Toward the 21st Century

Seasons
of
Theological Reflection

The 1.5-million-member United Church of Christ is now immersed
in a "Season of Theological Reflection" to help the church discern
God's call for mission and ministry in the 21st century. Reflection
throughout the church is using the following
"Statement of Commitment"
affirmed in 1993 by the General Synod. The statement underscores
that the UCC seeks to be a church where all people
including those historically excluded by the Christian community
can find a home.

Toward the 21st
Century:
A Statement of
Commitment

We, the United Church of Christ, look toward the
twenty-first Century with anticipation. We trust God's
promises. We are eager to respond to God's call. We
believe that God does have more truth and light yet to
break forth from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A CHURCH ATTENTIVE
TO THE WORD

By God's grace, we will be an attentive church. We
commit ourselves anew to listen for God's Word in Holy
Scripture, in our rich heritage, in faithful witness, and in
the fresh winds of the Holy Spirit so that we might
discover God's way for us.

We are claimed in baptism as children of God,
disciples of Christ, and members of Christ's church.
Through sustained Biblical and theological reflection on
the challenges, confusions. injustices, mercies and
possibilities that confront us, we hope to discern
baptism's claim so that we might be the faithful disciples
these days require.

We want to remember whose we are. Therefore, we will
be faithful in worship and study, attentive to the Word
and nurtured at the Table. We will be a people of prayer.

We want to be faithful disciples. Therefore, we will relate
our faith boldly to all of life's demands.

We want all people to know of God's gracious activity on
our behalf. Therefore, we will share God's Good News so
that God's way may be revealed, God's forgiveness
received, and God's future affirmed.

A CHURCH INCLUSIVE
OF ALL PEOPLE

By God's grace, we will be an inclusive church. We
commit ourselves to be a church for all people and, in
Christ, we celebrate, affirm, and embrace the rich
diversity of God's good creation.

We seek to be a fully inclusive community of faith,
sharing bread and cup with all who see, in Christ, the way
to our common future. We believe that God desires our
oneness with all people, everywhere, and we long for the
day when we may all be one.

We acknowledge that we are far less inclusive than we are
called to be. Therefore, we will intentionally reach out
into the world and lovingly invite all to Christ, and to
participate fully in the ordering of our common life.

We acknowledge that we sometimes find it difficult to
accept the gifts that others bring. Therefore, we will seek
to be open to those gifts, affirm them, learn from them,
and, at the leading of the Holy Spirit, be transformed by
them.

We acknowledge that the world in which we live is far
more diverse than we have hitherto imagined. We
celebrate this rich diversity. Therefore, united in Christ,
we will reach toward it in anticipation of God's reign.

A CHURCH RESPONSIVE
TO GOD'S CALL

By God's grace, we will be a responsive church. We
commit ourselves to be a church of justice and mercy
and peace so that lives may be renewed, spirits revived,
and worlds transformed.

So many of God's people suffer. So many are maltreated.
God's good earth cries out in pain. Our world needs those
who will pursue justice, show mercy, and seek peace.
That is the church we hear God calling us to be. We want
"to join oppressed and troubled people in the struggle for
liberation . . . and to work for justice, healing, and
wholeness of life." UCC Statement of Mission.

We envision a world wherein "justice will flow down like
mighty waters." Therefore, we will stand alongside those
who hurt so that the hungry may be fed, the excluded
embraced, and the creation renewed.

We envision a world wherein mercy reigns. Therefore,
we will heal the sick, encourage the weary, and support
the dying.

We envision a world of peace for all people, everywhere.
Therefore, we will be peacemakers so that hostilities and
hatreds may cease and love, mercy, and justice prevail.

A CHURCH SUPPORTIVE
OF ONE ANOTHER

By God's grace, we will be a supportive church. We
commit ourselves to strengthen Christ's body through
renewed resolve and mutual support in our common
ministries.

In the immediate days ahead, our servant church will face
days of challenge. We will need dedicated pastors and
teachers. We will need vibrant congregations. Only a
people who share a common vision, who support each
other whatever the cost, and who are committed, together,
to strengthen Christ's Church for ministry will be equal to
the task. We want to be that church.

We believe that a vital church is a covenantal church.
Therefore, we will be supportive of each other and
accountable to each other.

We believe that a vital church is a sacrificial church.
Therefore, we will give sacrificially of our resources so
that Christ's Church may be strengthened and God's
people served.

We believe that a vital church is a "united and uniting
church." Therefore, we will seek to embody the oneness
of Christ's church through ecumenical commitment,
witness, and ministries in Christ's name.

This we believe, and for this we live. Amen.