Wisconsin
Conference UCC
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Wisconsin Conference
Partnership with Contact Kirchengemeinschaft (German) Berlin Conference Celebrates 25th Contact: Rev. Walter Olsen For more information on the partnership click here to go to the UCC Global Ministries page. "Full Communion" between the Evangelical Church of the Union and the United Church of Christ was affirmed at the 13th General Synod in Rochester, New York in the early summer of 1981. "Kirchengemeinschaft" between the two Churches had been affirmed in Berlin the previous year. "Full Communion" is a term used to express our Christian hope to gather as sisters and brothers at the Table of Jesus Christ and to be fed together by the grace of God. To eat together, to act together, to learn together, to serve in mission together in the freedom we enjoy as believers. "Full Communion" is "to step out of fearful hesitancy into the storm of action, supported only by God's commandment and our faith, believing that freedom will receive jubilantly our spirit." (Bonhoeffer) Since 1981, there have been many pastoral and laity exchanges, study projects, and mission opportunities involving the Evangelical Church of the Union (EKU) and the UCC. These have included congregations and benevolent institutions across the country. In Wisconsin, we enjoy two thriving partnerships born from "Full Communion," with the Moers District of the Rhineland (Southwest Association) and the Prenzlau District of Brandenburg (Northwest Association). "Full Communion" is also enjoyed with the Evangelical Academy as Iserlohn, Westphalia and pastors and laity of the Iserlohn District. There have been a number of theological convocations in which pastors and laity have engaged in critical examination of our faith and discipleship. Report on the History of the Partnership:
II. Partnership widens:
III. Goals: (Mutton, Schmeer, Uecker, Schneider 1988)
IV. Realization of Goals:
Programs for adult groups
Exchange of papers/official delegations of working groups:
Exchange of Clergy:
Partnership with third partner:
Declaration
25 Years United Church of Christ (UCC) and Union Evangelischer Kirchen (UEK) Berlin,
13.11.2005 Declaration: 25 Years of Kirchengemeinschaft
Our
Current Context (1)
Delegates from the UEK and the UCC gathered 11-13 November, 2005 in Berlin,
Germany to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Kirchengemeinschaft, a covenant in
mission and faith, rooted in our common call, heritage and commitments to
justice and peace. We remember with gratitude
this fellowship which bridged the world’s political and economic poles divided
by the Berlin Wall. This communion
has striven over the years to overcome human separation and to promote church
unity. (2) Kirchengemeinschaft is a model of
ecumenical fellowship, cooperation and worship.
It is a special gift in a context of other forms of international and
ecumenical unity. We reaffirm our
commitments: ·
UEK Churches belong simultaneously to
the Evangelical Church in Germany ( ·
the UCC is a partner in “A Formula
of Agreement,” a relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America and three Reformed Churches (the UCC, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and
the Reformed Church in America). We are grateful for the growing degree of
unity and fellowship among Protestant churches.
Within the framework of the (3) Set in the context of these ecumenical
achievements of the 20th century, and always conscious of our global
context in which we strive for ever broader Christian unity, our relationship of
full communion has included personal encounter, common theological work,
congregational partnerships, Conference and Landeskirchen exchanges, diaconal
consultations, prayer, common witness and the sharing of resources. (4) Shortly after our 2001 consultation, the
reactions to the terrorist attacks of September 11th ushered in a new
US policy of preemption leading to a war in Iraq and the practice of diplomatic
isolationism. During this period, the crisis of global economic injustice has
intensified. All of this has escalated the spiral of violence affecting the most
vulnerable in our world. In this context we reaffirm our commitments to justice
and peace. Just Peace (5) The focus of our consultation explored
what it means to be a church of peace makers who are hungering and thirsting for
justice (Mt. 5. 6 and 9). We shared
our visions of working together, in our separate societies and within the
communion of Kirchengemeinschaft, for a peace rooted in justice.
We expressed our desire to become ever more vigilant in securing this
justice for the most vulnerable in our societies as the necessary condition of a
true and lasting peace. We
recognized the church’s vocation to voice the importance of this way of life
for the sake of all peoples as indeed for the integrity of creation itself.
We remembered the history of those who bore witness to the hope of this
peace during the period of the Cold War, in East and West Germany and in the US,
and worked to ‘beat swords into ploughshares’ (Mic. 4. 3). We explored what it means to be ambassadors
for Christ who gives us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5. 18-20),
particularly in a world of escalating violence.
We agreed that Kirchengemeinschaft calls us into a mission that resists
every unnecessary recourse to force and opposes every idolatry, including
militarism in every form. We agreed
to continue seeking to be communities working to overcome violence, which calls
us to strive for an appropriate lifestyle within our churches, modeling an
economy of ‘enough for all’ which will mean scarcity for none. Affirmation and Invitation (6) Ecumenical relationships are never formed
for their own sake but for the sake of the mission and ministry of the church.
In partnerships and exchanges through the past 25 years, members of the
UCC and the UEK have discovered deeper expressions of service and witness in a
broken world. We have learned from
each other´s diaconal ministries and educational programs.
We have been challenged to hear the voice of the marginalized and to seek
justice and peace for all of God´s creation.
We have been nurtured and inspired by each other´s ministry of
music. We have seen hope in the eyes
of each other´s youth and wisdom in the eyes of our elders. (7) We believe that Jesus Christ
calls us ever more urgently to form and sustain ecumenical relationships
within and beyond our national borders. We
urge leaders in regional and local settings to nurture expressions of our full
communion and give witness to Christ´s prayer that we all may be one (Jn. 17.
21). We call on the national
leadership of both churches to maintain their strong commitment to
Kirchengemeinschaft because in it we have known the courage to overcome bonds of
injustice and to confess that another world is possible. (8) As we look to the future, we propose that
we undertake the following joint projects meant to deepen our communion. (a)
Extending the experience of Kirchengemeinschaft to include more regional
churches and local congregations, engaging also the structural changes within
the (b)
increasing the participation of youth and young adults in
our common work; (c)
continuing diaconal consultations; (d)
challenging each other to more faithful stewardship; (e)
sharing in interfaith dialogue and cooperation; (f)
engaging in theological reflection and continuing
dialogue on key challenges of our time. In the area of peace with justice these
may include ·
racism and sexism; ·
issues related to migration and multi-cultural realities; ·
sexual identity; ·
the environment; ·
the economy; ·
all forms of violence. (9) Kirchengemeinschaft is a gift from God
and an invitation that calls us to common vocation in mission and ministry. We
pray for God’s blessings upon our unity
in Christ.
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Wisconsin Conference UCC |
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