»University District Ecumenical Campus Coalition
Request to Study University Congregational Property
Congregational Vote on UDECC
Request
A special congregational meeting was held on
Sunday, Oct. 25, following the
worship service. The purpose of this meeting was to send a recommendation to
the church council on the University District Ecumenical Campus Coalition (UDECC)
request to use our parking lot C and the Gold House property in a
feasibility study for locating the University Ecumenical Campus on this
site.
The congregation met and
voted on the motion “to recommend to the Church Council to say yes to the
University District Ecumenical Campus Coalition’s request to conduct a
feasibility study (to include economic, financial, zoning, and architectural
components) of UCUCC’s “Lot C” and “Gold House” properties. The vote was the
following:
YES 96
NO 84
Abstain 3
This recommendation will
be taken to the Church Council meeting on Oct. 26 where a formal
response to UDECC will be decided upon. Thanks to the congregation for their
serious consideration and discussion of this request.
Additional information, including a pastoral
letter, will be posted later this week.
Kathy Kripps
UCUCC Church Moderator
Update: July 20, 2010:
The Ecumenical
Campus Feasibility Study Report is now available at the UDECC website,
www.ecumenicalcampus.org.
Update: October 28, 2009:
Pastoral letter from the leadership staff regarding our decision and next
steps.
Click here.
Update: November 5, 2009:
Letter from our church council to the UDECC board.
Click here.
Update: November 21, 2009:
Read the letter that UDECC sent to UCUCC thanking us for allowing the
Ecumenical Campus study to go forward.
Click here.
Background
University Congregational United Church of Christ has
been approached by the University District Ecumenical Campus Coalition
(sometimes referred to as "UDECC”) with a request to include property owned by
University Congregational UCC in a feasibility study regarding a potential
“ecumenical campus.” This new facility would be a shared, common place
for several University District churches. At this time, it is unclear what
the response of our University Congregational UCC congregation will be. There are many
perspectives, feelings, ideas and questions. This site is a central location
to find information about the Ecumenical Campus Coalition's request.
The Church Council--University Congregational UCC's
governing body--decided in June, 2009 to postpone responding to the
Ecumenical Campus Coalition's request until
November 15. The time frame of this decision allows member of the congregation at
large to learn more about the proposal and make an informed decision
To that end, the Church Council formed a “UDECC Task
Force” (a group within University Congregational UCC, not within the
University District Ecumenical Campus Coalition) to
help our congregation discern a faithful response to the request at hand. In
September and October, the task force will lead numerous forums for dialogue among congregation
members, as well as opportunities to hear directly from some Ecumenical
Campus Coalition board members and stakeholders.
Read a letter about
this issue from our ministers and lay leaders
Read "U. Dist. Ecumenical Campus Coalition Responses to Questions Asked by
our Task Force - August 31, 2009"
Read "Questions Raised by Our
Congregation"
October 1 update and request to take an on-line survey
Update: October 12, 2009: UDECC's response to two questions about the
development capacity of this site:(1) Is the site large enough? and (2) Do
sub-grade conditions impede excavation for a parking garage?
Click here for more info.
Update: October 20, 2009: A guide to understanding the issue before us,
prepared at the request of UCUCC's UDECC Task Force.
Click here for the guide.
Update: October 22, 2009: Results of the discernment survey.
Click here.
Update: October 28, 2009: Pastoral letter from the leadership staff
regarding our decision and next steps.
Click here.
Additional information about the University District Ecumenical Campus
Coalition (UDECC):
Frequently
Asked Questions
Raised by Our Congregation
(with commentary
from the Task Force)
The
University Congregational UCC Task Force working on this issue
has created a "Frequently Asked Questions" sheet. It is a list of questions
that is evolving each week with new insights and questions. This document
will be frequently updated, so check back for updated, timely information.
You'll find the FAQs available on
this separate web page or you can download a PDF version if you prefer
to print it. |
