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The
following is a call to action from delegates to the Eighteenth Plenary
of the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) to the nine member-churches.
Common
witness and service are two marks of an ecumenical body. The COCU
member-churches have chosen to live this commitment especially by
focusing attention on the need to combat racism within and among the
member-churches, in all churches and in society.
The
experience of the Consultation on Church Union makes clear that the
unity of the Church is God's gift expressed in creation and redemption.
This unity is given not only for the church but also for the whole human
community and all creation. It is the gift of God's own life offered to
all humanity. For this reason the church is called to be a sign and
instrument of the communion and justice God intends for all people.
This
truth informs COCU's search for visible church unity in particular ways.
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It
implies that there is an irrefutable link between the churches'
search for unity in faith, sacraments, and ministry and the struggle
to overcome racism in the churches and the human community..
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It
implies that authentic unity is inclusive and requires racial
justice within the life of the churches and of society.
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It
implies that our prophetic witness against racism and all the powers
of oppression is a primary test of the faithfulness of these
churches.
In
combating racism, the Eighteenth Plenary Session of the Consultation on
Church Union calls upon the nine member-churches to commit themselves to
a unity that is liberating and reconciling, a unity offered in the
Gospels, yet not fully expressed in the life and structures of these
churches. It is in this context that the COCU churches, seeking to
become Churches Uniting in Christ, are making commitments to change
ourselves and our society.
Something
is seriously wrong with race relations in the United States. One of the
most prominent and pervasive evils in our national heritage and cultural
routines is racism - that is, biased assumption about the genetic or
cultural inferiority of certain racial-ethnic groups, and/or
subordinating practices that exclude persons or deprive them of their
full humanity because of their racial-ethnic identity.
Racism
so permeates our customs and institutions that none can fully escape
participation in it. Indeed, no member of a dominant group can fully
avoid benefiting from it, and no member of a subordinate group can avoid
the intention of oppression. Racism is finally about power - the abuses
of power by a dominant group intent upon preserving its economic,
social, political, or ecclesiastical privileges and the resulting
deprivations of opportunity imposed on a subordinate group.
Unless
significant initiatives are taken to counter current conditions and
trends, racism -- especially white racism -- will continue to corrupt
our national and ecclesiastical aspirations for a society that truly
incarnates "liberty and justice for all." We, therefore,
appeal to the peoples of our nation and our churches for a renewed
commitment to combat the sin of racism and white privilege. The moral
integrity and credibility of both our nation and our churches are at
stake in this struggle. For the churches in COCU particularly, our quest
for visible unity is irrelevant -- in fact, fraudulent -- unless that
unity embodies racial solidarity and produces a vital public witness for
racial equality and fairness. The churches seek to embody this
commitment together, through the Church of Christ Uniting envisioned by
the COCU member churches.
From
the perspective of the Christian gospel whose mandate is reconciliation
of
all God's children, racism is demonic and sinful. It denies the image of
God
given each person in creation, and in the new creation each person
enters
by baptism.
How
then shall the member-churches of the Consultation on Church Union,
yearning
to become Churches Uniting In Christ, combat racism? How shall we
make
our vision of church truly catholic, truly evangelical, and truly
reformed,
visible through our struggle against racism?
In
view of what we discern that God is calling all the churches to be and
to
do,
and in view of the present impediments to effective responses to that
call,
this Eighteenth Plenary appeals to our member-churches to make the
following
nine strategic commitments, and to implement these commitments
together:
1. Continue to make a compelling theological case against racism.
Racism
must find no refuge in and no solace from the church. It is a denial
of
the truth known in Christ, who breaks down the humanly constructed walls
that
partition us into alienated communities of faith (Eph. 2:13-14). The
church
cannot be "truly catholic" unless it is fully open to all
people on
an
equal basis. The church we seek to become, therefore, must be a model, a
prophetic
sign of the unity in diversity of God's creation. Christians must
hear
this affirmation regularly and convincingly.
2.
Identify, name and share information with each other regarding
those
concrete
programs and initiatives in combating racism that are already
taking
place within our member churches. A consultative conference should be
explored
to bring together this information and to take further action in
light
of these learnings as a good faith first step anticipating the
inaugural
liturgical celebration of Churches Uniting in Christ in 2002.
