UCCtruths

Chalk this one up to Massachusetts Conference Minister Jim Antal. From The Patriot Ledger:

MARSHFIELD - A speech by a visiting clergyman has prompted a bid by members of the First Congregational Church of Marshfield to formally break ties with the national United Church of Christ.

The minister of the 375-year-old Green Harbor church said some members of the congregation found a church official’s Nov. 4 sermon on global warming and other hot-button issues more political than spiritual, prompting a proposal to disaffiliate from the denomination.

Church members will meet Sunday at 11 a.m. to discuss and possibly vote on whether to sever ties with the United Church of Christ, the Rev. Jim Howard said.

The Rev. Howard said some of the 200 members of his congregation have taken issue with some the United Church of Christ’s viewpoints during his nearly three years in Marshfield.

But he said Sunday’s meeting is prompted by a Nov. 4 sermon by the president of the denomination’s Massachusetts Conference, the Rev. Jim Antal, at the church’s 375th anniversary celebration.

Among other topics, the Rev. Howard said, the Rev. Antal spoke of ‘‘stewardship of the Earth and his passion and concern for dealing with global warming.’’

‘‘A number of people in the congregation felt that that was inappropriate for our anniversary Sunday,’’ the Rev. Howard said. ‘‘That it was a political topic where there should’ve been a spiritual focus.’’

The Rev. Antal could not be reached Friday for comment.

I think it's interesting that a Conference Minister's sermon is the tipping point for this congregation... and probably an indication that Antal either didn't know their sensitivity to political messages from the pulpit or he didn't care. I couldn't find a copy of Antal's sermon on the internet so it wouldn't be fair to comment on it, but I have heard other sermons that attempt to link Biblical principles to stewardship of our environment. I guess it comes down to interpreting motivation - whether the issue is abortion or global warming, there's a difference between a sermon motivated by politics and one motivated by the spirit. Still, of all the junk that comes out of the UCC national and conference offices, a drive-by sermon from a Conference Minister seems pretty trivial to me.