Church Activities to Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery

(Originally published in April, 2019, as "News From St. John's" in the Madeline Island Gazette.)

Delegates from the 218 congregations of the Wisconsin Conference of the
 United Church of Christ (UCC) met in Wisconsin Dells on April 5-6, 2019.

Rev. Rachel Bauman and Joe Scarry recently attended the 57th Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ. On April 6, 2019, the Conference voted overwhelmingly in favor of "A Resolution of Witness: Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery."

The Doctrine of Discovery and its impact on Native Americans has been a central theme of this winter’s Soup Suppers at St. John’s. Many Christian denominations and faith organizations across the country have also been examining the Doctrine of Discovery and exploring the injustices and negative impact it continues to have on Native American lives.

What is the Doctrine of Discovery?

Pope Nicolas V issued several Papal Bulldums (Bulls) in the 1400’s authorizing and justifying the destruction, killing, and appropriation of lands of Native Americans. These Bulls served as the theological foundation for what became the tragic genocide of American Indians and were regarded as legal rationalization for invading America and debasing American Indians.

From the Resolution of Witness:

"In June of 2013, the 29th General Synod, supported and passed the resolution to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. This Doctrine authorized the genocide of Native Peoples and the theft of Native Lands. The Indigenous Peoples were told that God has declared that the Pope rules all people, regardless of their law, sect or belief. This includes Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, or any other sect. The Native Americans were to come forward of their own free will to convert to Catholicism or ... “with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means, and we shall bind you to the yoke of the Church and Their Highnesses; we shall enslave your persons, wives, and sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can as disobedient and resisting vassals."

The principle provisions of the resolution are that Wisconsin Conference of the UCC "upholds and affirms the repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery" and "declares and confesses that the doctrine has been and continues to be a shameful part of the United States and our Church's history."

What happened at the Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting?

First, it was reported that 91 out of 218 congregations in the Wisconsin Conference had, over the previous 12 months, engaged in exploration and discussion of the Doctrine of Discovery. This surpassed the required 30% threshold that had been established to bring the resolution before the Annual Meeting. [View UCC Wisconsin Conference Doctrine of Discovery study resources.]

Second, we watched a video from the previous annual meeting, in which a member of the sole Native American congregation in the Wisconsin Conference, Larry Littlegeorge of Hocak UCC, introduced the resolution.

Third, there was general discussion on the Resolution. Numerous people spoke out strongly in favor of the Resolution. There were several notable threads of concern voiced:

* that passing the Resolution might require the Wisconsin Conference to "give back" property -- e.g. congregational real estate and/or church camps

*that the Conference should only pass the Resolution if it takes seriously the significant work, over a long period of time, that will be required to honor it

Fourth, general discussion was followed by a vote overwhelmingly in favor of the Resolution.

What Comes Next?

The Resolution of Witness calls for the Wisconsin Conference to:

* "join with ecumenical partners to explore ways to compensate American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians for the lands and resources that were stolen and are still being stolen and which are now the United States of America"

* seek educational materials from UCC entities (Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) and Council of American Indian Ministry (CAIM))

* encourage member congregation to use such materials and "to pursue actions that may arise from their studies"

* call upon the United States government to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.

What is St. John’s Doing?

St. John's is working to get connected with others in the Conference who will be carrying forward the work mandated in the resolution.

There will be a two-day immersion experience with the Ho-Chunk congregation (Hocak UCC) on June 7 and 8, 2019.

St. John’s continues conversations about ways to increase awareness about the ways the Doctrine of Discovery negatively impacts all indigenous people and encourage local, state and federal governments to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.

If you want more information and want to become involved in taking action, contact St. John's UCC on Madeline Island.

(Supplemental to the article above, the following information was published in May, 2019, as "Understanding History" in the newsletter of St. John's UCC on Madeline Island, The Lighthouse.)

