Patricia Ruth Mitchell Ordination Paper December Constitution of the United Church of Christ. Scriptural references are from the New Living

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1 Patricia Ruth Mitchell Ordination Paper December 2014 Part One: Theological Perspective I have chosen to set forth my own theological perspective on paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the United Church of Christ. Scriptural references are from the New Living Translation. Additionally, I use the term kindom in place of kingdom. For me kindom evokes a less patriarchal, monarchical, and hierarchical image and points instead to the relationships we share with God, the church, and one another. Adopted at the uniting General Synod of 1957, the Preamble of the Constitution of the United Church of Christ represents the core of the theological consensus that brought the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches together in covenant. For me, this paragraph sets forth what serving as a minister in the UCC entails. The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession. Paul especially emphasizes this point when he repeatedly states that "God has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. (Ephesians 1:22-23); or that "Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body." (Colossians 1:18); and again in Colossians 2:9-10 "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." What does it mean to me? First, in the denominational setting, it signifies that without discernment and prayer, without acknowledging the will of God, there is no authority or power--this denomination holds Christ as the authority governing its polity and 1

2 practices. In the conference, association and local church settings, it signifies that actions and practices are understood in light of Christ's teachings. Personally, it signifies that I am not solely in charge of any church which I may serve I am merely a servant of Christ doing God's work. It signifies that my ultimate responsibility is to Christ, the one whom I serve within the faith community which shapes and enriches my ministry. It signifies that none of us, clergy or laity, is under the authority of any human leader; although we correct and encourage one another in our discernment of God's will, we are answerable only to the one whom God signified as the head of the church, Jesus Christ. Further, the second phrase indicates a desire for connection in relationship with all other Christians. However, while our unity in Christ is distinctive, we share a wider human community as well with those of other faiths, and even those of no faith, that the church has acknowledged and affirmed in the six decades since the Preamble was written. This connection began with a vision for union among four denominations and led to the creation of the UCC. But it is a vision of unity among all believers: "no matter who, no matter where on life's journey" they might be found. For me this speaks to extravagant welcome and hospitality to all human beings regardless of race, age, mental or physical capability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity; regardless of affiliation with any religious body or faith tradition. All who acknowledge Christ, all who seek a greater Presence, are members in relationship one with another and with God. It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. Luther, Zwingli and Calvin, the early Reformers, and others through the centuries, attest to the power and authority of the Word of God over any human authority. I do not 2

3 hold the Bible inerrant; I see it as a collection of important insights given as a means to inform, intrigue, and inspire. As interpreters of God's work in the world, human beings deemed these events and people significantly important to record and preserve as teachings for others. "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God." (John 1:1-2) Christ is the Word. Christ is the sole head of the church. Christ is the example, the model, the teacher, the leader whom I follow. The UCC as a denomination is a "still speaking" church; a church which listens for the ways in which God is revealing "truth and light" from the Holy Word for the 21 st Century. We are a church which works tirelessly to eliminate injustice, seeks peace in every facet of life, and aspires to create the kindom described in Scripture. Through my ministry I seek to enhance a revitalized life, a renewed soul, and a restored wholeness in which the despair, separation and brokenness of every person is transformed. Through the power and the presence of the divine spirit, which leads me, I seek to know the Word with wisdom and grace. I seek to know God's ways for me in the call which I have discerned, and in the ministry for which I am preparing. It claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. The ancient creeds are "testimonies, not tests" as the Evangelicals say. The Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Declaration of the Council of Chalcedon, witness to how faith was understood and explained by the early church leaders who struggled with Jesus being both human and divine. The Protestant Reformers took these testimonies and expanded them to include Luther's Small Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism; these 3

4 historic study guides led believers to know and recite the same "tests" of faith assuring others that their faith was real. The Christian Church, formed in and by the wilderness of America, whittled these many statements of belief to six core principles. The Congregational Churches created the Kansas City Statement at the beginning of WWI a statement that expanded the more traditional creeds to include the hope for peace, justice and a transformed world statements which still resonate with the Justice & Witness Ministries of the UCC. During WWII many German churches sided with the Nazi movement; the Barmen declaration was written in direct opposition to Nazi ideology. Each creed is a statement of all that informs our denomination and influenced its formation. Each creed signifies the core beliefs of a great cloud of witnesses. While many find these creeds constricting or archaic, I find them a way to make this faith my own. They serve as reminders of the early struggles of the church, of the depth of faith of the early church leaders, and encourage me to strive to be a faithful follower of Christ. I especially find a source of strength from the words describing Jesus' life and the emphasis on the humanity of Christ. My God is not an entity which sits in judgment on me with no knowledge of what it is like to live an ordinary life. No, Jesus is a human being who experienced the ways of the world. I believe this humanity of Jesus, humanity that understands my struggles and challenges, makes my God approachable someone who understands me intimately from first-hand experience. It is important to my beliefs that my God be one who does not intimidate, nor aloofly judge. Further, the ancient creeds and statements of belief emphasize the resurrection, the gift of love and reconciliation given by my God which I believe gives me and those I serve hope and promise for the future. 4

