Universal Anglican Church/universally affirming congregations

A new registrant at CrossLeft is a deacon in the Universal Anglican Church. This group of "Universally Affirming Congregations" began in 2003 and has a presence in several states: California, Delaware, Florida, Missouri, and Wisconsin, plus Ontario, Canada. They are not part of the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion.

One thing that struck me right away on the UAC home page (http://www.uanglican.org) was a picture of this deacon and his presiding bishop at the anti-racism protest in Jena LA in September. Way to go!

We've had a brief go-round in the "What do you believe in that makes you Christian" topic on the 8 principles of the Center for Progressive Christianity. And I've presented the 10 key values of the Greens. Take a look at the UAC's statements of beliefs: how close do they come to yours? Are they a workable model for a "Progressive Christianity" statement?

Perhaps "deaconmac" can tell us more?

Below are a couple of statements from the UAC home page. More on their beliefs are at http://www.uanglican.org/UACClergyandtheirwritings/Beliefs.dsp

-- What is the Universal Anglican Church?

The UAC is a Christ-centered, Christian body that recognizes and honors its roots in the Anglican tradition while seeking new methods to effectively communicate the love of God in contemporary ways to contemporary people. We are "universal" in that we (1) are catholic with a small "c" and therefore recognize and affirm our connection with the Christian Church throughout history originating with St. Peter in 38 C.E., (2) affirm that religions other than Christianity also lead to God while affirming that, for us, we find God as God is revealed to us in Jesus Christ, (3) do believe that, in the end, God's love will win out over evil and death, and (4) are radically inclusive in belief and practice.

-- What is a Christian in Exile?

A Christian in Exile is a person who feels estranged from what passes for Christianity today for any number of reasons. Some of those reasons might include:

1. A discomfort that the word "Christian" is often used in a way that suggests that to be a Christian one must be a fundamentalist extremist, preaching a gospel of spite and vindictiveness that has nothing to do with the God of Love we have experienced in our lives.

2. A discomfort with the lack of integrity seen on the part of many Christian leaders today.

3. A preoccupation with spin and conservative politics by some "Christian" leaders to the exclusion of the 3000 scripture verses that tell of God's concern for the poor and marginalized.

4. A conviction that, despite the behavior of fundamentalist extremists, a theocracy is never a desirable form of government.

5. A recognition that science reveals truths about God's world, and any God whose divinity would be so threatened by scientific advancement that it is necessary to invent "psudo-science" such as so-called "creation science" is a god so small as to not be worthy of our worship or attention.

6. A recognition that the Bible never was intended to be interpreted literally and that such practices only arose in the 19th century and are the product of "Christians" who are more interested in thought and behavior control than the reality of God as experience in and through (among others) Jesus Christ.

7. Christians in Exile identify themselves as Christians, even though they might not be considered Christian by fundamentalist extremists.

Most importantly, Christians in exile seek to build a Church community where all people are truly welcome and respected, where no one is manipulated or coerced into feeling or believing in a particular way but rather are allowed to follow where God is calling them to be - supported by a loving faith community.