The Resolution of Witness states that “the 29th General Synod, supported and passed the resolution to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.  This Doctrine authorized the genocide of Native Peoples and the theft of Native Lands. The Indigenous Peoples were told that God has declared that the Pope rules all people, regardless of their law, sect or belief. This includes Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, or any other sect. The Native Americans were to come forward of their own free will to convert to Catholicism or ... with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means, and we shall bind you to the yoke of the Church and Their Highnesses; we shall enslave your persons, wives, and sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can as disobedient and resisting vassals."

The principle provisions of the resolution are that Wisconsin Conference of the UCC "upholds and affirms the repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery" and "declares and confesses that the doctrine has been and continues to be a shameful part of the United States and our Church's history."

If you would like to learn more about the Doctrine of Discovery, we warmly welcome you to join us  on the last three Tuesday mornings in June (June 11, 18, 25, 2019). Each session will include a short video followed by conversation about the Doctrine, its continuing impact for Native Americans and African Americans, and how we, at St. John's, might respond to what we are learning. All are welcome!

Resource list for  Doctrine of Discovery learning sessions held at St. John's UCC on Madeline Island.

Day by day, visitors to the Wisconsin Conference booth added the names
of their congregations to the poster sharing the news of the resolution
repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery.

(Supplemental to the article above, the following information was published in July, 2019, as "An Update from Milwaukee" in the newsletter of St. John's UCC on Madeline Island, The Lighthouse.)

The UCC General Synod 2019 was a great experience, and particularly fulfilling for me because of progress made on projects to which I am deeply committed.

I had the opportunity to work together with Larry Littlegeorge (Hocak UCC, Black River Falls) on follow-up to the resolution repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery passed recently by the Wisconsin Conference.

Larry and his colleagues have plans to launch an entity to work on legal issues that stem from the Doctrine of Discovery, working in covenant with a range of UCC bodies.

A fascinating profile of Larry Littlegeorge and his work on the Doctrine of Discovery was published during the synod.

BFtB-WWND: "Back From The Brink": What Would Noah Do?

The resolution on preventing nuclear war passed overwhelmingly
at the UCC General Synod 2019 in Milwaukee.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Second General Synod of the United Church of Christ urges the National setting, conferences, associations, and local churches to advocate for policy makers to support the aforementioned resolutions [i.e. the five points of the Back From the Brink campaign, and global nuclear weapons ban].

 - from "RESOLUTION Calling for the United States to pull 'Back From The Brink' and Prevent Nuclear War" passed last week at the 32nd General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) meeting last week in Milwaukee

"Build yourself a ship."

- Genesis 6:14
(translation from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene H. Peterson)

I promised myself that if the resolution passed, I would spend the month of July in sacred study.

Last week, representatives from congregations of the United Church of Christ (UCC) from across the country gathered in Milwaukee for the 2019 General Synod. In the course of the next several days, they considered approximately twenty different resolutions. On Tuesday, June 25, the delegates voted overwhelmingly to pass its "RESOLUTION Calling for the United States to pull 'Back From The Brink' and Prevent Nuclear War."

The resolution urges member congregations, and all other levels of the UCC body, to actively support the nationwide "Back From The Brink" campaign. The campaign calls on the US to:

* renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first;
* end any president’s sole, unchecked authority to launch a nuclear attack;
* take US nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert;
* cancel the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons; and
* actively pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

The resolution is simply this: an invitation to nearly 5,000 congregations, with about 850,000 members, to join others in "building a ship" to carry us out of the danger that we face.

(You can read the full text of the UCC's "Back From the Brink" resolution on the denomination's website. More information on key aspects of the UCC's "Back From the Brink" resolution and the campaign can be found in my April 8 blog post. )

So today I begin keeping that promise to myself, and open the Bible to the book of Noah. For the next month, I will look to this sacred text in search of insight about the situation we face, what we might do about it, and where God is in all this.

I will also be joining in sacred conversation with UCC colleagues and with members of other organizations who are hard at work on the "Back From The Brink" campaign, about how to move from resolution (and reflection) to action.

