Covenant September 2000

Mission and Goals of Kirchengemeinschaft The Ohio and Indiana-Kentucky Conferences, United Church of Christ and the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, Evangelical Church of the Union

Covenant signing on September 9, 2000 in Bielefeld, Germany by Ralph Quellhorst, Conference Minister, Ohio Conference Manfred Sorg, Prases, Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen Stephen Gray, Conference Minister, Indiana-Kentucky Conference
Full-communion relationship was voted by the Synod of the Evangelical Church of the Union (EKU) in 1980 and by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 1981. The formalizing of Kirchengemeinschaft resulted after decades of visits and contacts between members of the UCC and the EKU, both in the east and west of Germany. In 1990 the Indiana-Kentucky Conference and the Ohio Conference joined in a partnership with the Evangelical Church of Westphalia. Today, we look back with gratitude at our common journey, the various encounters and established relationships, and celebrate: the increased understanding of the different church bodies and structures precious learning experiences through our exchange regarding the differing forms of practical church work stewardship styles and practices of worship various forms of service the various encounters during visits of delegations, exchange programs, youth projects, congregational partnerships and at synods and conferences the enrichment through mutual encouragement and critical evaluation the awareness of common Protestant roots and theological traditions working together in the areas of just peace, economic justice, inclusive language, gender justice, ethnic justice, and integrity of God's creation. Mission Statement In response to God's call, our mission is to build upon our common heritage to learn from one another what it means to be Christian faced with the challenges in our respective countries and today's world. Today, we come together from the Indiana-Kentucky Conference and the Ohio Conference, UCC, and from the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, EKU, and commit ourselves anew to: keep alive the contact between our churches develop new exchange concepts and programs with special emphasis on church member involvement recognize and remember our common German heritage and our identity as united churches explore together our faith bases for justice, peace and integrity of God's creation with special emphasis on social witness, gender justice, ethnic justice, economic justice, ethical and sexual-orientation issues, and inclusive language promote inter-faith dialogue explore together the unique affinity between Christians and Jews share programs and faith journeys learn about each other's forms of worship and worship together explore ways of reaching out with hospitality to people with God's Good News discover how we can be the Body of Christ in a secular world build friendship and increase leadership opportunities through participation in programs live out our Kirchengemeinschaft locally and globally as part of the worldwide Church. We move forward, open to the guidance of God's Holy Spirit in anticipation of new challenges and opportunities for mission and ministry together. For this we ask God's blessing. Stephen C. Gray, Ralph Quellhorst, Manfred Sorg
German Partnership
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