5 In accordance with the teaching of our Lord and the practice prevailing among evangelical Christians, it recognizes two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion. Baptism is God's call to form a relationship with Christ by acknowledging his life, death and resurrection, as well as a call to join the priesthood of all believers. It is a visible sign of God's gift of recognition and reconciliation of God's love for me. The sacrament of baptism, whether of infant or adult, is at God's invitation God is calling us into relationship, into discipleship, through our public acknowledgment of the importance of Christ in our lives. Parents indicate their desire to nurture their child, through God's grace, in the beliefs of the faith community, seeking the love and support of the body of Christ in making these claims on behalf of their child. Infants nurtured in this manner grow in faith to affirm the promises of baptism through confirmation vows. I see in the water of baptism the waters of creation, the renewal of the old creation by new waters from God, the renewal of my new life in Christ through these waters. The waters of baptism provide the life-giving properties of water as well as the sustaining living water given to us by Christ. The Holy Spirit blesses the water used in this sacrament signifying our acceptance as God's beloved child. Baptism presents as well the opportunity and challenge to grow in faith, to deepen my relationship with God, with other human beings, with the church, and with the cosmos. In the act of baptism the words Creator, Redeemer and Divine Spirit signify the call to everyone who accepts discipleship, a call of love, support, commitment, and connection for life's journey from the one who gave us life. Through the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion, the faith community gathers to celebrate and remember Christ's gifts and blessings in an act of praise and "thanksgiving for all God has done, is doing, and will do". Communion is a remembrance of 5

6 the life and suffering, death and resurrection of Christ a time to reconnect to God's promises as we confess our sins and receive assurance of God's loving presence and forgiveness through the broken bread and the cup of the new covenant. Through the sacrament of communion, in the recollection of Christ's act of sacrifice, God offers to us once again the opportunity to reaffirm our call to discipleship and to be renewed and refreshed by the sharing of the wine and wheat. Communion is open to all who desire a relationship with the divine. Recalling the acts of God listed in our communion service allows me to remember that I am a beloved child created in God's image, that God's expectations to do kindness, work for justice and to walk humbly with my God are clear through Scripture, and that through this act of eating and drinking I am one with every created being throughout God's world. Through acknowledgment of Christ as the sole head of the church, belief in the power of scripture to inform and transform lives, transmission of tradition through the ancient creeds, and through the presence of God in the sacraments of baptism and communion, our discipleship in a community of faith seeking to serve God and open to all is made known. Part Two History & Polity of the UCC Realistically it is a wonder that four denominations were able to join together to form the UCC. When I think of the early church after Jesus' resurrection everyone having their own opinion about how things should be interpreted or done especially the early church fathers all seeing the call to form a faith community in very different ways--when I remember the hurtful schisms that remain to this day, unhealed, created by assertion of the rightness of individual beliefs, it is amazing to me that four separate bodies of Christ became one. 6

7 Before forming the United Church of Christ, the Congregational churches with their roots in the Reformation, and the Christian churches arising from frontier independence, joined together in 1931 with an enthusiasm for freedom in expression and autonomy of governance. The Evangelical Synod with its roots in the German-American frontier and the Reformed Church of German and Swiss Reformation and Lutheran backgrounds joined together in 1934 with an enthusiasm for biblical authority and tradition. These four "streams" formed the union of the UCC in 1957 after many years of discussion, dissension, and discernment, a union which chose to overlook differences and concentrate on unity, "that they may all be one". Both the Christian Churches and the Evangelical Reformed Churches saw more commonalities than differences, a vision which united them despite their diverse spiritual and historical backgrounds. 1 From the Heidelberg Catechism of the Reformed church to the Cambridge and Saybrook platforms of the Congregationalists, with the declaration of principles of the Evangelicals and the individual conscience of the Christians, a basis of union was written, with interpretations, and approved in From this beginning the leaders and laity worked diligently, although not without serious disagreements, for the unity that was their vision. Despite lawsuits, misinformation to local churches, impassioned pleas for remaining separate, and vehement arguments on both sides, the desire for unity, for a covenant despite differences, was stronger than the arguments against such a venture. The Evangelicals brought to the UCC their belief that "Creeds are testimonies, not tests, of the experience of faith", emphasizing their core tenet that individuals form faith from personal experience and deliberation which creates their distinctive convictions--an 1 7

