Potomac Association
UCC History Institute
April 4, 2009 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Location:
Bethel United Church of Christ
4347 Arlington Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22203
703 528-0937

Directions and parking:
Bethel Church does not have a parking lot, however, on Saturdays there is plenty of parking in the Arlington American Red Cross parkinng lot. The hyperlink giving directions to the church is undergoing reconstruction, but here are directions to the Red Cross office.

This Institute is part of a sequence of four Institutes that will be offered each year in History, Polity, Theology and Ministry of the UCC by the Potomac Association, following the guidelines prepared by History, Theology and Polity teachers on the essentials of a basic one semester course. (see the complete Essentials list). The Institute format is designed to serve the needs of persons who cannot enroll in a regular semester length seminary course to cover this material. The Institutes normally meet from 10 am to 4 pm on a Saturday, with the exception of the Polity Institute which meets on the Friday before the Central Atlantic Conference UCC from 10 am to 4 pm and requires Saturday attendance at the CAC Annual meeting at the University of Delaware.

Participants seeking formal evaluation for authorized ministerial standing are expected to do pre-Institute reading and assignments before coming to the Institute. Several weeks after each Institute participants seeking formal evaluation submit answers to a set of follow-up questions and participate in a 45 minute conference telephone evaluation with members of the Committee on Church and Ministry. Observer participants (those not seeking evaluation) are strongly encouraged to do the advanced reading and assignments, but are not expected to make in class presentations or do other written assignments..

ASSIGNMENTS:
Required reading assignments may be downloaded from this website or from other websites on the worldwide web. Some materials are pdf files.  To read these you will need to download Acrobat Reader (a free software). Required reading is indicated and optional readings are suggested. There are also practical field assignments in addition to readings and short presentations that need to be developed before the date of each Institute. These UCC Institutes are enrichment opportunities for all members of the UCC who want to learn more about the history, polity, theology and ministry of the UCC. Lay leaders are strongly encouraged to attend. Everyone is welcome. No fees and no pre-registration is required, however if you come bring a lunch and make the commitment to stay the whole time.

INSTRUCTORS:  

Barbara Brown Zikmund, retired church historian, seminary educator, UCC   author   beebeezee@verizon.net

Janet Parker, Pastor for Parish Life, Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ  janet@rockspringucc.org

Letha Dreyfus, Chairperson, Church and Ministry Committee, Potomac Association ledreyfus@gmail.com

Goals for the History Institute
 (based on the Essentials Document) 

Participants will obtain knowledge of
 **Origins, development, significant documents, major events, important persons in the four primary constituent traditions (Congregational, Christian, Evangelical, Reformed)
 **Selected other traditions and/or groups within the United Church of Christ (especially, but not necessarily limited to, African American, American Indian, Pacific Islander/Asian American, Hispanic)
  **Founding of the United Church of Christ
  **Developments in the United Church of Christ from 1957 to the present

Pre-Institute Assignments:

1. If this is your first Institute, become familiar with an overview of UCC History by reading the Short Course on UCC History at
http://www.ucc.org/about-us/short-course/

2. All history is local. The Constitution of the UCC says that the basic unit of the United Church of Christ is the local church. Do some informal and formal "research" about the history of one UCC congregation and come to the Institute prepared to share information in a three to five minute report about that congregation. Maybe it's the church where you are a member. Maybe it is about another one in a nearby neighborhood or town. See if you can find something written about the history of that church. Interview a long standing member, or the pastor. Many older congregations have anniversary pamphlets that have good historical information. Bring handouts or pictures to INTRODUCE THIS CONGREGATION TO THE INSTITUTE. When was it founded? Why? What traditions are part of its past? What was it before 1957, if it existed before 1957? Where is it located? Why? Was it always in the same place? How many members did it have ten years ago, twenty years ago, etc.? Have its racial or ethnic or socio-economic characteristics changed? What is the most significant thing that ever happened in the history of this congregation (in your opinion)?

