The Church I'm Proud to Call My Own
Dear Friends,
After being ordained in the Presbyterian Church, USA in 1990, it wasn’t until about the year 1996 or so when I served as an interim pastor in my first United Church of Christ. Point Place UCC in Toledo, Ohio was a very warm, welcoming congregation to say the least. My first Sunday, I received over 75 hugs and kisses on the cheek, which was the normal way of greeting each other in that church. It wasn’t just me; it was everyone who walked through the door. This Presbyterian pastor was in a bit of a love rush shock after being there! I wondered if all UCC churches were as affectionate as this one. (answer: no, but all seem very welcoming) While interim pastor of that church, I attended the UCC clergy cluster where I saw that the clergy were full of trust and love for each other. This was very different from the Presbyterian church where it felt to me as if clergy were competing with each other. I went to Association meetings which were far different from the very business-filled Presbytery meetings. My next interim was also UCC church in Findlay, Ohio, so a different but clergy cluster. Two members of the Toledo cluster called me, begging me to continue to attend their cluster because they missed me and cared about me. This UCC church was growing on me! After that interim position, I served both Presbyterian and UCC congregations as an interim pastor, so I asked for “dual standing” in both denominations, which I was granted after meeting with Committee on Ministry in NW Ohio Association. And eventually, in 2001, I dropped the PCUSA standing and became fully UCC. It was like going from high heels to slippers.
Now, I don’t want you to think that I didn’t like or thought the Presbyterians are wrong in some way. It just wasn’t the right fit for me. In the UCC, we are a congregational system. Each congregation has a constitution and sometimes bylaws which order and structure their own church. Most look very similar to each other, especially in their constitutions, while bylaws may differ a bit. Each Association, and Conference has its own constitution and the national church has its own as well. These differing levels of constitutions are not “over” or authoritative for congregations in any way. We live in “covenant” with each other, so we respect each other’s ways of being church, and we in the local congregation are in covenant with our Association, Conference and the National Church. Because we have local ways of ordering ourselves, so when we gather, there is not as much “business” to conduct as in denominations where there are national constitutions. Our Association and Conference meetings, therefore, are often educational and mostly feel like a family reunion. When we go to meetings, we see people from other churches, get to know them, socialize with them, and learn about their way of being church. We eat together and learn together and yes, do a bit of business too, to elect new staff members, new conference or association staff, to perhaps change a bylaw or constitutional change, to talk about finances.
I love the United Church of Christ with all my heart. I love that we can be family first and do business, just like a family does business. I’ve seen pastors in arguments and then hug each other because of their love and respect for one another. I love that each congregation can decide for itself how to order their own church in their own setting. And I love that we belong to each other whether we’re in Lincoln, Illinois or Honolulu, Hawaii. I love the emphasis on welcome and love for our neighbor: each other, children, and creation. I love that we value unity with all and work to unify; freedom of belief; covenant with not only each other in differing levels of our church but for all people, everywhere, no matter where they are on life’s journey. I love that our gatherings are both fun and meaningful. I love that we acknowledge that we believe in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit at the same time valuing diversity in all ways: We worship in different ways, express our prayer life and preach in different ways, we talk different, and we structure ourselves differently, yet we all believe together in Christ’s hope: that all maybe ONE. That’s the UCC, the church I’m happy and proud to call my own.
Peace,
Pastor Laurie