8 underlying foundation that informs many in UCC churches even this day. 2 The Heidelberg Catechism of the Reformed Church influenced the statement of faith, preamble and constitution in asserting that Christ is the "sole head of the church" from its first question: "What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ". 3 Christians, taking their name and beliefs from the "sole head of the church", Christ, espoused the freedom of each individual to interpret the Bible based on personal experience, denying the necessity of uniformity of belief across the denomination or the writing of creeds or dogma to define these convictions. Church government and guiding principles are a gift of the Congregationalists. Beginning with the Cambridge Platform and continuing in the Kansas City Statement of Faith allowing individual, local churches autonomy while maintaining deep regard and respect for the other branches strengthens the roots of each congregation while allowing for growth in self-determined directions. The one thing each "stream" of the UCC had in common was confidence that Jesus prayer in John 17:21 "that they may all be one" envisioned unity among all believers. The core value: "In essentials unity, in nonessentials diversity, in all things charity," under-girds the polity and practices of the UCC. It is from the Congregationalists that the concept of covenant, a relationship of mutual love and accountability among the diverse and varied entities of the UCC, derives. Article III, 6 of the Constitution states: "Each expression of the church has responsibilities and rights in relation to the others, to the end that the whole church will seek God s will

9 and be faithful to God s mission. Decisions are made in consultation and collaboration among the various parts of the structure. As members of the Body of Christ, each expression of the church is called to honor and respect the work and ministry of each other part. Each expression of the church listens, hears, and carefully considers the advice, counsel, and requests of others. In this covenant, the various expressions of the United Church of Christ seek to walk together in all God s ways". 4 Historically I see this great diversity as a positive influence on the UCC. Coming from varied backgrounds, holding differing tenets of faith, and learning to work as one body for the reign of God's kindom requires following most aspects of Matthew 25:31-46 closely. I see our historical background as providing the oil for our being the light of the world, sustaining us through the darkest hours and days as we listen to the "Stillspeaking God "and reinterpret our faith for our generation. I see our historical founders as the miners of the salt of the earth for guiding us in our efforts to bring the zest and flavor of God to everything in creation. I see our diversity working to build the kindom of God as we learn to love our neighbors, to accept the "other", to understand our "enemies", to welcome each and every unique human being to our churches and to our communion tables. I see our varied liturgical traditions as a means to enrich and enliven the experience of worship in our individual expressions of the rites and rituals, which embody this multiplicity. There are many other ethnic and cultural faith traditions, which have influenced the UCC in the past such as: American Indians, African-Americans, Armenians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos to name just a few. Our traditions will be further enhanced as new immigrant faith communities continue to join us on the journey

10 Our history gives us the best of all four "streams": autonomy, unity, individual conscience, and covenant. Our covenants are based on our loving commitment to God, our commitment to be our best selves, and our grace-filled commitment to one another. This too is part of our individual conscience, for it is through exercising our ability to interpret our personal experience in the light of tradition and Scripture, that we form our commitment to Christ the commitment which brings us into covenant. Our unity binds us through our individual and collective covenants to Jesus Christ as head of the Church and to our covenant one to another. Our deeply held belief in scripture as the guiding source for our lives, singularly and collectively, solidifies further our covenants even while we maintain the autonomy of our individual communities of faith. The UCC's history, its polity, and its practices offer myriad opportunities for envisioning God's kindom to the world. My ministry first and foremost will be doing God's work in the world, serving God and God's people. My ministry will be one of coming alongside whatever God is already doing in the congregation and community to which I am called. With God's grace, my ministry will reflect the open and affirming, welcoming, accepting and compassionate caring that the founders of the UCC exhibited in their early calls to form our denomination. With God's grace, my ministry will honor and respect diverse points of view on social justice issues and seek to allow all views to be heard and to discern their value through the faith community, the words of Scripture, the testimonies of the Church, and the voices of the marginalized. With God's grace, my ministry will preach and teach that baptized persons in particular are ministers to the world, called and empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism and renewed through the elements shared at table. With God's grace, my ministry will value tradition and seek new interpretations for worship in today's church and 10

11 among the multicultural, multiracial, multi-generational members of our denomination, the world, and especially the church to which I am called. With God's grace, my ministry will follow God in the way of Jesus, seeking inclusion for every created being, concern for the earth and all which inhabits it, working for peace and justice, mercy and grace for every person on the globe by coming alongside the Holy Spirit in the work already begun by God. With God's presence, my ministry will listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit through prayer and discernment as we seek as a community together to discern what God is doing already and how we can best serve our God in furthering this work. With God's grace, my ministry will acknowledge diversity of belief, of culture, and of practice while it seeks to understand what Christ would have us do to honor and respect one another, to become as one mind in Christ despite our differences. With God's grace, my ministry will follow God's plans and purposes for ministry to all the world. Part three Faith Journey Ordained ministry is and has been generally understood as the ministry of word and sacrament, the office of pastor and teacher--ministry grounded in God's mission. While God created the universe and sustains it, one of God's purposes for human beings is to continue the creative process, "making this faith our own in every generation". In following my call to ministry, I not only follow God's path and purpose for my life, I continue God's mission through the church. I am called to teach others about God, to encourage service to one another and the world, and to transform our world from our human vision to that of God's kindom. Through worship, baptism and communion I have the opportunity to transform empty lives, to mend the brokenness of individuals, as well as to challenge the personal and cultural norms which created this emptiness. Healing pain and guilt, the brokenness so 11

