Essential Elements in a (one-term) United Church of Christ Polity Class

History

• 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

Theology

• Theological documents and texts (e.g. Statement of Faith, Basis of Union, Prism articles, various working papers of the national setting, ecumenical documents, pronouncements of General Synod, etc.

• Worship (including Book of Worship, New Century and other hymnals)

• Ecclesiology (the nature of the church)

• Creeds and confessions ("testimonies, not tests" of what is commonly held among us)

Governance

• Constituent parts of the United Church of Christ?i.e., local church, conferences and associations, national setting, General Synod (Constitution and Bylaws)

• Past and present structure of the United Church of Christ ("covenantal polity")

• Patterns of accountability and autonomy in the various settings of the church

Ministry

• Forms of ministry-licensed, commissioned, ordained; ministerial partners (Christian Church/Disciples of Christ); emerging patterns for authorized ministry; ministry of all the baptized

• Structures and patterns of accountability?i.e., ordination, standing, discipline

• Ministerial ethics (Ordained Minister's Code, in MOM; other ethics documents)

• Understandings of ministry in the UCC: "embodiment" and "empowerment" models

The Ethos of the UCC

• Diversity: commitment to be a multi-racial, multi-cultural church

• Justice and witness concerns

• Ecumenical commitments and partnerships (esp. partnership with Christian Church/Disciples of Christ

• Mission

ecn for polity teachers/March 2004