Open Letter to Community of Christ USA

14 February 2025

An Open Letter to Community of Christ USA

RE: Community of Christ’s Voice in Current Politics

Over the last few weeks, I spoke to friends and colleagues deeply concerned. They are disturbed by the news of executive orders and actions targeting immigrants, American citizens, and government agencies. These actions seem unprecedented in our lifetimes. They are frustrated at Community of Christ’s silence.

While other churches are making statements, even suing the administration, they wonder where their church is. Some have asked about statements from the USA Apostles, First Presidency, or other World Church teams. I am empathetic. I also want to speak out with our own voice.  We already have.

WCR 1161, Human Freedom and Injustice, was adopted in 1980. It states that “we consider it the requirement of the gospel to proclaim justice.”  WCR 1161 calls for our commitment to pray and work to eliminate inhumane conditions that nations and peoples heap upon the poor, the dispossessed, and the imprisoned. It recognizes discrimination by race, tribe, age, or sex limits freedom. WCR 1161 calls the church to call on national governments to increase their efforts to secure conditions of peace, justice, liberty, and to support international agencies which seek the same. This is the voice of the church.

WCR 1177, entitled Peace, calls the church to uphold law which support individual and group dignity and freedom, and to oppose oppression and tyranny.  The resolution goes further to state that it is a “Christian duty to participate responsibly in governmental processes and to support good and wise people in positions of governmental leadership.” (WCR 1177 references Doctrine and Covenants 95:2a-d) It reminds us that we, the church, share responsibility for the world’s conditions. WCR 1177 exhorts us to speak “out against human inequity wherever and whenever it is found.”  It emphasizes that “peace is not attained by mere nonparticipation in violence.”  Rather, “the best form of Christian witness strives to promote peace and remove the causes of aggression.”  I commend anyone concerned to revisit this important resolution.

WCR 1226 Human Diversity was adopted in 1992.  It is a clear and unequivocal affirmation of human diversity. It calls the church to “accept the responsibility to resist fear and hate in all forms and to strive continuously to eliminate expressions of prejudice and discrimination.”

WCR 1184 Human Rights adopted in 1984 states “Community of Christ affirms that all people have essential rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, free speech, specific cultural identities and self-determination, the formation of intentional mutually cooperative human communities, freedom from fear and threats to personal safety and well-being, and the right to fulfill personal potential through continued growth and development.” 

This is our voice as a church. Those of us who forget or ignore this voice ignore our politics and who we are.

I encourage individuals with a passion for the politics of the Gospel to review each World Conference Resolution (WCR) I’ve included in my letter. I’ve provided a list of thirty resolutions concerning diversity and inclusion, anti-racism, basic human rights, peace and justice making, indigenous rights, climate emergency, refugees, and capital punishment.  These resolutions unite our theology and politics with the ethics of Christ’s peace.

In a situation of intense partisanship, consumer news driven by profits, and unregulated social media, we can have clarity. Jesus turned his face to Jerusalem, the center of Israel’s spiritual and political life. (Luke 9:51) Followers will do the same in our own cultures and contexts. No passage of the bible is free from politics. Every book and passage speak to us of God’s vision for creation and society, God’s covenant with the people of Israel, God’s love for the world and Christ’s mission. The peace of Jesus Christ lies beyond political party. The Gospel’s prophetic voice also speaks directly to politics today. We claim this story as our story as people of Restoration.

In conclusion, I invite the Community of Christ USA to reacquaint ourselves, study, and embrace our church’s collective voice. World Conference Resolutions reflect Community of Christ’s voice as a body. They state our values and inform our politics with the ethics of Christ’s peace. Community of Christ is a global movement with historical roots in American democracy. Let us use the words, witness, and vision of our shared prophetic voice.

Blessings,

Matthew J Frizzell

Aspiring Disciple of Jesus

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A PDF of World Conference Resolutions is available in Our Ministry Tools under the file name “WC-Resolutions-ENGLISH-January2024”.

·         WCR 171 Gospel to All People (1875) states “the gospel is to be offered to all people, irrespective of color, nationality, sex, or condition in life.”

·         WCR 854 World Church Ministers to Be Affirmative (1925) encourages World Church Ministers to bear “an affirmative message in consonance with the voice of the church as set forth in the constitutional laws and legislative enactments.” (emphasis mine)

·         WCR 963 Racial Equality (1948) states clearly that “all people are God’s creatures. God created of one blood all nations and races, and in the presence of God divisions of race are transcended; ‘There is neither Greek nor Jew…Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all.’” (ref Gal 3:28, Col 3:11)

·         WCR 976 Racial Equality (1950) opposes national and racial divisions declaring “God created of one blood all nations and races, and in the presence of God divisions of race are transcended.”

·         WCR 995 Racial Integration (1956) declares “The gospel is for all people. It knows no distinction of race or color.” This resolution opposes congregations be organized by racial division, calls the church to “build up the will to welcome all races,” and “break down barriers.”  (reference the ruling of Brown vs Board, 1954)

·         WCR 1064: Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968) states “we do pledge ourselves anew to work to eradicate prejudice and bigotry in the hearts of men through Christ’s message to all people.”

·         WCR 1132: Ministry of Reconciliation (1974) calls the “membership of the church to be encouraged to advocate and work toward reconciliation. when able to do so in good conscience.”

