God Speaking in History

June 10, 2007

Rev. Doug Hodges

This morning I am beginning the first of three sermons that try to answer the question, “What is the United Church of Christ?” One way to help us understand the UCC is to ask, “Where did we come from?” So this morning I am going to treat you to a brief history lesson that will focus on the story of the German Reformed Church, The German Evangelical Church, the Congregational Church and the group called the Christian Church. These are the four major denominations that became the UCC in 1957.

But let’s begin the story about 1950 years ago. The place is a house in Rome. A man named Paul lives in that house under house arrest. The book of Acts tells us that Paul remained under house arrest for a two year period and during this time he preaches the gospel with “boldness and without hindrance.” What happened next? Inquiring minds want to know. But Luke doesn’t say. That’s the end of the book of Acts.

Now, in my Bible, that last phrase, “preached boldly and without hindrance” is followed by a period. You know a period. Complete stop. End of sentence. End of a complete thought. Well I have a theory. Luke didn’t intend for the book to end with a period. Instead the word “hindrance” should be followed by a comma. You know what we say in the UCC—never place a period, where God has placed a comma.

You see, the story of the church does not end with Luke or with Paul—even if Paul was executed in Rome. The story of the church is an on going story of men and women who are listening to a still speaking God and believe there is more to discover about God’s will and God’s church. And that’s how we begin the story of the UCC.

Now let’s forward about 1500 years. It’s the 16^th century. The Protestant reformation is underway in Europe. People like Martin Luther heard the voice of a still speaking God and said the church is too corrupt, too autocratic and in dreadful need of reformation.

You have probably heard of Martin Luther. But there was another person of this time who also played an important part in the Protestant reformation. This was a man named Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli lived in Switzerland. Like Luther, he taught that people are saved “by grace through faith.” He also said priests and nuns should be allowed to marry.

In the year 1539, Zwingli and Luther met. They agreed on a lot of things, but they had some differences. Luther championed the arts and music. Zwingli whitewashed the walls of his cathedral in Zurich to cover up images of art and had the cathedral organ dismantled. He said God should be worshiped only in Spirit.

But the biggest difference was their understanding of communion. Luther quoted the words of Jesus, “this is my body” and insisted that in some way, Christ was physically present in the bread and wine. Zwingli quoted the words of Jesus, “Do this in memory of me” and insisted that the Lord’s Supper was a symbolic (commerative) meal to remember Jesus.

As a little footnote, I will add that in 1998 several denominations, including The UCC, (which mainly followed the teachings of Zwingli) and the Lutherans, (who followed the position of Luther,) came together and agreed that even if we did not have the same understanding of communion, we could nevertheless recognize the communion of the other body, and take communion together. We also agreed that clergy of either tradition could serve communion to members of the other tradition.

But in 1529, the followers of Luther and Zwingli were not ready for such an agreement. So they went to war with each other—which when you think about Jesus as the Prince of Peace, was probably not the best way for Christians to work out their differences. But unfortunately, there were a lot of religious wars in those days—between Protestants and Catholics and between Protestants and Protestants. Zwingli, by the way, was killed in a battle between Swiss Catholics and Protestants.

However, over the next 170 years his followers grew and became the Reformed Church in German, Switzerland, Holland, and other places. Life was very rough for members of the German Reformed Church, who lived in Southern Germany, near Switzerland. The area was devastated by wars and famine. Then there a very severe winter in 1708-1709. The following spring, some of the members of the German reformed church began migrating to America. They settled in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

There are many stories we could tell about the early German Reformed Church in America. But one interesting story concerns the liberty bell. After the Revolutionary War broke out, there was great concern that the British would capture Philadelphia and destroy the Liberty Bell. So during the war, the bell was hid under the floor of the Zion German Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Another interesting story is the role of union church. You may remember that in Germany, the followers of Martin Luther and the followers of Ulrich Zwingli did not always get along with each other. But with the passage of time and a change of venue to the new world—these differences did not seem so important. So often the German speaking Lutherans and the German Reformed church shared the same building.