Watch this space for daily reflections on "Back From The Brink": What Would Noah Do?


Next NOAH post


Posts in the NOAH series:

Genesis 6:1-4 ... They were awesome. (But they really screwed things up.)
Genesis 6:5-8 ... Are we prepared to think about un-creation?
Genesis 6:9-16 ... What Will Modern Noahs Build?
Genesis 6:17-18 ... Earth On the Brink. (What's the deal?)
Genesis 6:19-22 ... A Multitude of Reasons to Work to Prevent Nuclear War
Genesis 7:1-5 ... ALL ABOARD! (the "Back From the Brink" Campaign, that is!)
Genesis 7:6-10 ... Preventing Nuclear War: Recommended for All Ages
Genesis 7:11-16 ... Lifeboat or Tomb? How the Nuclear Weapons Story Ends
Genesis 7:17-24 ... Nuclear Weapons: Why "Imagine the Worst"?
Genesis 8:1-5 ... Preventing Nuclear War: Can We Feel Solid Ground Beneath Our Feet?
Genesis 8:6-12 ... Company On the Walk "Back From the Brink" 
Genesis 8:13-19 ... NOAH: He got to the last step because he took the first step
Genesis 8:20-22 ... NOAH: A Model for Advocacy?
Genesis 9:1-7 ... Time to Re-write the Noachide Laws and Pull Back From the Brink?
Genesis 9:8-17 ... Come Together to Pull Back From the Brink
Genesis 9:18-27 ... "Back From the Brink" - Clear-Cut and Messy
Genesis 9:28 ... Preventing Nuclear War: The Work of a Lifetime

A United Church of Christ (UCC) Resolution on Preventing Nuclear War ("Back From the Brink")

"Earthrise" (William Anders, 1968)

I am feeling hopeful today.

I just returned from a gathering of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Being together with people from 218 different congregations, with close to 41,000 members, and seeing them all work together, reminded me of the enormous potential in the Church to bring about the better world we all seek.

At the gathering, I was reminded that in just over 2 months the full UCC will convene for its bi-annual meeting in Milwaukee. And that's particularly important to me because of a resolution on preventing nuclear war that will be brought forward at that gathering.

The "Resolution Calling for the United States to pull “Back From The Brink” and Prevent Nuclear War" calls for action in five areas:

* renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first;
* ending any president’s sole, unchecked authority to launch a nuclear attack;
* taking US nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert;
* cancelling the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons; and
* actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

There are already people at work on those five areas in the US government and in governments around the world. For instance, there are four bills currently making their way through Congress:

H.R.921/S. 272 - To establish the policy of the United States regarding the no-first-use of nuclear weapons

HR. 669/S. 200 - "To prohibit the conduct of a first-use nuclear strike absent a declaration of war by Congress."

H.R.1086 / S. 401 - Hold the LYNE Act

H.R.1231 / S. 312 - Prevention of Arms Race Act of 2019

And there is the global nuclear ban treaty currently advancing in the United Nations.

The reason, in my opinion, that the UCC resolution is particularly important lies in this sentence: If passed, "[t]he 32nd General Synod of the United Church of Christ will request that all churches, associations, conferences, and associated bodies of the United Church of Christ consider how to implement this resolution with the support and encouragement of the Covenanted Ministries." Nationally, the UCC consists of approximately 4,956 congregations with 853,778 members. These are people deeply committed to their relationships with each other and with God -- they meet weekly to worship, to socialize, and to get stuff done -- and they care profoundly about God's Creation. I can't think of another single group with more awesome potential to make a change in the fate of the Earth.

So: if you are a member of a UCC congregation, please share the news of this resolution with others and encourage them to support it at the Milwaukee meeting in June.

And if you are a member of some other denomination, you might want to begin to ask: what can our churches be doing to pull us "Back From The Brink"?

(Read more about the "Back From The Brink" campaign.)

John F. Kennedy: "... the fate of the world and the future of the human race, is
involved with preventing a nuclear war." ("Back From The Brink" campaign)