Digest Of The Proceedings Of The Eleventh Meeting Of The Consultation On Church Union

Author : Keith Watkins
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1625644310
Total Pages : 263 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (256 download)

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Download or read book The American Church that Might Have Been written by Keith Watkins and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-11-03 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During a forty-year period ending in 2002, leaders of major American churches tried to unite their members, ministries, and public service in a new church they named A Church of Christ Uniting. Participating in this movement were four Methodist Churches, the Episcopal Church, the nation's largest Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the International Council of Community Churches. With a membership of close to twenty million, this church would have been spread throughout the nation more fully than any other church except the Roman Catholic. Leaders of the movement believed that this union would enable church members to experience their Christian life more fully. It would heal divisions that had existed since the Protestant Reformation 450 years earlier and displace the denominational system that was increasingly dysfunctional. By coming together in a new way, these churches could work more effectively at overcoming problems in American life--especially the challenges related to racism. Although the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) closed before converting its vision into a new form of the church, it had a significant effect on these churches and the nation. This is a story that needs to be remembered.