Church-uniting group seeks reconciliation with black Methodists

United Methodist News Service
ST. LOUIS—Members of Churches Uniting in Christ are seeking to bring two historically black partner denominations back to the table.
The absence of representatives from the African Methodist Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal Zion churches during the organization’s Jan. 11-14 plenary in St. Louis overshadowed the ecumenical event, said Bishop Albert “Fritz” Mutti, chair of the planning committee.
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, also historically black, was present at the meeting.
Churches Uniting in Christ was inaugurated in early 2002 as a successor to the Consultation on Church Union. For 40 years, members of the consultation had discussed how to unify across denominational lines.
At the 2002 event in Memphis, Tenn., the nine denominations participating in the consultation formally agreed to maintain their own identities and structures but engage in tangible acts of cooperation.
Besides The United Methodist Church and the three historically black Methodist denominations, member communions now include:
> The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
> Episcopal Church.
> International Council of Community Churches.
> Moravian Church Northern Province.
> Presbyterian Church (USA).
> United Church of Christ.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a “partner in mission and dialogue.”
During the group’s latest meeting, “the question that was in the room but not on the table was what to do about these who are absent,” said Mutti, interim leader of the United Methodist General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
The answer agreed upon by about 60 participants in the Churches Uniting in Christ plenary was to seek reconciliation with the two denominations, specifically through a joint effort by the heads of member communions.
A letter was sent Jan. 16 to the top leaders of the AME and AME Zion churches, with copies sent to the ecumenical officers of both denominations, United Methodist Bishop William Oden said.
The letter, signed by each communion head, stressed that “we are incomplete without you,” Oden said.
Oden, who serves as ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops, said questions of ministry and a lack of progress regarding racism seem to be the two major issues of concern regarding Churches Uniting in Christ for the AME and AME Zion churches.
Participants at the plenary were very aware the group “has not lived up to its goal of dismantling racism,” Oden said, but believe the AME/AME Zion presence “is essential” to fulfilling that priority.
The first call to action for Churches Uniting in Christ was a pledge to combat racism. Participants in the Jan. 21, 2002, Memphis event marched in support of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and signed an appeal to its churches on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where King was killed in 1968.
United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert, the ecumenical officer at that time, said the appeal was the first public step for the new group.
“We didn’t want to start with something simple, something easy,” Talbert said that day. “By making combating racism our No. 1 priority, we’re showing that we’re serious about responding to God’s call.”
The Rev. W. Douglas Mills, an executive with the General Commission on Christian Unity, pointed out that although the AME and AME Zion churches have not officially withdrawn from Churches Uniting in Christ, “the top priority is to seek reconciliation with the CUIC family.”
“There’s no moving ahead until we get that reconciliation,” Mills said.
A consultant, Billie Mayo of St. Louis, helped plenary participants focus more closely on priorities around the issue of racism.
Rather than just setting goals, “we learned that dealing with racism is dealing with relationships,” Mutti explained.
Beyond the racism issue, the overwhelming barrier to moving forward “with any form of unity” is the issue of reconciliation of ministry, Oden said. This issue, especially regarding the role of the episcopacy, was to be resolved by last year but was not.
During the recent plenary, “we looked seriously at whether or not we should continue,” he added.
The members of Churches Uniting in Christ agreed to carry on, with the heads of communion vowing to take a more active leadership role.