Resolution asking the
Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ to begin a process of Study and
Reflection in order to determine whether
the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ should declare
itself an Open and Affirming Conference.
Presented by:
The
Witness Life Commission of the
First
Parish Congregational Church, United
First
Congregational
Background:
The United Church of Christ and its predecessor denominations have a long and proud history of social action and justice in supporting those who have experienced challenge and persecution in their religious practice.
The United Church of Christ, and its predecessor denominations, has been among the first in the struggle for equality and inclusion for people of differing ethnic heritage, racial identification, gender, and indeed all minorities and peoples who have been marginalized by society.
The United Church of Christ was formed in response to the prayer, “That they may all be one…” (John 17:21) In recognition of this prayer by Jesus to the Creator, the United Church of Christ has declared itself to be a united and uniting, multiracial and multicultural, accessible to all, open and affirming, and a peace with justice church.
A number of congregations in the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ and Conferences of the United Church of Christ have undergone a process of study and reflection that has resulted in their declaring themselves to be “Open and Affirming” Churches and Conferences. In similar fashion, other churches and organizations within the Maine Conference are involved in a parallel process of discernment
The United Church of Christ respects and honors local church autonomy that is informed by faith and by our mutual covenantal connectedness. Within the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ, each congregation, each member, is a beacon, a lamp, reflecting God’s love for God’s people. We seek to gather together to further illuminate the world with the redeeming love of God as shared with us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each light, shall contribute its own radiant beauty and sheen on the path of our faith journey to greater love, understanding, and inclusion. This path honors unity without demanding uniformity.
Rev. Fred Hoskins offered this reflection in his 1957 address, “A Union of Hope”, delivered to the Uniting General Synod;
“We move in the hope….
that God will provide us with light according to our need,
guidance according to the demands of the time,
and strength to the requirements of every situation.
Our hope is that we may keep ourselves enough out of the way
that God can move in and find us useable instruments for doing [God’s] will.”
BE IT RESOLVED: The Witness Life Commission of the Maine Conference of The United Church of Christ is authorized to organize a process and begin a program of study, reflection, and discernment to determine whether The Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ should declare itself to be an Open and Affirming Conference.