Dallas, USA - A regional body of the United Church of Christ granted congregational standing to Dallas` 4,300-member Cathedral of Hope.
A year ago the group requested affiliation with the UCC, and Saturday the denomination`s North Texas Association of the South Central Conference voted overwhelmingly to grant its request, UCC News Service said Monday.
The Cathedral of Hope becomes the UCC`s fourth largest congregation. The good news of the Association`s vote was shared with Cathedral of Hope members on Oct. 29 during the congregation`s annual meeting.
'This is an historic day in the life of the Cathedral of Hope,' said the Rev. Jo Hudson, senior pastor and rector. 'We are blessed to be a full partner in ministry with the North Texas Association and the United Church of Christ. We celebrate that our values of compassion, inclusion, tolerance and hope in service to the world by following Jesus are consistent with those of the United Church of Christ. We are proud to be a part of such a diverse body of churches and people.'
The Cathedral of Hope touts itself as 'the world`s largest liberal Christian church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.' Its local and national ministries, outreach programs, pastoral counseling, and web-based and TV media touch thousands each day.
The Cathedral of Hope began exploring UCC affiliation many years ago when, in 1997, a congregational vote authorized consideration of the move. Over the years, various lay leaders gathered information on the UCC and completed preliminary evaluations.
In 2003, consideration of the UCC was again discussed by the congregation when the church voted to disaffiliate from the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In January 2005, the church`s board of directors instructed its affiliation and expansion committee to resume exploration of affiliation in earnest. A congregational vote to request UCC affiliation was overwhelmingly approved on Oct. 30, 2005.
Earlier this year, Cathedral of Hope`s leadership voted to participate in the UCC`s Stillspeaking Initiative and church leaders received training related to the denomination-wide media and hospitality campaign.
In joining the UCC, Cathedral of Hope becomes another in a series of sizeable southern churches to join the UCC in recent years. Four years ago, the 5,500-member Victory Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., became the UCC`s second largest church when it was received into the UCC`s Southeast Conference.