·         WCR 1142: Integration of Church Activities (1976) affirms unity in diversity by encouraging integration of “all people were feasible” in church activities.

·         WCR 1161 Human Freedom and Injustice (1980), as referenced above, proclaims justice is a requirement of the gospel. It calls the church to “pray and work for the elimination of all inhumane conditions which nations and peoples heap upon the poor, the dispossessed, the imprisoned, and those who suffer other social conditions which limit freedom, such as discrimination by reason of tribe or race, age or sex, and to promote peace, justice, freedom, and respect for personal dignity.”

·         WCR 1177: Peace (1982), as referenced above, provides a statement on the church’s call to pursue peace. It includes promoting peace, accept responsibility for the world’s conditions, oppose all destructive violence, urge nations to reduce weapons of mass destruction, and declares positive peace that is “attained by mere nonparticipation in violence.”

·         WCR 1178 Nuclear Arms Reduction (1982) urges “conversion of the resources of war to productive forms of human development.”

·         WCR 1184 Human Rights (1984) states “Community of Christ affirms that all people have essential rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, free speech, specific cultural identities and self-determination, the formation of intentional mutually cooperative human communities, freedom from fear and threats to personal safety and well-being, and the right to fulfill personal potential through continued growth and development.”

·         WCR 1191 First Peoples Support (1986) states “Community of Christ express its concerns that actions by governments, companies, and/or individuals that serve to deprive and separate First Peoples from their lands and destroy their culture.”

·         WCR 1195 Domestic Violence (1986) declares that “the church condemns the use of violence in all of its various forms as a means to resolve conflict or to control another human being.”

·         WCR 1200 Racism (1988) calls the church to broaden its “understanding of prejudice and racism and encourage them to take more effective action in addressing this problem individually and collectively.”

·         WCR 1226 Human Diversity (1992) is a statement of affirmation of human diversity. It calls the church to “accept the responsibility to resist fear and hate in all forms and to strive continuously to eliminate expressions of prejudice and discrimination.”

·         WCR 1227, Our Pursuit of Peace (1992) calls the church to wage peace and “pledge anew to forgive, be patient, bring reconciliation, sacrifice for others, suffer with the pain of compassion, and be actively engaged in the pursuit of peace, all as taught to us by Jesus Christ”

·         WCR 1250, The Nurture of Children (1996), which acknowledges the UN’s Rights of the Child and upholds ten rights of children in Community of Christ.

·         WCR 1273, Healing Ministry and Capital Punishment (2000), which opposes the death penalty and endorses restorative justice.

·         WCR 1291, Extension of Native American (First Peoples) Ministry (2007) counsels Community of Christ members to “use care in their use of specific ethnic terms when referring, either formally or informally, to people of various cultural, national, or racial backgrounds.”

·         WCR 1295 Human Trafficking (2010) calls church members to identify resources on human trafficking that help us “fight slavery” and “assist victims.”

·         WCR 1302 Supporting Indigenous and Minority Peoples (2013) asks that “Community of Christ members become advocates for the voiceless and oppressed by bringing about reconciliation between dominant and minority cultures, and to empower indigenous peoples to identify their own aspirations and issues of concern.”

·         WCR 1303 Action toward Nuclear Weapons Abolition (2013) asks that “wherever practical, Community of Christ convey its support for the responsible reduction and eventual eradication of nuclear weapons, urging policy to that end by all nations.”

·         WCR 1309 Supporting Indigenous Peoples (2016) renounces the Doctrine of Discovery and recognizes the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

·         WCR 1311, Palestine and Israel (2016) “denounce[s] all Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.” It recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in secure borders. It calls for the” cessation of Israeli military occupation and illegal settlements in the West Bank; and for the recognition of the State of Palestine (in accordance with 1947 UN General Assembly Resolution 181/II, 1967 UN Security Council Resolution 242, and 1988 UN General Assembly Resolution 43/177)”

·         WCR 1312 Opposition to Predatory Loan Practices (2016) “condemns predatory lending practices as immoral and sees them as a threat for luring vulnerable individuals and families into a debt trap that often pulls them into poverty.”

·         WCR 1317 Domestic and Sexual Violence (2019) claims “solidarity with and show active support for those organizations and community groups that currently aim to eradicate familial and domestic violence wherever it occurs.”

·         WCR 1325 Climate Emergency (2023) that states “Community of Christ joins with others in declaring a climate emergency.”

·         WCR 1326 Racism (2023) names “racism is a sin.”  Further, “Community of Christ now calls for a renewed commitment both in the church and in national cultures to eliminate institutional racism and to affirm unequivocally that by biblical and theological precept, by the law of the church, by our mission and Enduring Principles, by World Conference pronouncement, and by leadership expressions, the aim of Community of Christ is nothing less than an inclusive church in an inclusive society.”  (emphasis mine)

·         WCR 1329 Compassion for Refugees/UN World Refugee Day (2023) states “Community of Christ shows solidarity with refugees everywhere by urging churchwide awareness of the scope of refugee needs…”  Further, it invites the church to “learn about, plan, collaborate, and implement refugee awareness and support including climatic refugees.”

In addition, two WCRs oppose the apartheid in South Africa (WCR 1198,1233). These resolutions are additional evidence of Community of Christ’s commitment to inclusion, opposition to government-sponsored racism, and celebration of God’s diverse creation.