Possible Plan of Union Described
Diocesan Press Service. April 6, 1966 [42-4]
A possible plan for the merger of seven Protestant and Anglican churches involved in the Consultation on Church Union was released April 1 by a special commission of church leaders at a Washington press conference.
The churches involved have more than 20 million members and include the United Presbyterian Church, Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Evangelical United Brethren and African Methodist Episcopal Church. The latter joined the Consultation Feb. 4 and was the first denomination to respond to the invitation issued to all observers at the 1965 meeting of the Consultation in Lexington Ky.
The draft plan reflects the consensus reached at previous consultation meetings on questions of doctrine and organization.
It provides that the United Church would have bishops. It affirms the authority of the Bible; accepts the ancient Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, but does not limit contemporary expressions of the Christian faith. It provides for two sacraments - Baptism and the Lord's Supper - but allows for a wide diversity of ritual in these rites.
If the draft is approved by the Dallas meeting, May 2-4, it will take from four to 10 years to work out all the details of the merger and to get the final plan approved by the governing bodies of the churches.
As envisioned by the plan, the United Church initially would be a loose federation of the seven denominations under a provisional central council. A wide diversity of worship practices would be permitted, so that each local congregation could continue to follow its own traditions as long as it desired.
Chairman of the Consultation is the Rt. Rev. Robert F. Gibson, Jr., Bishop of Virginia. Representing the Episcopal Church on the committee which was responsible for drawing up the draft of a proposed plan of union was the Rt. Rev. Stephen F. Bayne, Jr., director of the Executive Council's Overseas Department and Council's first vice-president.