Vote by UCC Puerto Rico Conference to disaffiliate 'deeply painful,' says UCC leader

Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico (United Evangelical Church of Puerto Rico), whose partnership with the United Church of Christ goes back more than 40 years, voted Saturday, June 10, 2006, during its annual Assembly to disaffiliate with the UCC. The final vote was 75 percent in favor of the resolution to disaffiliate.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, called the action “deeply painful and profoundly disappointing,” but said that the denomination “respectfully, though regretfully, honors the decision of the Assembly.”

“The action will draw to a close the formal partnership between the United Church of Christ and the IEUPR, a partnership with roots in the work of the American Missionary Association beginning late in the 19th century,” said Thomas.

Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico was formed in 1931, and was recognized by UCC forebear the Congregational Christian Churches as a regional conference of the denomination. In 1961, the IEUPR became a Conference of the then newly-formed United Church of Christ.

The churches that voted to disaffiliate did so because of discomfort over the UCC’s stance on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

“Leaders of the UCC have known for several years that actions by UCC’s General Synod regarding the membership and ministry of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians have been troubling to many in the Puerto Rico Conference,” said Thomas. “Attempts on the part of UCC leaders to open formal dialogue and conversation with the leadership of the IEUPR were not successful. I regret this very much.”

Despite the vote, some congregations, pastors and members of the IEUPR may want to remain in communion with the United Church of Christ. In the coming weeks, the UCC will consider a means by which those relationships can be retained or restored.

Because of Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico’s unique standing within the UCC, as an historically independent denomination that is a conference of the UCC, many issues need to be addressed or clarified. These include assisting pastors and layworkers participating in the annuity and health insurance programs of the UCC Pension Boards, whose UCC standing will be affected by the Assembly’s action, to transition to other plans, as well as concerns about UCC church loans and mortgages.

The UCC also has long-term relationships with Ryder Memorial Hospital, which is part of the UCC’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, and the Seminario Evangelico de Puerto Rico (Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico). Thomas said the UCC is committed to finding the mechanisms for retaining these important relationships, if desired by them.

In addition to significant financial support of Ryder Memorial and the seminary, other UCC efforts to deepen the relationship with the IEUPR have included solidarity by the UCC’s General Synod and its officers in the struggle to return the island of Vieques to civilian control, support for the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners, new-church start programs, the placement of Common Global Ministries personnel in Puerto Rico, a recent major gathering of Puerto Rican pastors and lay leaders, and participation of IEUPR members on UCC national boards.

The 1.3-million-member United Church of Christ was formed by the 1957 union of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Its biennial General Synod – the main deliberative body of the denomination – speaks to, but not for, its almost 6,000 local churches.

Statement on the decision by the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico to disaffiliate

by the Rev. John H. Thomas General Minister and President United Church of Christ

The news that the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico (United Evangelical Church of Puerto Rico) has voted at its Assembly on June 10, 2006, to disaffiliate itself from the United Church of Christ is deeply painful and profoundly disappointing. This action will draw to a close the formal partnership between the United Church of Christ and the IEUPR, a partnership with roots in the work of the American Missionary Association beginning late in the 19th century.

The IEUPR, which came into existence in 1931, was recognized by the Congregational Christian Churches as a regional conference of the denomination, and in 1961 the IEUPR became a Conference of the newly formed United Church of Christ. In addition to the churches of Puerto Rico, the United Church of Christ has cherished relationships with Ryder Memorial Hospital, a member institution of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, and the Seminario Evangelico de Puerto Rico.

Leaders of the UCC have known for several years that theological differences between the General Synod of the UCC and the leadership of the IEUPR were becoming increasingly problematic. This included actions by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ regarding the membership and ministry of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians. Informal dialogue has taken place on these issues through pastoral visits to Puerto Rico, in meetings of the Council for Hispanic Ministries, and in the governance settings of the Executive Council and the Boards of Directors of our Covenanted Ministries where members of the IEUPR have served. Early in 2005 a discernment process regarding the relationship of the IEUPR to the UCC had been initiated by the Assembly. The action of the General Synod in 2005 to affirm the resolution, “Equal Marriage Rights for All,” intensified the movement toward disaffiliation. Attempts on the part of UCC leaders to open formal dialogue and conversation with the leadership of the IEUPR were not successful. I regret this very much.

The past two decades have been marked by extensive efforts to deepen the relationship between the United Church of Christ and the IEUPR/Puerto Rico Conference. This has included regular pastoral visits, significant financial investment in Ryder Hospital, the Seminario Evangelico de Puerto Rico, and an HIV/AIDS ministry related to the Conference through regular gifts and special endowment grants, solidarity by the General Synod and its officers in the struggle to return the island of Vieques to civilian control, support for the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners, investment in church development through leadership subsidies, Cornerstone loans and Church Building Fund mortgages, the placement of Common Global Ministries personnel in Puerto Rico, and the participation of members of the IEUPR in each of our Covenanted Ministry Boards and the Executive Council. Just last year the Church House hosted a major gathering of Puerto Rican pastors and lay leaders to foster stronger collegial relationships. I am saddened that, in spite of this rich network of collegial ministry, theological differences have led the IEUPR to act to end this long relationship.

The United Church of Christ will, of course, respectfully though regretfully honor the decision of the Assembly. Discussions have already commenced with the General Pastor of the IEUPR, the Rev. Edward Rivera Santiago, about how to address the many implications of the Assembly’s vote. This includes, but is not limited to the Constitutional role of the General Synod of the United Church of Christ in the matter of the IEUPR’s standing as a Conference, the need to help pastors participating in the annuity and health insurance programs of the United Church of Christ Pension Boards whose ministerial standing is affected by this action, as well as participating lay workers, to transition to other plans, the need to assist congregations in the refinancing of UCC loans and mortgages, and the mechanisms for retaining, if desired by them, our important relationships with Ryder Memorial Hospital and the Evangelical Seminary.

I am aware that there are congregations, pastors, and members of the IEUPR who want to remain in communion with the United Church of Christ. Over the next few weeks we will be developing, within the guidance of the United Church of Christ Constitution and Bylaws, means by which those relationships may be retained or restored. These new institutional patterns of relationship are not yet defined, but we are committed to finding a way for the United Church of Christ to remain open and welcoming to these congregations, pastors, and members where that is desired and appropriate.

At the recent meeting of the Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Conference, I recalled the words of an Anglican theologian, Mary Tanner, at the 5th World Conference on Faith and Order in 1993:

"We are called to stick with the pain of difference and live through it. Sharp things that divide can paradoxically turn out to be gift. . . . If we are able, by grace, to live together in visible communion while bearing the cost of difference, never again saying, “I have no need of you,” we shall get hold, at a deeper level, of a communion with a God who suffers and we shall be rewarded with an experience of reconciliation and unity grounded in the unity of God the Holy Trinity at whose heart is forever a cross."

Today I ask that you keep the members of the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico in your prayers, along with their General Pastor, the Rev. Edward Rivera Santiago, as well as the leaders of the United Church of Christ. As we experience the profound pain of difference, may it bring us to a new awareness of the Cross, and thus into the heart of the Triune God.

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