Manual on Church

At the thirty-second General Synod, the church was charged with convening a working group representative of the whole denomination to:  1) lead the United Church of Christ in a process of discernment regarding Article V of the Constitution of the United Church of Christ; and 2) recommend revisions to Article V in accordance with the working group’s discernment and conclusions including, but not limited to, equal clarity about Local Church covenant and autonomy, parameters for local church accountability and the oversight of local churches, a provision for releasing congregations from the United Church of Christ, and amendments to Articles III and VIII and other sections of the Constitution of the United Church of Christ so that the whole of the document is consistent; and 3) produce a Manual on the Local Church, akin to the Manual on Ministry, for use by all settings of the Church to fully live into their covenantal responsibilities and privileges under the Constitution of the United Church of Christ; this Manual will speak to items including, but not limited to, a Congregational Code, Marks of Faithful and Vital Congregations, and processes and resources for birthing, admitting, strengthening, revitalizing, and releasing congregations; and 4) report its progress along with its recommendations for revising Article V of the Constitution to the next General Synod.  

This effort is stewarded by the Faith Education, Innovation and Formation (FaithINFO) team.

Section 1

Section 2

Implementing the New Manual on Church