A SIMPLE LOOK AT

THE FOUR LARGEST HISTORICAL STREAMS

OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST[1]

 

 

1.     Dividing the group into four parts

 

Question one: If you had to choose between feeling God in your heart (emotion), or understanding God with your head (intellect), which would you choose?  (Heart group on one side of the room, head group on the other side of the room – and no you can’t stand in the middle)

 

Question two: If you had to choose between a church where everyone got along and agreed on everything (harmony), or a church where everyone was free to do what they wanted (independent) which would you choose? (Harmony group on one end of the room and independent group on the other so that you now have people in the four corners of the room)

 

The whole group should now be divided into four groups, which corresponds to the four major historical streams of the United Church of Christ:

 

Heart/harmony: German Evangelicals

Heart/independent: Christian

Head/harmony: German Reform

Head/independent: Congregational

 

2.   Sharing their choices

 

Have them go around in their groups and share why they made the choices they did.

 

 

3.      The major historical streams of the UCC

 

Tell them that the UCC is made up of four major historical denominations and lots of smaller groups.  Each of the major denominations were like the groups they are now divided into:

·       Heart/harmony: German Evangelicals

·       Heart/independent: Christian

·       Head/harmony: German Reform

·       Head/independent: Congregational

Give each group more elaborate materials about their particular stream or:

 

Head/Independent: The Congregationalists

            In the 1600’s a group of people called Pilgrims came over to America from England on the Mayflower.  They were looking for a place where they could worship God in their own way.  They believed in independent thinking.  They were called Congregationalists because they believed that the authority of the church rested in each individual congregation (as opposed to having a Pope or Bishops like the Catholics) with Jesus Christ as the ultimate head of the church.  They were importantly involved in founding this country (many Congregationalists signed the Declaration of Independence and were at the Constitutional Convention).  They worked to end slavery before the Civil War.  They founded universities and colleges like Harvard and UC Berkeley.

 

Head/Harmony: The German Reform church

            A group of people from Germany came to our country in the 1700’s who were also looking for a place to worship God in their own way.  They believed in harmony and community.  They also believed that thinking and knowledge was very important.  They were called the German Reform Church.  They felt that it was important to educate children, so they started many schools and colleges not only in the United States, but they sent missionaries to other countries to start schools as well.

 

Heart/Harmony: The German Evangelicals

            In the 1800’s another group of people came over to the United States from Germany looking for a place to worship God in their own way.  They believed in harmony, community, and they felt things very deeply.  They believed in taking care of the poor and sick.  They started hospitals and homes for the mentally and physically ill.  They also help the Native American people develop an alphabet for their language so that it could be written.  They were called German Evangelicals.

 

Heart/Independent: In the 1800’s there were people moving into the western part of the United States.  They were also independent and looking for places to worship God in their own way.  They started meeting in tents all over the west.  They held revival meetings where they would sing songs and praise God and pray and read scripture together for hours.  They felt God’s Spirit very strongly and were very independent, believing that God spoke to each person’s heart.  They called themselves simply the Christian Church.

 

4.     Making part of the UCC poster

 

Take a large piece of butcher paper and write “United Church of Christ” in big letters.  Now cut it into four equal parts and give each group a piece.  Invite them to decorate their piece with drawings, words, and symbols of their “stream” of the UCC.

 

5.     Making the whole UCC

 

When they are done with their posters, tell them that in the 1920’s the Congregational Church and the Christian Church decided to join together to form one denomination: The Congregational Christian Church.  Have those two groups gather together to form one group and tape their two pieces of the poster together. (head and heart independent)

 

In the 1930’s the German Reformed and the German Evangelical churches decided to become one denomination: The Evangelical and Reformed Church.  Have those two groups gather together to form one group and tape their two pieces of the poster together. (head and heart harmony)

 

In the 1950’s the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church decided to become one denomination: The United Church of Christ.  Have those two groups gather together to form one group and tape their two pieces of the poster together. (head and heart; independent and harmony)

 

Have everyone form a big circle as one group!


[1] These activities are based on a workshop developed by the Rev. Catherine Foote

Deepening Faith:  Youth Ministry Resources and Some Miscellaneous Advice

Rev. Lizann Bassham, Front Porch Spirit Press

Copyright © 2001