12 prevalent in our communities, encouraging and empowering those who seek justice in their lives for economic, political and social wrongs, and deepening spiritual awakening to the power and purpose of the Holy One, I see ministry offering a way to bring wholeness and transforming grace to all who seek God's kindom. As one called to ministry, I have both a personal, God-given call, which the church and I have discerned and affirmed together, and I seek a call from a local congregation. Preparing to participate in the rite and ritual of ordination which authorizes me to preach, teach, and faithfully administer the sacraments of baptism and communion as God's representative, I have spent much time in prayer and reflection, in acquiring the skills and knowledge for ministry, in discernment and decision. While my faith pilgrimage has been long, spanning many changes in church and culture, my faith has been sustained by the Holy Spirit through the challenges of family addictions, abusive relationships, and spiritual questioning. Despite my refusal to respond to God's call the first time, God has continued to guide my path to ordained ministry. My faith journey began in a small New England Congregational church, which in 1957 became a UCC congregation. It was here in Sunday School, Bible Study, youth group, minstrel and fashion shows, dramas and teas, choir and worship that the foundation of my faith was laid. This foundation, embedded in both my family and social life, has stood firm despite youthful rebelliousness and hurtful alienation. It is this firm faith, which allowed me to leave an abusive relationship, live by an act of faith as a single parent, and become a certified lay pastor with the UMC. I heard God calling me, urging me to follow, but I felt unworthy, imperfect, and my fear and self-doubt held me back. I allowed the call of the world to busy-ness to replace the deep longing in my soul which I was afraid to answer. I 12

13 studied, I led worship and youth group, sang in the choir, served on numerous committees, and the church once again became my center, that which held me together when faced with unexpected challenge or change. I have always had a deep and abiding belief in the power of the Holy Spirit to transform my life and the lives of those around me, and while my church attendance may have wavered, my faith in those unseen things has never even quivered. When I turned 60 years old I decided to become a full-time volunteer for the rest of my life. The Holy Spirit never left me during these times. My first adventure was at Heifer Ranch, Heifer International's experiential learning center. As my pastor commissioned me for this work, I physically felt the Holy Spirit descend upon me and affirm my calling to this mission. After Heifer, I did community work through First Congregational Church of Hampton (NH) UCC where I taught yoga to seniors, started a prayer shawl ministry, transported people needing rides, and trained others through the UCC's Called to Care Program. As I served those in my community the Spirit granted me a humble heart, attentive listening, and deep compassion for all human beings. Later when I helped care for my brother who was dying from cancer, the Spirit taught me that I can't control life's outcome and that just being present with the dying is as important as praying for healing. I next volunteered with Brethren Volunteer Services at The Palms of Sebring. It was while working with Alzheimer's and dementia patients that I confronted the specter of my own death, an experience which led me to create a workshop about death and dying which I shared with others in my congregations. Researching and exploring the many issues surrounding the last years of life released my own fears of death and freed me to be open and transparent with those I love about my final wishes. 13

14 The Holy Spirit has surrounded me with myriad blessings on this journey called life. And the greatest gift I have received is God's "last call" to me to journey towards ministry. I began this part of my journey in 2011 when the Holy Spirit led me to Bethany Theological Seminary, affiliated with the Church of the Brethren. Being exposed to another denomination's polity and traditions, I have come to understand and appreciate the UCC even more. I have come to appreciate and value our activism, our autonomy, our extravagant hospitality and acceptance, our covenants of mutual honor and respect despite differences aspects of the UCC which under-gird my own personal beliefs. The United Church of Christ accepts all persons regardless of any identifying characteristics such as ability, age, gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity or class. The United Church of Christ lives out its covenant with each autonomous congregation in a nurturing and supportive manner. The United Church of Christ allows differences to enhance and enrich its mission in the world through dynamic and diverse activism in numerous social justice issues. The United Church of Christ lives its statement of faith and understanding of God's mission in the world. It is these aspects which I cherish in the United Church of Christ and to which I aspire as I seek to fulfill my call to ministry. With God's grace and presence it will be so. 14