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Several months ago Jim very kindly asked me to be with you this morning..sounded like a great idea at the time...of course I did not think about this being Memorial Day weekend when I agreed to the date...I congratulate you all on being here...

Actually Memorial Day weekend has taken on new meaning for me...you see tomorrow for the second year in a row will be UCC Day at the Frederick Keys...which unlike their parent baseball team is a modestly successful enterprise located not far from our house up at the other end of Interstate 270.

Last year I was privileged to be one of three people to throw out the "first pitch"... Think about that for a moment.

There I was impeccably dressed in my UCC T-shirt and O's cap...throwing out the first pitch immediately after the walking balloon which advertised a real estate firm and a gaudily dressed clown representing a service club...only my pitch made it to the catcher...

If you want to see who throws out the first pitch tomorrow night you a certainly welcome to join us...

This morning I was asked to use these few minutes to share my thoughts and observations regarding the current conversations between the United Church of Christ and the Alliance of Baptists.

I trust you will appreciate that my remarks, made as a United Church of Christ member, represent a very incomplete and preliminary analysis.

Initially it might be good to ask ourselves--What is a denomination? Quite literally a denomination is a group that comes together to affirm a common set of values/principles/interests.

Denominations like the United Church of Christ are not static...they are living organisms...like this congregation...which are always changing. We get into trouble when we don't recognize change and adapt.

Our son Jeffry is always upgrading our computer. He asked me once what "cc" means on an email letter. I dug around in some old boxes and found some tattered pieces of carbon paper to show him. He was quite astonished to see what we had to do to make copies of documents. Just think of all changes and adaptations we have had to make in our communication technology.

Put in more concrete, closer-to-home terms...last Wednesday night one of our churches in Baltimore held a worship service to celebrate their last worship service in the church building that had served them well for the past 75 years...the church building was built with the assumption that church goers would either walk to church or take the streetcar..there is no parking...

Another reality in our life together as congregations and a denomination is conflict. Conflict can be healthy and contribute to the well-being of the church or it can be tragically destructive. For the United Church of Christ and our predecessor denominations conflict and division were no strangers...

For Congregationalists all you have to do is name a few of our great schisms...the departure of the Unitarians in the early 1800's. ...the break up of the Plan of Union with the Presbyterians around the time of the Civil War...the expulsion of Roger Williams and Baptists from the New England colonies...

Just after the Civil War the Peace Commission was created in an attempt to heal differences regarding liturgy ... at the end of the Peace Commission's successful work they declared that a "common prayer, ascending from the Church to God, was heard--that we all may be one."

You may recognize that common prayer..that we all may be one...as the motto of the United Church of Christ today.

An interesting footnote to the work of the Peace Commission was its finding that any hymnal could be used until there was a new consensus about a common hymnal... Some things don't change or do they...

It has been suggested that the United Church of Christ ... like other denominations is experiencing similar splits today...

The questions of today's conflict sometimes focus on orthodoxy...with group or another suggesting that in order to be the true church you have to do things this way or that...

Sometimes resistance to change has become a major battleground.. just try to change the worship hour, the hymnal, or the format of the service...

A church in this Conference voted to leave the United Church of Christ last month... and among their issues with us was that someone had changed the words in a worship service resource to the Lord's prayer...for many in that congregation inclusively is not a virtue...

Some church critics have suggested that American denominations are at the threshold of major reconfigurations and that early in the new century a number of new alignments will emerge.

The issues which divide and unite are not new--

- Today's reading from Acts 16 provides an interesting backdrop.... take a look at Paul's journey to build the church which has been shared over the past three weeks.

- the role, place and meaning of scripture

- the place of advocacy and corporate mission vs. Personal piety...

- what does it mean to worship and in what form...

- and, broader societal questions such as faith stances with regard to human sexuality

- inclusivity vs. Exclusivity

One of the things which has distinguished the United Church of Christ is that through our local churches, Conferences and General Synod we have taken courageous faith-filled justice positions--from the Amistad to farm workers to the role/place of women. We affirm a personal faith, rooted in the Bible, inspired by the Spirit which draws us into interaction with the world. I celebrate our heritage and acknowledge that all too often we have failed to tell our story and invite others to join us on our journey. . . Not withstanding the dozen or so new church starts now underway in this Conference, we need to acknowledge that in one of the country's highest growth areas...our membership numbers have basically been static or declined for decades.

When the United Church of Christ was conceived in that infamous Bible Study group in St. Louis...it was conceived of as a new church that would incorporate a wide variety of faith traditions into a uniting and united church. Since 1957 when the merger was consummated we have come to appreciate what a formidable task this was...some would say the sorting out is still going on today.

