WHEREAS, the United Church of Christ has a long history of advocacy in social justice movements, and

 

WHEREAS, the General Synod has adopted numerous social justice oriented identity Resolutions and Pronouncements such as Calling Upon the United Church of Christ to Become Open and Affirming, Calling Upon the United Church of Christ to Become a Multiracial and Multicultural Church, Pronouncement on Being a Just Peace Church, Calling Upon the United Church of Christ to Be Accessible to All, Calling Upon the United Church of Christ to Become an Anti-racist Church, and Calling upon the United Church of Christ to Support a Denomination-wide Peace with Justice Movement, and

 

WHEREAS, General Synod 24 affirmed the World Council of Churches’ Decade to Overcome Violence and encouraged our churches to become involved in the Decade, and WHEREAS, we affirm the reality that peace cannot be possible if injustice of any kind exists, and

 

WHEREAS, every effort to transform unjust conditions and social inequities contributes to the creation of non-violence and peace, and

 

WHEREAS, the United Church of Christ is a recognized Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) of the United Nations and participates as such to address global issues and advocates for initiatives to bring peace and justice in the world, and

 

WHEREAS, the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ became a Just Peace Conference, and

 

WHEREAS, the Somesville Union Meeting House, United Church of Christ is committed to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Biblical mandates for justice and peace, and

 

WHEREAS, the Somesville Union Meeting House, United Church of Christ has a long history of support of justice and peace issues, including support for relief organizations and aid programs, becoming an Open and Affirming Congregation, consistently supporting the five special mission offerings of the United Church of Christ, making our facilities accessible to all, and affirming the Marriage Equality Resolution of General Synod 25, and

 

WHEREAS, the Somesville Union Meeting House, United Church of Christ has been engaged in a year long process of prayer, education, and study to discern whether or not to become a Just Peace Church. Because we profess a faith that is the product of a loving God, we understand God’s call as being a universal call to peace and justice. As we adopt the designation, Just Peace Church, we take our place at the table of God where people of faith commit themselves to work out the details of God’s desire to bring justice and peace to our world. The possibilities of this God-envisioned community are endless and always unfolding. We pledge our lives and resources to the following ways that this community will flourish:

• Promoting respect for and affirming the sanctity of all human life

• Creating ways to meet the basic human needs of all people

• Seeking an immediate end to the institution of war

• Calling for an immediate end to violence in all of its forms

• Advocating for civil rights of equality, safety, and freedom from oppression

• Working toward economic justice and a reduction in materialism

• Protecting the ecological integrity of the Earth

As a congregation, we will make these changes through our

• Spiritual awareness, worship, prayer, and daily devotion to God.

• Commitment to nonviolent language and interaction.

• Theological education, Biblical study, and children’s ministries that accurately interpret our belief in a God of love, peace, and justice. Our readings, textbooks, liturgy and hymns must be nonviolent in content.

• Stewardship that supports our local ministries and mission as well as the peace and justice work of the United Church of Christ and others, both religious and secular. Living witness in our community and wherever the light of God’s presence is needed and can be exhibited through word and action

Alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we take our stand at the mountaintop looking into the Promised Land. It will take years, perhaps generations, to get there, but we share the dream and join the effort that will lead us to the world God wants for all people.

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Somesville Union Meeting House, United Church of Christ, already identified as an Opening and Affirming Church, be further identified as a Just Peace Church.

 

The foregoing Resolution was passed by congregational vote by members of the Somesville Union Meeting House, United Church of Christ at the church’s Annual Meeting on January 27, 2008.