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