Now let’s talk about the group that began as the German Evangelical Church. You may remember that in 1529 the followers of Luther and Zwingli failed to come to a union agreement. Well, about 300 years later, Kaiser Frederick William III of one of the German states called Prussian, decided that the division between the two groups was not good for his state. So he ordered them to merge. And they decided to follow his advice. That was in 1817. And this group became known as the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union.

About 20 years later, that is the late 1830’s, members of the Evangelical church immigrated to the United States and settled in the Midwest—particularly Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. They would become known as the German Evangelical Church.

In the ensuing years the German Evangelical Church and German Reformed Church worked closely with each other. Both groups were organized in a hieratical structure with Bishops as overseers. In style of worship both groups tended toward the high church / liturgical side. Both groups shared a common concern for the misfortune of the poor, a strong sense of social justice, and a strong sense of the essential unity of the Christian church. In 1934 the two groups merged to become the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

Now I want to move back in time to 16^th century England and pick up the story of the Congregational Church.

The Reformation in England began in 1534 when Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church, so he could marry Anne Boleyn. I’m sure Henry though that God was still speaking to him. But sometimes we can misunderstand what God is saying. Anyway, Henry left his wife, married his girlfriend, and in the process established the Church of England.

But many felt the Church of England had not gone far enough in its reformation. In particular, there were people who had traveled to Europe and come under the influence of a man named John Calvin.

Calvin was a very strict French lawyer who left France when the French started persecuting Protestants. He set up a model city for persecuted Protestants in Geneva. Those who followed Calvin’s strict church law got along fine in this model city—those who did not, did not.

Calvin is also known for the doctrine of predestination. He said, “There is nothing human beings can do about their salvation. God, in God’s awesome sovereignty has already decreed who should be saved and who should be damned. I will add that this doctrine is not taken literally by modern day Presbyterians or members of the United Church of Christ who trace their spiritual linage back to Calvin. But it was a very serious thought in the mind of many reformers who struggled with the question—who is a member of the church and who is not a member.

But anyway, back to England. Some of those followers of Calvin wanted to further reform the Church of England. Among other things, they felt the church -- and especially the Bishops -- had too much power. They also introduced, what I believe was a new idea at this time—congregational church government. Each congregation was governed by itself, not a Bishop.

In time, those seeking reform divided into two groups. Those called “Separatists,” felt the only course of action was to separate from the Church of England. The other group called “Puritans” sought to stay within the Church of England and purify it from within. Both groups advocated congregational government. And both groups were persecuted.

Now we come to the part you may have heard before. One of the Separatist congregations was lead by a man named John Robinson. After much persecution in England, they immigrated to Holland. Then in 1620, they boarded a ship named the Mayflower and sailed to the New World. John Robinson did not sail with those colonists. But before they left Holland he urged them not to stay where Luther and Calvin had already lead them. “Because,” he said. “The Lord has more truth and light to break forth.” Today we would say, “God is still speaking.”

So with Robinson’s words of wisdom on their mind, these Separatists set sail and landed at Plymouth Rock. They became known as the “Pilgrims.”

Ten years later, another group of English reformers, a group of Puritans, sailed to the new world and settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

These early Pilgrims and Puritans are part of our spiritual ancestry in the United Church of Christ. Today we often use words like “liberal,” “open,” “tolerant,” to describe ourselves. But in the 1600’s our ancestors were very different. They were Calvinistic in theology. Words like “strict,” “stern,” “autocratic,” and “intolerant,” would have been very accurate. Those who saw any of that “new light” John Robinson predicted, soon found them vanquished from the colony.

Early worship was simple. It usually consisted of the singing of some of the psalms, a long prayer, the reading of scripture, and a sermon. The place where they met to worship was called a “meeting house,” not a church. They wanted to be sure no one would think the church was a building.

As for our cherished view of the separation of church and state—that did not exist. The law of the church was the law of the colony. If you were not a member of the church, you could not elect people to office or vote on public issues in the town meetings. But you were required to pay taxes to the colony and a tithe to the church.

