The Glimmering Dream

At San Francisco's Grace Cathedral four years ago, the Rev. Eugene Carson Blake formally proposed that his United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. join the Episcopalians, Methodists and the United Church of Christ to form one great new Protestant denomination of more than 20 million members. Last week Dr. Blake's ecumenical dream proved to be just as far away as ever. At the third annual Consultation on Church Union at Princeton, delegates from the six participating churches* discovered that there was enough agreement on such theological issues as the nature of baptism and Holy Communion for the talks to proceed. Then they stumbled over another crucial theological point -- and over a matter of personal piety.

The obstacles were raised by the Methodists, who are the largest of the six groups involved and have been most wary of merger. They voiced misgivings that other churches did not share their views on total alcoholic abstinence.

And on the crucial question of the ministry, the Methodists declared themselves strongly opposed to the Episcopal doctrine of the apostolic succession of bishops, as well as to the United Church's and the Disciples' belief in the autonomy of local congregations. Because such differences remain, the Methodist delegates decided not to ask their church's quadrennial General Conference this month for authority to help draft a formal plan of union. With that, the Episcopalians also decided that they would like to think things over too.

*Since Blake's historic speech, the Disciples of Christ and the Evangelical United Brethren have joined the merger talks.

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