3.
Claim Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances and similar
appropriate
occasions
for dialogue leading to systemic change. Encourage and enable
interracial
dialogue within and among churches, as well as among members of
the
whole community. When properly designed, such dialogue can be an
indispensable
instrument of justice and reconciliation - reducing fears,
suspicions
and resentments, and enhancing mutual respect and understanding.
The
connection between the date of Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance and
the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has important potential in forging
the
concerns of addressing racism and pursuing our unity in Christ.
4.
Take the discipline of social ethics seriously, because the
careful
arguments
and nuanced distinctions demanded by that discipline can save us
from
the simplistic exhortations that hinder effective advocacy. An adequate
defense
of some preferential forms of affirmative action, for example,
depends
in part on sound and subtle interpretations of distributive and
compensatory
justice. Social ethics can bring a necessary depth to a
strategy
against racism.
5.
Insure that worship is an intentional witness against racism, and
therefore
reflects the fullness of the Gospel. Worship is sometimes an
instrument
of racial separation and oppression. Not only is the eucharistic
table
divided by theological barriers, but also by the racial separation
within
and among the churches. As the member-churches of COCU seek a common
table,
they must evaluate all liturgical resources and practices and insure
their
racial sensitivity and inclusiveness.
6.
Maintain a strong program of Christian education on the dynamics
of
racism
and the demands of racial justice. Educational resources, like
liturgical
ones, need to be evaluated to insure that they are consistent
witnesses
against racism and for racial equality, especially in relation to
family
education.
7.
Engage in rigorous institutional self-examinations, searching for
racism
embedded in the structures, politics and programs of churches, and
set
goals for measuring our progress. This self-auditing is imperative to
overcome
racial offenses and advance racial reconciliation, while providing
targets
for change. It is most effectively accomplished in a context of
mutual
accountability, admonition, and affirmation among the churches.
8.
Renew the churches' commitment to the struggle for equal human
rights
through advocacy. In continuing the civil rights agenda, four
instruments
of justice seem especially relevant for our time: 1) the
preservation
and enhancement of federal civil rights laws, 2) the
continuation
of key affirmative action initiatives to address imbalances and
deprivations
caused by racism, 3) the defense of economic rights, such as
adequate
housing, health care, nutrition, employment, and other essential
material
conditions, and 4) reform of the criminal justice system.
9.
Develop resources to address the issues related to racism in the
member
churches' capacity and responsiveness to new immigrant and cultural
groups.
As
a first step in this "Call to Commitment and Action To Combat
Racism,"
the
delegates to the Eighteenth Plenary Session have covenanted together to
actively
pursue the commitment of our communions to combating racism in our
churches
and in our nation as an essential component in our pursuit to
become
Churches Uniting In Christ.
Combating
racism is a formidable task -- and eradicating it will appear to
many
as beyond realistic possibilities. It demands both the conversion of
individuals
and the transformation of churches. Yet, we have good reasons
for
hope and persistence in struggle -- primarily because God is ever
creating
new possibilities for racial solidarity.
The
commitment by the COCU churches to overcome racism and live more
intentionally
the unity and catholicity of Christ's Church is a promise and
a
prayer. It will lead us into deeper understandings of the triune God,
the
redemption
offered in Jesus Christ, the nature of the Church and the world
as
created by God. In this commitment these nine churches, seeking to
become
the
Church of Christ Uniting, will be a sign and foretaste of the unity of
the
whole people of God.
Adopted
by unanimous vote of the delegates of the nine member communions to
the
Eighteenth Plenary of the Consultation on Church Union, January 24,
1999,
in St. Louis, Missouri.
These nine commitments are spelled out in
greater
detail in "Erasing Racism: A Strategy In Quest of Racially Just
Unity"
- a basic resource document for the Eighteenth Plenary of COCU,
published
in Mid-Stream, Vol. 37, Nos. 3-4, July/October 1998. The Executive
Committee
commends that paper to the communions for study and
implementation.
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