However, there is another side to our Pilgrim and Puritan spiritual ancestors. Very early in the life of the colony there was a mini ecumenical movement—the Pilgrims, who had been the Separatist in England, merged with the Puritans. The issue which divided them in England was moot in the in Massachusetts. There was no Church of England to purify or to be separated from. The Pilgrims and Puritans became known as “Congregationalist.”

Now the Congregational church has over a 300 year history before it became the United Church of Christ. I can’t tell you everything about our evolvement from the stern Puritans of 1620 to the United Church of Christ of today. But let me hit a few highlights.

From the beginning, the Congregationalists were people of learning. One of their first actions was to establish Harvard University in 1636 for the purpose of educating clergy. I understand that since then the university has added other departments.

Even though the Congregationalists were congregational in church government, there was also a strong sense of covenant between them. In 1705, they organized a “Consociation of clergy and lay people which provided a procedure for the examination of ministerial candidates. Today this practice is still present in our “Associations,” which is a body of local UCC congregations who ordains clergy and give them standing.

One way to understand the history of the Congregational church is to rent a DVD. One that tells the story of their concern for people of other cultures and also their early intolerance is movie “Hawaii,” starring a young Julie Andrews. This is based on a segment of the James Michener novel of the same name.

Another movie which shows the growing social consciousness of the Congregationalists is Steven Spielberg’s movie, Amistad. The movie tells the story of a revolt on a slave ship in 1838 and the subsequent trial of the Africans after they were captured.

What the movie omits, but what history tells us, is that the defense of the slaves was organized and led by anti-slavery Congregationalists, including Joshua Levitt, a lawyer and Congregational pastor. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which found in favor of the slaves. Then the Congregational church raised money to allow the 35 survivors to return to Africa.

The committee that defended the slaves became the American Missionary Association, the first anti slavery mission society in the United States. Later, Harriet Beecher Stowe and other Congregationalist would work tirelessly against slavery.

After the Civil War, Horace, Bushnell, Jane Addams and other members of the Congregational Church listened to a still speaking God and pushed the social gospel into our nation’s blighted industrial centers. T

Throughout the 1800’s the Congregationalist cooperated with other Christian groups in overseas mission efforts and joint social projects at home. Beginning in the 1890’s they began making overtures of unity with various church bodies. Finally in 1931, they merged with the Christian Church to form the Congregational Christian Church.

Now what was the group that called itself the “Christian Church?” This is the only one of our four predecessor bodies to have strictly American roots. The denomination began as two groups.

One group started in North Carolina. It was led by James O’Kelly a Methodist lay preacher. In 1794, O’Kelly broke with the Methodist church because he saw the Methodist church – and in particular their bishops, as too authoritative.

The other group started in Vermont in 1801. This group was led by Dr. Abner Jones, a Baptist layman who broke with the New England Baptist and Congregationalist. He rejected predestination and said Calvinism was too strict. His followers advocated an open communion table and said that Christian character should be the only requirement for Church membership.

In 1820, the two groups came together in a loose association called the Christian Connection. They affirmed six guiding principles, which in some ways sound like the UCC today.

(1) Christ is the only head of the church.

(2) The name “Christian” is to be used so as to exclude party distinction.

(3) Christian character is the only requirement for church membership.

(4) The right of private judgment and liberty of conscience.

(5) Scripture is the only rule of faith and practice.

(6) The union of all of Christ’s followers.

In 1832 some members of Christian movement merged with a similar group which became the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). But other followers of O’Kelly and Jones remained an independent movement until the merged with the Congregationalists in 1931. At that time there were about 100,000 members of the Christian Church and 1 million members of the Congregational Church.

In 1957, on the 27^th of June, the Congregational Christian Church would merge with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to become the United Church of Christ. But that’s a story for next Sunday.

Long ago the Apostle Paul preached “boldly and without hindrance.” Today the United Church of Christ may find hindrance, but we are listening to a still speaking God and still seeking to go boldly, not where other humans being have gone, but where God would lead us.

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