UCCtruths

By Pastor Ted Weis, Congregational Church, Little River, KS

With the "Stirring It Up" post revealing the internal left-leaning motivations of Rev. Barry Lynn and his AU organization, interested readers will want to see the external evidence of how the AU ignores religious liberals who act like the conservatives they often rail against.

In particular, here's how the AU looked away when the liberal denomination that ordained Rev. Lynn-- the United Church of Christ-- gladly took $100,000 from the state of Connecticut to put on its General Synod in that state. The following article is an excerpt from a June 21 post at LivingtheBiblios:

It's significant to note that the State of Connecticut gave the (United Church of Christ) $100K only and after the UCC promised to take its General Synod to another state.

When the UCC initially booked its 2007 General Synod at the newly constructed Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, the State didn't give the denomination any financial incentives. But that changed when the UCC determined that the union rights of Convention workers were being thwarted.

For this reason, in a Hartford Courant story posted at UCCtruths, UCC Associate General Minister Edith Guffey said:

We're not threatening to move; we will move if this issue is not resolved.

Consequently, UCC President John Thomas said in an email to UCC Conference Ministers:

The only other option within the city capable of accommodating General Synod, the Hartford Civic Center, initially proved too expensive. As directed by the Executive Council, UCC Associate General Minister Edith Guffey began exploring other cities as possible venues for the General Synod.

That's when Connecticut governor M. Jodi Rell intervened. Not wanting to lose the largest ever convention in Hartford--and the economic benefit of 8,000+ visitors that could bring in up to $7 million--Rell pulled some political strings. The Connecticut Economic Development Authority (REDA) awarded a $100,000 grant to the Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau, who in turn applied it to the UCC's use of the Civic Center.

Responding to the grant news, Guffey said in a June 6, 2006 United Church News press release:

This type of incentive program is a common occurrence, a way of doing business. We appreciate the collaboration between the governor, CEDA, and the Hartford Visitors Bureau, and their efforts to keep the UCC meeting in Hartford.

Guffey also told the Hartford Courant:

...the governor wants very much to make this work, and that they will be taking care of the $100,000 fee for the Civic Center...It's a very generous assistance, and we're very appreciative of it.

Here's the bottom line that Rev. Lynn and the AU should note well:

It was due to the United Church of Christ's religious conviction-- that it would not hold its Synod in a facility involved in a labor dispute-- and the UCC's financial inability to move its event across town to the more expensive Civic Center-- and the UCC's promise to move its religious event out of state-- that the State of Connecticut and its governor intervened and worked out its $100,000 grant.

And after all this, Rev. Lynn still isn't complaining.Usually, "liberal" means someone with a progressive outlook toward politics and social issues. But it can also refer to someone who is generous.

And in this case, Rev. Lynn's silence about Connecticut giving his liberal UCC $100,000 for its General Synod is ... shall we say ... generous.