Freedom of Religion ~ It's a Core Value!

A Letter in Support of the UCC's General Synod Lawsuit in North Carolina

General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper

Dear Friends in Christ,

Imagine that you are a pastor and one day, a couple comes to you and asks you to marry them; you counsel with them and agree. The next day, another couple comes to you and asks the same of you, but state law prohibits you from agreeing to conduct their religious ceremony.  Why should the state control a minister's pastoral decisions?

Or, imagine that you are a minister making an emergency pastoral visit in a hospital. You arrive at the ER and learn that one member of this couple is dying. His partner asks you to perform the marriage that was planned for two months hence.  She pleads with you. Your pastoral heart and your conscience require you to offer this pastoral service.  But state law not only prohibits you from conducting the marriage service without a license, but also will impose potentially large fines and a jail sentence of up to 120 days if you do.  

In North Carolina, this is the reality for clergy.  State laws have infringed deeply on the free exercise of religion. A pastor who chooses to perform a religious marriage for an elderly couple that does not want the state involved in their relationship at this stage of life-but want the affirmation of God and the Church-is prohibited from doing so.  A pastor who is asked by members of his or her church to perform a same-gender religious marriage service will suffer retribution from the state.

Today, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ filed suit in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina contesting the constitutionality of that state's laws on marriage.  These laws prohibit a clergyperson from performing a marriage without a license having been issued by the county in which the ceremony is to be performed. The basis for the Synod's suit is that these laws constitute an infringement of our constitutional rights of freedom of religion. 

For us, as one of the founding religious traditions of this nation, the principle of free exercise of religion is a paramount value.  Because we are not a hierarchical church, the freedom of every clergyperson to conduct the rites and sacraments of the Church according to the dictates of conscience is essential to our identity and our faith practice. These laws mean that a pastor cannot perform a service of religious marriage under the circumstances described above. 

No matter what one believes about urgent or elder religious marriage or same-gender-loving religious marriage, the fundamental breach of free exercise of religion is what is at stake here. We cannot afford to allow this law to stand unchallenged. Once government is allowed to dictate what we - or any other faith tradition - may or may not do in the practice of our faith, then we are truly on a trajectory toward losing more religious freedoms.  This is where we take our stand.  We do so not only because it affects our clergy in North Carolina, but because we will always defend the free exercise of religion - anyone's religion. 

I believe this is a very important step for the UCC to take in defense of the freedoms we hold dear.  As far as we know, this is the first time a religious denomination has sued on the grounds that these marriage laws violate First Amendment rights, so we are breaking new ground.  But it is ground that you and I need to have broken or our pastoral ministries here in Michigan could suffer the same infringement at some future time. 

I encourage you to visit  www.ucc.org/ido to learn more about this lawsuit and the reasons for it. It is important that we all understand the basis in law for this suit, and the basis in conscience as well. At that website you will also find valuable information about how to respond when a friend, colleague, or fellow church member asks you about the lawsuit.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or an Associate/Area Conference Minister.  We ask that you keep the denomination in your prayers as we take this bold stand for the protection of everyone's religious freedom.

In Christ,

• Allow each of us to glimpse and to talk about the Racism in the Criminal Justice system and its harmful impact on our whole culture.
• Get useful information on what is broken in our Criminal Justice system and how WE can be advocates for reform.
• Help us RENEW ourselves and our churches by opening our hearts and the hearts of others ... to care, to stop Racism, and to truly follow Jesus' guide.  One step at a time.

RE-MEMBER is a covenantal partner with the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ and appears nationally in the U.C.C. mission opportunities booklet. One third of the churches in the Michigan Conference have gone to Pine Ridge Reservation to spend a week working with the Lakota people and learning of their history, culture and spirituality.  Many of these churches have made multiple trips since RE-MEMBER began in 1998, founded by U.C.C. pastors Keith and Ginny Titus and members of the churches they served.  Since its inception RE-MEMBER has hosted 13,000 volunteers from every state in the U.S. and every inhabited continent.

Any churches or individuals who would like to learn more about RE-MEMBER are invited to visit their website; www.re-member.org, or they may contact Keith Titus at 989-785-5164 or 989-255-0621.  Keith is available to come to churches to present the story of RE-MEMBER and help prepare groups for a first mission experience in South Dakota.  Churches may also send out gifts of canned goods, pillow and sheet sets (for long twin mattresses), diapers (sizes 4-5 especially) or Menard, Lowes, Home Depot, Wal Mart, or Visa/MasterCard gift cards. Please visit their website for the mailing address.

If you as an individual would like to "piggy-back" with another group you are welcome to contact them and see if they have room within their group for you to join them.

Groups Traveling to RE-MEMBER