Between 1957 and now we have not incorporated any other denominations into the United Church of Christ family...we have, however, entered into a wide-variety of working relationships with denominations here in the United States as well as elsewhere around the globe.

--Our world mission board now does all of its work jointly with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ.)

--We have declared partnerships with sibling churches in Germany, Japan, India, Chile and the Philippines...

--And, we are now working out the details of a new affirmation of new relationships with the Lutheran Church...

Sadly...some...even within our own Conference have reacted to all of this change with great skepticism and one might even say fear...

When conflict comes they want to react that the driver of an overheated car who drove it into the lake in order to cool its overheated engine...

Fortunately those who react this way represent a distinct minority in our UCC family...many of our congregations are forward looking ... creatively and seriously planning for the future.

Against this backdrop comes the possibility of relationships with the Alliance of Baptists...most of whom have some historical tie with the Southern Baptist Convention...which has experienced its own internal debates over the past two decades...

The Alliance of Baptists includes some 120 churches...the majority of whom are in the Southern Conference (just south of us) and this Conference... First Baptist Church, here in Silver Spring, is one such congregation.

Representatives of these churches and the United Church of Christ have been engaged in conversations regarding possible future collaboration. We expect the conversations to take at least two years...our offices in Catonsville have been happily used as the site for these gatherings. We have identified 7 alternative paths to discuss...our next meeting is in just a couple of weeks...

If a significant percentage of the Alliance churches in this area were to join the Potomac Association I believe we would have a real opportunity to strengthen and broaden our work and ministry in this area...

Someone once stopped me and said...John? Baptists in the UCC? My questioner did not know his history...

- the oldest church in this Conference, dates itself back to 1660, it is called Old First Church and is a congregational- Baptist congregation...one of ten or so in the Conference.

- many of the churches which became the Christian Churches of the Congregational Christian denomination were themselves Baptist in origin.

- some urban UCC churches in places such as Chicago already have Baptist in their name due to their own particular histories...

- Some UCC churches, including one in this Conference, are already dually aligned UCC and Alliance of Baptists...

So why would the United Church of Christ with its more than 6000 churches be interested in conversations with a group of 120 congregations? I believe we are interested because the Alliance churches in general have congregational decision-making systems, beliefs and positions on social issues which are remarkably similar to our own and these conversations provide an opportunity for us to give a group of courageous Christians a new home...

If that church critic is right...that we are in the midst of a major transformation of denominations I suspect that it is through opportunities such as this that the transformation will take place.

In building the new church for the new century I suspect we are like the slightly fictionalized trustees of the Midwestern country courthouse...

You see the courthouse was old, obsolete...it did not serve them well...it was not accessible...so the trustees voted to tear it down...

But then they took a second vote...they like the old building its materials so they voted to use the old materials in the construction of the new courthouse...

But it was the third vote which had everyone floored...that was when they voted to use the building during the construction.

In building the new church for the new century we are a lot like those trustees. I would now like you to hear a few words from Jeanette Holt, the Associate Director of the Alliance of Baptists.

I bring you greetings from the 123 congregations and 62,000 members that comprise the Alliance of Baptists. From its inception in early 1987, the Alliance has stood for those values that have distinguished the Baptist movement from its beginnings nearly four centuries ago -- the freedom and accountability of every individual in matters of faith; the freedom of each congregation under the authority of Jesus Christ to determine its own ministry and mission; and religious freedom for all in relationship to the state.

At the same time, we have acknowledged our interdependence as Baptists with the whole people of God regardless of denominational designation. As a result, we have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams with growing relationships with other Baptist bodies, the larger church and beyond. That commitment presently is focused in conversations with the United Church of Christ.

For the past 3 years, it is been our great privilege to participate in dialogue with the leadership of the UCC concerning a full range of issues including ministerial standing and congregational affiliation. And while we try to sort out what is possible, what is helpful at a national leadership level, individual congregations in places like Dayton - Atlanta - Nashville - Little Rock - Blacksburg VA - New Orleans and, yes, Silver Spring are living out those possibilities. We are, indeed, building the road as we travel down it.

This is not a unique experience of the Alliance of Baptists. Ours has been an 11-year journey of discovery, exploration and reorientation. We have ceased wringing our hands about no longer having a denominational home. Our energies are better spent in asking ourselves how we fit into God's big church. As you in the United (and uniting) Church of Christ have reminded us, "The unity of the church is not of its own making. It is a gift of God."

We will observe with anticipation and prayer the developing relationship between Christ Congregation and First Baptist Silver Spring as you consider the challenges and opportunities ahead and help us build that road.