a mass email stating that "church-stealers" which "may be aligned with and even funded by ultra-right-wing political lobbies" were "seeking to lure churches away". In his email, Mitman doesn't offer any evidence that there is a conspiracy to lure churches away. In his bizarre sermon, Mitman compares being called a liar to the sacrifice of Christ and the martyrdom of Bonhoeffer... again without substantiating any of his previous claims that churches were being stolen away.

Since the whole matter of churches being stolen away sounds incredible, I asked Mitman for clarification of his sermon and his response was "no comment" - which is his right. But as a conference minister, he has to be both responsible and accountable for the comments he makes about churches within his conference and his email and sermon simply aren't credible without more information.

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September 26, 2005

Jewish Leaders challenge anti-Semitic statements from Sabeel leader Naim Ateek, call for an end to divestment campaign

Last week's trip to Israel by a delegation of American mainline churches and American Jewish communities, hailed as a success by the National Council of Churches, included a visit to Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, leader of Sabeel Center which is responsible for the divestment campaigns undertaken by a few mainline churches including the United Church of Christ. From the Anti-Defamation League:

During a September 22 meeting in Jerusalem, Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor, along with other Jewish leaders, questioned Rev. Ateek about his position on Israel's legitimate right to exist, citing quotations from his book, "Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation" (1989), in which he wrote, "It has taken me years to accept the establishment of the state of Israel and its need – although not its right – to exist." "We read to him several quotations from his sermons and writings that we believed denied the legitimate right of the Jewish people to live in their land, and echoed medieval anti-Semitic canards," Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor said. "He affirmed that he continues to support the suggestion that if Israel had a right to exist, it should have been created somewhere else, but not on the Holy Land. "We accept it may not be his intent to disseminate anti-Semitism, but we made it clear that was what has been done," added the rabbi. "We hope that he may reconsider his language and imagery. But the significance of this is that those people and those churches that use Sabeel's writings and theology to support their political point of view potentially may be considered accessories in the advancement of anti-Semitic theology."

Ateek has been a darling of UCC national leaders and was a keynote speaker at the UCC's 2003 General Synod. Unfortunately, the story many in the UCC hear about Ateek and the Sabeel Center is incomplete and ignores the anti-Semitism that comes from Ateek and Sabeel.

The Anti-Defamation League also notes:

Apparently, the UCC wasn't listening as denomination leaders are sponsoring a Divestment Conference in Toronto next month.

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September 21, 2005

United Church of Christ Sponsoring Divestment Conference

The United Church of Christ is sponsoring a divestment conference in Toronto, Canada on October 26 - 29. The conference, titled "A Call for Morally

linked to the Presbyterian Divestment Resolution - even though UCC President John Thomas denied as much at a press conference following the General Synod vote. From the invitation:

The United Church of Christ is also listed as one of three "Co-sponsoring Friends of the Conference" which appears to mean that our denomination has contributed "at least US$2,000 to this effort" according to sponsorship information on the web site.

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September 21, 2005

Best selling liberal author raps UCC on divestment

Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of the best selling 'Why Bad Things Happen To Good People', spoke at Wayzata Community Church (UCC) Monday about the rise of fundamentalism in Christianity and Judaism. In the speech, he raps the UCC on the divestment resolution passed at General Synod:

His comments on divestment were only a small part of this great speech. If you don't do anything else today, listen to Kushner's speech from Minnesota Public Radio (Real Player Required) at Wayzata Community Church.

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September 20, 2005

Moral voice of the church

Pennsylvania Southeast Conference Minister F. Russell Mitman has sent out an email with recommendations for those not happy with the General Synod Resolution on Gay Marriage. The first idea is to write Associate General Minister Edith Guffey and the Executive Council of the UCC requesting that changes be made to General Synod "that allows the moral voice of the church to be raised and yet does so without forcing votes that make winners and losers." The second idea is that "each congregation will be sent a form on which individual members who do not agree with the resolution of the General Synod on marriage rights may sign their names. These will be collected by the Conference staff, posted on the Conference website, and forwarded as one composite document to the office of General Minister and President in Cleveland."

Mitman is trying to be reasonable here, but I think the premise of his ideas are flawed. In our polity, there is no "moral voice of the church" - this is for each local church to decide, not a national setting. We are not the Presbyterian Church and we are not the Methodist Church - we are Congregational which places this voice squarely and unequivocally on the local church

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September 20, 2005

Remembering Simon Wiesenthal

From our friends at the Wiesenthal Center:

Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi Hunter has died in Vienna at the age of 96, the Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today (September 20th). "Simon Wiesenthal was the conscience of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the International Human Rights NGO named in Mr. Wiesenthal’s honor, adding, "When the Holocaust ended in 1945 and the whole world went home to forget, he alone remained behind to remember. He did not forget. He became the permanent representative of the victims, determined to bring the perpetrators of the history’s greatest crime to justice. There was no press conference and no president or Prime Minister or world leader announced his appointment. He just took the job. It was a job no one else wanted.

