When Dr. Paul Sherry moved from Chicago to Cleveland earlier this month, he admitted he was leaving “with some trepidation.” And well he might. Sherry is taking over as president of the United Church of Christ. With 1.7 million members, it is among the dozen largest Protestant denominations in the United States, but it’s also one of those mainline churches that have been hemorrhaging at a steady rate for 25 years. In 1965, it claimed 2.1 million followers; since then it has lost 400,000 members, or 19 percent of its membership. And as enrollment has been going down, the average age of members is on the rise.
There are certain “big” issues he would like the church to address. Economic Justice: “How can we shape a domestic policy so that the rich don’t just get richer and the underclass fall further behind?” Race relations: “We’ve got to learn how to treat everyone equally.” And rampant consumerism: “This ceaseless pressure to acquire things is creating a nation of isolated individuals.” No mention of Armageddon, hellfire, or the Rapture to come.
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Sherry said his new duties involve some administration at the UCC’s new central office in Cleveland, but his main role, as he sees it, is to be “spokesperson and pastor, the voice of what the United Church of Christ stands for.” In the late 20th century, he noted, “we’re standing as a church at the edge of modern culture, so maybe we’re in a better position to bear prophetic witness. Maybe we can find ways for the gospel to speak truth to power.”
In 1957, the Congregational church merged with the Evangelical and Reformed church to become what is now known as the United Church of Christ. At first, the two old institutions seemed like odd ecumenical bedfellows–the Congregationalists had their roots in England and the Evangelicals had broken away from German Lutheranism. Yet the marriage, the first between a church from Britain and one from the continent, has gone surprisingly well. The Evangelicals, who had always been committed to social welfare, in this country erected an impressive network of hospitals, nursing homes, and other health-care institutions. The church also produced a bevy of theological giants like H. Richard Niebuhr, his brother Reinhold Niebuhr, and Paul Tillich–all of whom, years after their deaths, still have a pervasive influence in theology schools.
During the civil-rights era in the 1960s and 1970s, the CRS waded into slum-housing rehabilitation, legal assistance for the poor, and health education. It founded the Urban Training Center, which educates ministers of all denominations about urban problems, and invested heavily in an effort to develop the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization into a model for other neighborhoods. When it became clear that Chicago’s race-related headaches could not be cured if segregation continued, the society pressed for open housing in the suburbs. In 1972, CRS launched the Chicago Reporter, a much-praised investigative monthly that has consistently exposed the causes and effects of institutional racism in the metropolitan area. During the Council Wars years, Sherry and his staff were instrumental in forming the Chicago Covenant, an assembly of business and church leaders that tried to stem the acrimony and bloodletting. And when the plight of street people escalated, the society organized the Interfaith Council for the Homeless.
One immediate task for the new president will be smoothing feathers ruffled by the decision by synod delegates last July to transfer the national headquarters from New York City to Cleveland. Many argued that a move to Cleveland, the butt of numberless disaster jokes, will not upgrade the UCC image. And besides, the relocation will cost more than $10 million. Those who endorsed the move believe operational costs will be cheaper in Cleveland, a city that is closer to the demographic center of the UCC’s membership concentrations in the northeast and midwest. Sherry said he takes no position on what for the moment remains a “very hot topic” with UCC officials. Meanwhile, Roy Larson, former religion editor of the Chicago Sun-Times and now editor of the Chicago Reporter, is acting executive director of the Community Renewal Society while the search for a new director goes on.
