United Church

Reformation without tarrying, was the watchword of 16th Century Robert Browne, father of Congregationalism. Last week, the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches, deciding that it had tarried long enough over a latter-day reformation, voted to merge with the 700,000-member Evangelical & Reformed Church. The new denomination, to be called the United Church of Christ, will number approximately 2,000,000 members. It is the largest Protestant union since the Methodist Protestant Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the M.E. Church, South were reunited in 1939.

Freedom Is Dynamic. Last week's two-day conference in Cleveland generated some heat. The 1,500 delegates and spectators jammed the Public Auditorium's ballroom so tightly that suits wilted and hairdos straggled. It was made hotter still by the vociferous opposition to the merger, led by big (6 ft. 4 in.) Dr. James Fifield Jr., 49, pastor of the denomination's largest and most prosperous flock--Los Angeles' 4,526-member First Congregational Church.

Cried Preacher Fifield: "We think Congregationalism has a unique genius to contribute to the cause of freedom in the U.S. The merger will destroy that--the autonomous, free, local church in contrast to the capital-C church on the national level."

He was answered by President Ronald Bridges, 43, of the Pacific School of Religion at Berkeley, Calif.: "Some churches," said Bridges pointedly, "get economically self-sufficient. They don't really feel they need the rest of the world . . . I'm a Republican conservative from Maine, and it's difficult for me to say this: freedom is a dynamic thing . . . Long discussion reveals the anemic spirit of the church, and long discussion seems to keep it anemic."

Spectacle of Schism? Just before the vote was taken, Dr. Fifield proclaimed dramatically: "If the merger is pushed through, the world will see the spectacle of a schism . . . You can break our hearts and send us home." But when the ballots were counted, it was 757 for to 172 against. Dr. Fifield summoned his followers to a protest meeting at the Hotel Statler. His dire prediction: 500 to 1,000 churches will withdraw to form a separate group, and litigation will begin over use of the Congregational name.

But what local churches do or do not do about the new United Church of Christ is, according to the terms of the merger, up to them. Following good Congregational practice, all must vote individually whether to change names, merge congregations, or just go along as though nothing had happened. The two denominations will definitely become one only on the national level, in their programs for Home Missions, Foreign Missions, Christian Education and Social Action.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.