The Rev. Ann R. Lougee
August 13, 2006
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Imitators of God

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved and gave himself up -- a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God." Such a reading gives us good reason and occasion to think about what it means not to be just a name on the rolls of a congregation but a living, breathing, "whole and holy" follower of Jesus, with our hearts and minds and entire selves converted – transformed – by giving our lives over to the God revealed in Jesus Christ.

I've heard it said that stewardship is everything we do after we say "yes" to God. Today's reading is one expression of what it means and what it looks like if we say yes to God. If we are truly given over to Christ, truly transformed, people will be able to see it. It will show.

I was mulling this over this week when I was cut off in traffic by another driver. I had to remember that I have on my car a UCC bumper sticker. I feel a sense of responsibility to bear witness to a loving spirit so as not to reflect badly on my church, and that makes me a kinder, gentler driver, if not always a happy one. Kinda trivial, huh?

A not-so-trivial thing is the challenge sometimes of "speaking the truth in love" in our church life. A faith community that is both loving and truthful is an immeasurable gift in our lives, but being it is challenging. I guess this is because church people are such nice people, and nice people have a deeply-ingrained distaste for, if not a fear of, telling and hearing truth that is unpleasant. Telling it in love, moreover, is a double challenge, as is hearing it in love.

I offer all of this as a preface to what I am going to share with you this morning. First, a bit of background: currently the Episcopal and Presbyterian denominations are divided over the inclusion of non-heterosexuals in their church life and leadership. The UCC settled that matter as a denomination many years ago in becoming Open and Affirming, but that decision is non-binding on individual churches and Conferences, since our churches are autonomous.

Last summer, the General Synod, which is a bi-annual gathering of elected delegates from all the UCC Conferences in the country, voted further to make a pronouncement in favor of Marriage Equality, that is, marriage for same-sex couples. This, too, is non-binding on individual churches and Conferences, but the vote led to real discomfort in some.
In the August/September issue of the UCC News, our national publication, The Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ (UCC) addresses the current situation in our denomination as follows:

"Reading reports from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church or the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reminds us that the struggle for unity amid sharp differences in the church is not a challenge only for the UCC. No matter what any national church body may say about any of today's hot button issues, the threat of schism, of a break in communion, is very real for all denominations.

"Since our General Synod in 2005 about 100 congregations have left the UCC and, most recently, our Puerto Rico Conference voted to disaffiliate. The reasons for these departures are many, but each is a painful diminishment in our life.

"The fact that there are also 65 other congregations in development or in conversation with us about membership is good news. But that news does nothing to offset the sadness of saying goodbye to churches and members who have been an important part of our life.
(An aside: The pastor of one of the churches that has come into the UCC as a result of such inclusiveness, The Rev. Cynthia Andrews-Looper of the 250-member Holy Trinity Community Church in Nashville, was quoted in her local newspaper, The Tennessean, saying, "There's a huge need for any church to be involved in something larger than itself. The thing that impressed us about the UCC is that they are issuing an extravagant welcome." Holy Trinity was formally welcomed into the UCC's Southeast Conference on June 25. Now back to The Rev. Dr. Thomas.)

"Conflict has marked the church since New Testament times, (as you can read in the letters of Paul, infer from the gospels and learn from the Acts of the Apostles.) Conflict was also part of the story of the journey leading to the creation of the UCC almost 50 years ago.

"Conflict has been a part of the life of the UCC whenever we have tried to stand for Gospel commitments of justice and love. Faithfulness is not about avoiding conflict; it's about how we respond to inevitable conflict. For leaders in the church, whether here in Cleveland (where UCC's national offices are), or in the life of Conferences and congregations, a large part of that means learning how to respond to the critics in our midst and beyond.

"It is clear that we face two kinds of critics today. There are many loving critics who care deeply for this church, seek ways to support it, and yearn for its growth and vitality. They find themselves in dissent from some of the positions of the General Synod and its participants, finding in the Bible and the church's tradition differing understandings of how we are to view contemporary social and moral issues.

"We need to listen with care, humility and deep respect to these loving critics, assuring them of their place within the diverse life of this church, finding ways for them to support those aspects of our national and global ministries that they can fully embrace. We need to be open to the truth that they have spiritual insights to nurture, even challenge, us toward greater faithfulness.

(Another aside: The Rev. Scott MacLean, a UCC minister and a Republican candidate for Connecticut's first district congressional seat, says, "While I don't agree with everything that comes out of the national setting of the UCC, I don't agree with everything my wife says either, and I have no intention of divorcing either one." He said this after his Republican primary opponent, Miriam Masullo, issued a five page letter on July 5 criticizing the UCC and MacLean's church affiliation. Back now to The Rev. Dr. John Thomas.)

"It's also the case, however, that there are critics who do not love this church, who seek to disrupt, distract, diminish, even destroy our life. These critics, within and beyond, encourage local churches to withhold financial support of our wider ministries, offer advice and counsel on how to leave the denomination, establish parallel structures for the placement of clergy and the sending of mission personnel, and regularly disseminate deliberately-misleading or false information about the denomination and its leaders. Those who love this church, and cherish its legacy, need to be clear in saying no to this form of critique which falls outside the bounds of acceptable Christian behavior.

"Discerning between these two types of critics is one of the great challenges of leadership today. It requires a deep humility to embrace the loving critics, no matter how uncomfortable their critique may be, never saying, "I have no need of you."

"But it also requires the courage to name those whose actions are out of bounds, saying to those who would disrupt, distract, even destroy, ‘I will not let you damage what is precious or diminish a vocation that is a critical dimension of the Gospel witness.' Such discernment is not easy. May God grant us the wisdom required for it and the discipline to do it." So says our General Minister/President.

If you would like to read more of the continuing dialogue, I invite you to read related articles in the UCC News. Subscription to this publication is free – I keep putting subscription information on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall, and I hope that people are taking advantage of it. You can also read it all on-line by going to the UCC homepage at www.ucc.org. And, by all means, let's practice speaking the truth in love, and listening to each other in love, in this church. As the Apostle Paul exhorts us:

"So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth... for we are members of one another... Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.

"...Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved and gave himself up, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Amen.