3. Read more deeply in the histories of the denominations/groups that came together to form the UCC and that have been part of its diversity. Do this in two ways:

a. Read chapters 6 and 7 in Louis Gunnemann, The Shaping of the United Church of Christ. Gunnemann chap 6 Gunnemann chap 7 Many UCC clergy have a copy of this book.  If you can borrow a copy, look at the rest of the book too. How did these four streams develop before they became part of the United Church of Christ?

b. Choose one chapter from one of the two volumes on Hidden Histories in the UCC.
Volume one of Hidden Histories
Volume two of Hidden Histories 
Select your chapter on a topic that is unfamiliar to you. Read it and make a one page handout about the chapter. Come to the Institute prepared to share it with the participants as a five minute presentation about that hidden history (Bring 20 copies).  By having different people report on different chapters we will all be exposed to a greater proportion of both books. Of course you are encouraged to read all of the chapters if you have time. TO AVOID DUPLICATION, PLEASE EMAIL BBZ  THE NAME OF THE CHAPTER YOU WANT TO REPORT ON. SHE WILL CONFIRM YOUR CHOICE, OR TELL YOU TO CHOOSE ANOTHER CHAPTER IF THAT ONE IS TAKEN. 
 
4. Look at several charts and timelines of UCC history:

Tree of the Xn Church
Prot Family Tree
Origins of the UCC
Hist Origins of the UCC
History Chart from Unofficial Handbook
UCC Time Line

Visit the 50 year timeline at ucc.org
http://www.ucc.org/50/media/timeline.html
Go to the "God is Still Speaking" website and read the list of "UCC firsts" http://www.ucc.org:80/about-us/firsts.html
Go to the article about the UCC on Wikipedia and read the four paragraphs about the ORIGIN OF THE UCC (click around into some of the background materials.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_church_of_christ

5. Review the Table of Contents of the seven volumes of The Living Theological Heritage of the United Church of Christ  LTH vols.I-VII Table of Contents.  Remember that these volumes are not "histories" of the UCC, they are resources about its theology grounded in its history. If you have access to any LTH volumes before the Institute, please look at them and choose one article or document that you like. Be ready to share a bit about the piece you selected at the Institute. During the Institute we will spend time examining specific resources from LTH and discussing them in small groups.

6. In order to understand the events that led up to the formation of the United Church of Christ in 1957:
Read Louis Gunnemann, The Shaping of the United Church of Christ.                 Gunnemann Chap 5
Read the introductory essay in LTH VI about the UCC. 
                LTH VI UCC Intro
Read Basis of Union with Interpretations

7. What has the UCC been doing since 1957? Look more closely at the table of contents of the final LTH volume (The TOC for the whole series is linked above). Look at issues of UCNews archived on the web - browse at http://www.ucc.org/ucnews/united-church-news-archive-in.html.

Look at the minutes of the last four General Synods of the UCC. [the links to GS minutes since 1999 are on the left sidebar] http://www.ucc.org/synod/

Come to the Institute with a list of five things that you would cite if someone asked you "What are the most significant things that the UCC has done since it was founded in 1957?" We say that the UCC is "an ecumenical, multiracial, multicultural, open and affirming, just peace, accessible to all church."  How has our history led us to this stance?

SUMMARY OF PRE-INSTITUTE ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Read the Short course in UCC History
2. Prepare to present the history of one local congregation to the Institute
3. Read more deeply about the histories of the various groups and traditions that came together to create the UCC. Prepare to present one "hidden history" to the Institute. CONTACT BBZ TO TELL HER YOUR FIRST AND SECOND CHOICE ON THE CHAPTER OF HIDDEN HISTORIES ON WHICH YOU WILL MAKE YOUR PRESENTATION (if it is already taken she will suggest alternatives) 
4. Look at various charts and timelines to understand how the UCC fits into the history of Christianity and to become familiar with some of the people who have been part of its history.
5. Examine the complete Table of Contents of the seven volumes of The Living Theological Heritage.
6. Read about the history leading up to the merger or union in 1957. What were the issues?  Why did it take so long for the UCC to be born? 
7. Read materials about the UCC since 1957 and decide what are the most important moments in its fifty years of existence?  Come to the Institute prepared to share your list.