Churches Uniting In Christ

CUIC Coordinating Council Meets in Chicago

(Chicago, IL)  On May 23^rd, 2012 nine of the ten member communions of Churches Uniting in Christ and its partner in mission and dialogue, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, met at a conference hosted by the ELCA. The discussion centered around reconciliation of the ministries of the communions represented as well as those absent from the table, especially in the area of racism. The council made plans to host a consultation on race and ministry before the end of 2012.

During its meeting, the Coordinating Council invited Dr. Iva Carruthers, General Secretary of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference to explore ways of connecting the two groups. Dr. Carruthers presented the work of the SDPC in the struggle against racism in a wide range of arenas. The topics Carruthers touched upon went beyond addressing the issues raised by the killing of Trayvon Martin to include mass incarceration and issues surrounding voting, among other areas of interest.

Yet one of her largest difficulties is locating and connecting with others doing the same kind of work. “We’re disconnected,” Carruthers told the council. “The issue,” she said, is “how do we get connected … [so that] we’re talking to the right people that get the work done.” This particular discussion asked CUIC and the Proctor Conference to consider allying around the issue of racism, which has become an important part of the work of CUIC. Robina Winbush, president of CUIC, explained: “The reason I invited this conversation with Dr. Carruthers was because it appeared as though the work that the Proctor Conference was doing was so directly linked to the mission of CUIC.” In response to the discussion, the Coordinating Council decided to link with the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference via its website and to name two members, Jackie Dupont-Walker and Rev. Jean Hawxhurst, to take responsibility for communicating with the Conference.