The task was overwhelming. The cause had few friends. The Allies were already focused on the Cold War, the survivors were rebuilding their shattered lives and Simon Wiesenthal was all alone, combining the role of both prosecutor and detective at the same time." Overcoming the world’s indifference and apathy, Simon Wiesenthal helped bring over 1,100 Nazi War Criminals before the Bar of Justice.

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September 16, 2005

First UCCtruths.com Book Discussion set for October 18

We will be hosting our first ever book discussion on the book, Turn Neither to the Right Nor to the Left - A Thinking Christian's Guide to Politics and Public Policy on October 18th at 9pm EST with the author, D. Eric Schansberg in a live, online chat session here at UCCtruths.com.

REGISTER NOW BY CLICKING HERE

About the book
Schansberg establishes a frame work for discussing public policy and turns to issues of social morality, then economic justice, and finally, abortion. The analysis is thorough and his conclusions may be surprising. You will never look at politics and public policy the same way again!

About the Author
D. Eric Schansberg (Ph.D. Economics, Texas A&M University) is Professor of Economics at Indiana University (New Albany). Eric is the author of numerous academic articles and popular press essays—as well as two other books: Poor Policy: How Government Harms the Poor (Westview Press, 1996) and Inheriting Our Promised Land: Lessons in Victorious Christian Living from the Book of Joshua (Alertness Books, 2003). He is also the co-author (with Kurt Sauder) of a 21-month Discipleship Curriculum for Men. He is active in teaching at his church and has led expository Bible studies for more than ten years. Eric and his wife, Tonia, have three children (so far!) and live in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Where to buy: Laissez Faire Books or Amazon.com

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September 15, 2005

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September 15, 2005

Southern Conference Churches Pushed to the Brink

John Thomas draws line in the sand on covenant

In a stern "pastoral" letter to churches in the Southern Conference, UCC President John Thomas has made clear that withholding OCWM money or affiliating with the Evangelical Association are unacceptable forms of dissent. From the letter:

The letter is act of desperation and it's disturbing on a number of levels:

1. His statement that part of covenant is "to honor those elected to
   leadership in each setting" doesn't feel right. What is his
   definition of "honor" and where does dissent fit it with it?

2. In light if the fact that he is not planning a trip to the
   Southern Conference until January, this letter is premature. Before
   writing a letter like this, shouldn't he have at least spoken to the
   people who are concerned? Part of the reason for the breakdown is a
   sense that the concerns of some local churches are not being heard.
   The timing of the letter validates that concern.

3. John Thomas does not justify in any way how affiliating with the
   EA is a violation of covenant. For such a serious judgment, we should
   expect some rationale for it.

4. Is covenant a one-way street? Where does John communicate what he
   has done in the spirit of covenant with regards to the Southern
   COnference and those who feel disenfranchised? It certainly isn't
   reflected in the lettter.

5. What authority does John Thomas have to alone and arbitrarily
   decide who is and who is not in covenant?

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September 15, 2005

An Informational Meeting in the Pennsylvania Southeastern Conference (PSEC)

by Guest Columnist, John Loven

Read the ridiculous email sent by Conference Minister F. Russell Mitman

St. John's Reformed Church, a thriving congregation of about 850 members in Sinking Spring, PA separated from the UCC in 2002. They did so for some of the same reasons many other churches have: Because the UCC has moved away from the principles on which St. John's was founded and still embraces, and because the "polity" process is broken. Since the UCC General Synod of 2005, the office at St. John’s has been deluged with phone calls from people asking questions about their exit from the denomination. They decided to address these requests by holding a public informational meeting on Sunday, September 11, 2005, at which they could tell “St. John’s story.” A 2" x 2" ad was placed in two local Pennsylvania papers saying "Tired of Denominational Liberalism? There is an alternative: Informational Meeting".   My wife and I attended the meeting on behalf of our consistory. There were over 100 people present, including a bus load from the upper Lehigh Valley, a drive of several hours. Also in attendance were Conference Minister Russ Mittman and Assistant Conference Ministers Geneva Butz and Jonathon Knight of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the UCC. Pastor Bill Miller began the proceedings by reading from a recent email Mittman had sent to the conference churches – very much like ones we've seen from other conferences - warning that well-funded right-wing groups are sending agents provocateur into churches to steal them from the denomination. (My own church is without a pastor and the previous pastor had a private email address, so our congregation never saw the document.) Pastor Miller declared that: Neither he nor his church had ever done anything secretive or underhanded They acted on their own initiative They paid for the ad and the meeting with members’ special voluntary contributions, since there was no budget item for it. And anyone who asserted otherwise was a liar. He also invited anyone who might have come to be contentious, to take names, or to intimidate others to leave. No one left. By that time the conference brain-trust looked visibly embarrassed, but remained motionless in their seats. They observed the rest of the meeting, but did not participate. Pastor Miller explained a well thought-out set of ground rules for the session: There was to be no debate on, or outbursts about, the issues. St. John’s would lay out a detailed history of how they came to leave the UCC and offer a set of “Lessons Learned” for anyone who was interested.  Pastor Miller went on to make a very skillful presentation of St. John's story. Participants received handouts with with details of the history and useful guidelines. The presentation included testimony from a number of congregation members about how they came to feel certain that separation was the best thing to do. They strongly endorsed a very careful and thoughtful process, emphasizing "Don't rush, educate your congregation thoroughly about all aspects and possibilities and communicate extensively, prayerfully and well”.   Upon leaving the UCC, St. John’s chose to affiliate with the Evangelical Association of Reformed, Congregational and Christian Churches (EA). St. John's affiliated with the EA after looking closely at about ten options, including the 4Cs, Reformed Church in America, and Evangelical Free Church. They passed out a grid showing how six of the options lined up on the issues they cared most about. Issues included both theological topics (e.g. the deity of Christ, ordination of homosexuals) and organizational items (e.g. pension plans and health care). Pastor Miller’s advice was "Don't go EA if your congregation needs a lot of handholding" and stressed that the EA was not a denomination, nor did it have much funding. Being large and self-sufficient, St. John's chose EA as the best fit for a number of other reasons.   A few attendees had thought there would be more information presented about the EA itself, but at the end of the meeting, Pastor Miller merely said "I have more information on the EA if anyone would like it." No one was introduced as representing the EA.   The majority of questions after the presentation had to do with process issues: handling insurance, pensions and how to prepare lay leadership to discuss their relationship with the UCC. The message from St. John’s was again “proceed with great deliberation and care.” Their particular story, however, has turned out happily. All the process, ownership and fiduciary issues were solved and, three years later, they are well satisfied with the results of their decision. Pastor Miller’s closing comment was “We didn’t leave the UCC, it left us. And, as you can see, there is life after separation.”  There was a very friendly fellowship period afterward but the PSEC Conference ministers made a bee-line for the exit between the final prayer and the first cup of coffee.

