Churches Uniting in Christ seeks reconciliation

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
Jan. 18, 2008

Members of Churches Uniting in Christ are seeking to bring two of its historically black partner denominations back to the table.

The absence of representatives from the African Methodist Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church during the organization’s Jan. 11-14 plenary in St. Louis overshadowed the ecumenical event, according to United Methodist representatives. The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, which is also historically black, was present at the meeting.

United Methodist Bishop Albert “Fritz” Mutti, chairperson of the event’s planning committee, said the suspension of participation by the two denominations “dominated our discussion.”

Churches Uniting in Christ was inaugurated in early 2002 as an outgrowth of and 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 then-nine members 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 include the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Episcopal Church, International Council of Community Churches, Moravian Church Northern Province, Presbyterian Church (USA) and 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 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.

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