NEWS RELEASE
General Assembly/Synod
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
United Church of Christ

July 20, 1993

ST. LOUIS--Actions taken by the 19th General Synod of the United
Church of Christ confirmed the Synod's stance that the UCC should
be an "inclusive" church that welcomes gay, lesbian and bisexual
Christians into its membership.

Past biennial meetings of the Synod--which speaks to, but not
for, the UCC's 1.6 million members and 6,300 churches--have
endorsed civil rights for homosexuals and affirmed the ordination
of homosexuals to the ministry.

The 1993 General Synod met July 15 to 20 in conjunction with the
General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The two bodies met in separate business sessions, and gathered
together for worship, study and meals.

President Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding
homosexuals in the military drew a sharp rebuke from the UCC's
Synod hours after the President's announcement on July 19.

Delegates voted by a wide margin to direct its leadership to
"strongly urge the lifting of the ban against gays and lesbians
in the military" and "assist congregations of the United Church
of Christ in educating themselves and engaging in advocacy for
the civil rights of gays and lesbians."

Later, hundreds of delegates from both churches demonstrated
their opposition to the President's policy. They stood in a
silent line stretching 750 feet from the General Synod hall to
the entrance of Cervantes Convention Center. The demonstrators'
mouths were taped shut to symbolize the silence imposed on
homosexuals by the administration's plan.

The presidents of both churches repudiated the new policy in a
joint statement released the same afternoon. "Gay, lesbian and
bisexual citizens who wish to serve their country in the armed
forces should be able to do so, like every other citizen, without
any restrictions," said UCC President Paul H. Sherry and
Disciples General Minister and President C. William Nichols.

In related actions, the UCC Synod voted to:

* support passage of a federal gay and lesbian civil rights law
to "end discrimination in employment, housing, public
accommodations, and federally assisted opportunities." The
resolution also called for repeal of all state "sodomy laws" and
supported "domestic partnership laws designed to provide greater
justice for gays and lesbians."

* endorse the application of the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches--a predominantly gay and lesbian
denomination--for "observer status" in the National Council of
Churches. In November 1992 the NCC denied status to the
Fellowship. The Synod directed the UCC president to "lodge the
strongest possible protest" with the NCC "concerning the
continued exclusion" of the church. But delegates rejected a
provision that would have called on the UCC to "prayerfully and
seriously review its membership in and its financial support of"
the NCC unless the council reversed its decision by 1998.

* defeat a resolution that called on the church to "lead gay,
lesbian and bisexual persons away from their sin."

* affirm that the UCC is "united in Christ despite our
differences and disagreements" over a 1991 General Synod
resolution that supported the "gifts for ministry of gay, lesbian
and bisexual people." Delegates called on members of the church
"to accept one another in the face of differences of conviction,
show respect for one another as sisters and brothers in Christ,
and act in ways that will build up the life of the community."

There are more than 100 openly gay and lesbian ministers in the
UCC. About half are serving UCC congregations.

Inclusion of gay, lesbian and bisexual Christians in the church
also figured prominently in UCC President Sherry's biennial
address to the Synod on July 16. The UCC, he said, should be "a
safe space, a sacred space, a community of embrace." He told the
delegates about a lesbian "who wanted to thank the United Church
of Christ for helping save her life." After two attempts to
commit suicide, the woman had "begun to see her way to the
future" through "the affirmation" of a UCC congregation. "That
woman, that pastor and that congregation are on the way to the
Promised Land," Sherry said.

Andrew G. Lang
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
langa@ucc.org