NO TIME FOR ANGER

In a recent press release we called former UCC President Rev. John Thomas to public repentance of his moral failure while he was president and general minister of the denomination in order to allow the church to heal.   In August, Biblical Witness Fellowship revealed that Rev. Thomas had been having an adulterous affair for an unspecified number of years with a woman who was his subordinate and frequent travelling partner on church business. This resulted in his public announcement that he was divorcing his wife to live in a “committed relationship” with his lover. On January 21, the Western Reserve Association’s Church and Ministry Committee after a lengthy review, suspended Rev. Thomas ministerial standing pending completion of a “program of growth.”  Thomas responded in a statement which said,

"I find it incomprehensible that within twelve hours of being informed on the telephone of the WRA Committee on Ministry's decision regarding my fitness review, that word has been communicated to PLL, from them to you, and now is about to be communicated publicly by the United Church of Christ. This is before I have received formal written notice, before I have the opportunity to share this word with my family, before I have had time to speak to my immediate colleagues at CTS including President Hunt, and before I have had time to reflect with close colleagues on how I should begin to consider my response to WRA.

"Quite apart from lacking any sense of human decency, this so violates what I understand to be concern for the sanctity and confidentiality of church and ministry proceedings, or the concern for covenantal responsibility among settings of the church, as to be breathtaking. However, given the voyeuristic nature of the church's approach to intimate details of my personal life over the past few months, I guess I should not be surprised." http://www.wfn.org/2011/01/msg00086.html

In response, Biblical Witness Fellowship Executive Director David Runnion-Bareford has issued a statement saying:  “This is a time for sorrow and not anger. Even as we hold John in our prayers, now is the time for an authentic repentance and clean confession from a broken and contrite heart. He has deeply hurt the church, and healing will not begin without resolution. We are encouraged by the integrity and sensitivity of the church and ministry committee who, serving as volunteers, have engaged this difficult situation with courage.”

That John Thomas has reacted as he has to the sometimes Kafkaesque process of a fitness review is ironic to those who have been targeted at times more because of their faith than their failure.  Welcome to the experience, John – great isn’t it?

 It appears that Thomas has yet to awaken to the real cost of his adultery. While BWF rejects the cynical suggestion made by some other commentators that his enthusiastic support for the same gender marriage resolution in 2005 was quid pro quo for tacit silence or approval of his own relational agenda, his behavior does call into question the credibility of the UCC leadership and what it has promoted. There is a strong indication that national staff people were aware of the situation for some time. When did they become aware and what action did they take?  Is there a consensual ethos of permissive relational behavior among UCC staff folks? Were church funds abused when they were used for John Thomas and Lydia Veliko to travel together albeit on ‘church business’? We pray that the church will follow up now with a level of public disclosure that will enable trust to be restored and healing to begin.