On October 2, 2011 College Street UCC voted to “pursue a deepening engagement” with Christ Church Presbyterian as per the Language of Affirmation and Support which read:
We, the congregation of the College Street Congregational Church United Church of Christ do herby affirm and support the direction and intent of the Proposed Statement to Both Congregations from the Joint Affiliation Team as presented at a Congregational Meeting on this day, October 2, 2011. In so doing we acknowledge the fact that we take seriously the teaching “That They May All Be One”* and we will pursue a deepening engagement between our congregations, using the above mentioned recommendations as a guide and outline in achieving such a vision.
*The Symbol of the United Church of Christ contains the motto for the UCC that emerged from the process of four denominational groups coming together in 1957. The motto is based on the prayer of Jesus from John 17:21 “That They May All Be One” and reflects our historic commitment to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ.
On November 20, 2011Christ Church Presbyterian voted to "pursue a deepening engagement" with College Street which read:
We, the congregation of Christ Church, Presbyterian do hereby affirm and support the direction and intent of A Statement to Both Congregations from the Joint Affiliation Team as presented at the Congregational Meeting on this day, November 20, 2011. We will pursue a deepening engagement between our congregations, using the above mentioned recommendations as a guide and outline in achieving such a vision
Soon we will begin organizing opportunities for that continuing conversation to broaden. In the meantime, some topics for your consideration:
Spiritual Formation
How do we approach Spiritual Formation and Christian Development? What do we value most about it? Are we creating sufficient opportunities for folks of all ages and at a variety of levels of interest?
Worship
What aspects of worship do we value the most? Are these effectively intertwined to help us experience the presence of God? How might we create opportunity to experience the ways in which each congregation praises God?
What is God calling us to do in this new century? What are the most pressing needs of our community? How does our mission interact with the wider world through our denominational ties? How does our mission work help us to experience God?
Identity
Who are we and how do we do things here? What are the typical characteristics of churches of varying size? What aspects of our denominations resonate with us? Is the wider church body to which we are identified helpful in our experience of mission work? Does our identity frame or influence our outlook and theology? How do our denominations help us in creating our sense of identity?
This is by no means a complete list, but rather intended to get our collective creative juices flowing. So we ask, “To which conversations do you feel God is calling you?
Jonathan Farrell
on behalf of the Joint Affiliation Team
I am very interested in your efforts to build up & empower the Church as the Body of Christ. So many Protestant denominations are doing just the opposite - tearing apart the institutional church-these days. I support your efforts enthusiastically and if there is anything that I can do from this far away, please let me know!
ReplyDeleteI want to make a comment about how I think about our affiliated "identity." I see affiliation as moving further into an "urban identity," and our being even more of an urban church. I see this as very positive because what we call urban culture embraces variety, multiplicity, diversity all within a particular "space." Those who share an urban space bring with them their various histories and cultures, interests and passions. Our CCP-CSCC affiliation will serve to enrich our mix as along as we can embrace and affirm our multiplicities and histories.
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