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September 13, 2005

The Plight of Palestinian Christians

From the New York Sun:

By now you are wondering what this has to do with the UCC... continued from the article:

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September 12, 2005

United Methodist Church kicks off television ad campaign

In sharp contrast to the cynical "bouncer" ads from the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church's new television ad "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors." began running at the end of August as part of a $2 million campaign. Although the message is similar to the UCC's ad, there's a big difference in style and delivery. Unlike the UCC ad, the UMC ad doesn't make sweeping statements about other churches keeping people out. There's also no manufactured controversy - the ad is running on cable networks and on local television stations through grants given to local churches.

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September 9, 2005

Connecticut Conference moving swiftly on Katrina relief

The Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, which we regularly criticize for politically motivated social actions, is doing some great work providing relief for those who have suffered from the hurricane. Their plans are ambitious, apolitical and specific - and they should be acknowledged for the speed in which they are putting together a practical plan that will have an immediate impact. From the Connecticut Conference web site:

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September 9, 2005

Edgar and Wallis continue to politicize crisis in Sudan

Bob Edgar of the National Council of Churches and Jim Wallis of Sojourners Magazine are again trying to politicize the crisis in Sudan. According to Political Affairs Magazine:

Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, said, "It is unacceptable for us to sit idly by as people die. This is true whether it is in the Deep South or Darfur, Sudan. This genocide is one of the greatest horrors of our day. We urge people of conscience everywhere to call on our leaders to take action now before events force us to one day have to confess our sin of negligence and complicity." Today’s event also saw the release of a petition signed by many tens of thousands of Americans, calling on the President to act urgently to provide protection to the people of Darfur. Across the country, citizen engagement on the crisis in Darfur continues to grow, as Americans raise their voices to emphasize that genocide cannot be ignored. Rev. Jim Wallis, Founder an Editor-in-Chief of Sojourners Magazine, said today, "People of faith are united in their call for bold and immediate Presidential leadership in order to restore hope and security to the people of Darfur. Now is the time to put real meaning behind the words 'never again'."

The U.S. government has been a world leader on the crisis and is one of only a few countries to call the tragedy genocide. The roadblock for aid to Sudan is not the United States. Clearly and without doubt, the problem lies in the United Nations which has found itself paralyzed by the crisis in Sudan. Last July, the Washington Post decried the U.N.'s lack of action and it is obvious that any honest and faithful response to the crisis must be directed to the United Nations. Suggesting that the problem is with the White House, as Edgar and Wallis have done, is neither honest nor faithful.

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September 8, 2005

UCC 'Katrina' relief efforts turn political... and racial

You knew it was going to happen eventually. The United Church of Christ's Justice and Peace Action Network has linked it's campaign against decreases to the Estate Tax being considered by Congress to relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina... and even suggests that the disaster somehow exposes problems with "race and class". From the JPAnet Action Alert emailed today:

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September 8, 2005

Funk is Dead

Robert Funk, founder of the Jesus Seminar, is dead. Actually, it won't be official until the Jesus Seminar scholars get together to vote on whether he's really dead or not.

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September 2, 2005

How You Can Help The Victims of Hurricane Katrina