CHURCHES UNITING IN CHRIST SEEKS END OF RACISM

MEMPHIS, TENN. - November 14, 2001 - Leaders of nine denominations representing 22 million American Christians will commit themselves before God at a liturgical service on Sunday, January 20, 2002, to work toward a more clear expression of their unity and to fight against racism. The following day - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - they will sign a document at a public ceremony appealing to all Christians to end racism.

The Memphis ceremonies celebrate an historic step in Christian ecumenism linked to a new national effort to battle the vestiges of institutional racism.

The events will inaugurate a relationship among Christians called Churches Uniting In Christ (CUIC) in the city where King was slain and on the national day in his memory. It was King who once called the period from 11 a.m. until noon on Sundays "the most segregated hour in America." January 20th also is the beginning of the international Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is observed in more than 100 countries.

Seen as the most comprehensive church unity movement in U.S. history, CUIC represents a new way of being church, not a new council of churches and not a restructuring of church organizations, say leaders of the movement.

About 300 representatives of the following denominations will gather in Memphis in the days before the King holiday to worship, study and publicly announce their intentions:

In addition, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has voted to become a partner "in mission and dialogue" in CUIC, and the Moravian Church, Northern and Southern Provinces, are expected to approve the same relationship in their general synods to be held next spring and summer.

The January inauguration of CUIC immediately follows the termination of Consultation on Church Union, or COCU, after 40 years of discussions among the church organizations. Other church communions, including the Roman Catholic Church, although not full members, have participated in the process almost from the beginning.

According to COCU/CUIC General Secretary, The Rev. Dr. Michael K. Kinnamon, "The four-decade-long period of only consulting thus ends; the time to live out our unity in Christ and to be a witness for racial reconciliation - especially at the local church and community level - hereby begins."

CUIC provides new ways for millions of Americans to carry out their faith, by increasing the number of shared worship services, ministries and missions throughout the country. At its core, CUIC promises to change the very way Christians view each other by mutual recognition and respect for the "gifts" each tradition brings.

CUIC offers common ground for sacred practices such as baptism and communion and for combating racism in all of its forms. "It is important to understand that many Christians already are living out CUIC in many respects and in many places across the country," said Dr. Kinnamon.

Denominational leaders - clergy and laity - will gather on January 20th at the historic Mt. Olive CME Cathedral in Memphis, where King visited several times starting in 1957 when he spoke at a Civil Rights' rally. Here, they will pledge before God and to the world that they will recognize one baptism, they will periodically celebrate the Eucharist together, and they will work together to achieve a shared vision of disabling racism at every level of American society. 

CUIC also continues theological discussions, including how to reconcile differences regarding ministry, with the expectation of reaching a consensus on this issue by 2007.

COCU/CUIC offices are in Lowell, Mass.

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Editor's note: For more information on the January event in Memphis, contact David Brown of Conaway Brown, at 901-527-6163. To arrange an interview with Dr. Michael Kinnamon, please contact Lois Ford Long, director of media relations at Eden Theological Seminary, 314-918-2568 (office), 314-210-0464 (mobile) or at cuic@ucc.org. 

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