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| author |
Sarah Marie Welch-Pomerantz
| | title |
Biblical Covenants, Polity, and the United Church of Christ
| | abstract |
How can a denomination with a polity and structure centered on the belief that the local church is autonomous from other churches, associations, conferences, and the National Office create mutually beneficial covenants that hold all parties together? This is the question at the center of my work. As a UCC minister, I have a front-row seat to the dysfunction, confusion, and lack of connection created by the UCC polity. Without solid and clear covenants, we lack connection, purpose, and meaning as a denomination. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? To understand how we got here, we have to go back to where it all began. I start my paper by looking at the UCC's foundational documents, precisely the 1947 "Basis of Union," to assess how the founders wrestled with this same question. From there, I examine minutes from different General Synods and the works of several prominent UCC scholars to find answers to my questions. Although my analysis did not yield an answer to my central question, it did reveal a new question: Do we understand John 17: 21? Here, Jesus' vision of unity, "That They May All Be One," functions as the biblical justification for the UCC's aspirational goal of autonomous unity. The UCC founders created this denomination because they believed they lived into Jesus' prayer for unity. Getting to the heart of John 17: 21 could help us find a way to create lasting covenants. In doing a deep dive into biblical scholarship, I uncovered the UCC's misreading of the text, which has led to our current dysfunctional system. Changing our understanding of the text could allow us to create a new polity that can live authentically into Jesus' prayer for unity and offer the denomination a structure where autonomous bodies can be held together through strong and concise covenants.
| | school |
The Theological School, Drew University
| | degree |
D.Min. (2022)
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| advisor |
Jennifer Quigley
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| committee |
Lois Wilson
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| full text | SWelch-Pomerantz.pdf |
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