Calvin Synod Herald, 1999 (99. évfolyam, 2-4. szám - 100. évfolyam, 9-12. szám)
1999-09-01 / 9-10. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 3 UCC Elects New President GS-22 Picks Rev. John H. Thomas A new President and General Minister, the Rev. John H. Thomas, was elected by the delegates to the 22nd General Synod this summer. He served previously as the ecumenical officer of the denomination for the past seven years, assistant to the Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sherry, who has retired. After the ballot the President-elect said, “I look forward to joining my colleagues in a new style of leadership as we seek to carry forward the historic commitments of our church into the 21st century.” In reply to an inquiry about the future, he added, “the core of our life is in our congregations.” The new head of the UCC is 48 years old, and is well known to Calvin Synod delegates, having attended a number of annual meetings in recent years. As ecumenical officer, Thomas coordinated the work done by the United Church of Christ in national and international settings with other denominations, councils of churches and interfaith groups. He interpreted ecumenism’s biblical base, developed ecumenical leadership among UCC members, represented the church in ecumenical settings and helped the church empower ecumenical organizations with leadership and funding. Since 1993, Thomas has served as co-chair of the Lutheran and Reformed Coordinating Committee, a group whose efforts resulted in the approval of the “Formula of Agreement,” an historic affirmation of full communion among the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ. The Agreement was approved by churches, and in the same Spirit with Protestant church members all over the world. October 31 is Reformation Day, which we observe in the Lord’s Day Service on the last Sunday of October. The Reformation has not ended, but in our church life is a continuing process of religious and personal renewal. The apostle Paul says: “...be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:23-24) He continues in another letter, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” (I. Cor. 12:31) You can read more about this more excellent way in' Corinthians 13. In these and other ways, in every issue the Herald is willing to inform you. Come along with us as we turn a new page, and let us walk together sharing the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus, for personal, religious and national renewal as we embark on our Second Century, the Third Millennium, and heavenbound to Eternity in Heaven. The Editors the four denominations at their national meetings in 1997. It makes possible new levels of cooperation among the four denominations, including the sharing of communion and recognition of a common faith. He also played key roles in the United Church of Christ’s special “ecumenical partnership” with another North American denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). From 1992 to 1997, Thomas served on the two churches’joint Ecumenical Partnership Committee and on the Disciples’ General Board and Administrative Committee. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Office of the World Council of Churches since 1992 as well as a member of the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches. He served on the denomination’s Council for Ecumenism (1998-1991) and chaired the editorial committee of its newsletter, Ecumenical News (1998-1990). He chaired the Commission on Ecumenism in the church’s regional Penn Northeast Conference (1989-1991); was a Penn Northeast delegate to the General Synod, the central deliberative body of the church (1981,1985 and 1987); served as hospitality coordinator for ecumenical delegates and international visitors to the 1989 Synod; and was a part-time “stewardship associate,” conducting workshops in behalf of the Penn Northeast Conference and the denomination’s Stewardship Council (1985- 1991). In Easton-area ecumenical affairs, Thomas was a member of the pastoral relations committee at Easton Hospital from 1983 to 1991, and served as chairman for four of those years; a volunteer chaplain at the hospital (1982-1991); a member of the ecumenical relations committee of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches (1987-1991); chairperson of the Easton Ecumenical Food Bank (1983-1989); and secretary of the Pastoral Institute of the Lehigh Valley (1983-1988). In other community activities, Thomas was on the board of directors, and was president (1989-1991), of the Easton Drop-In Center for the homeless, which added a homeless shelter and became Safe Harbor Easton. He chaired the organizing committee of the E aston-Bethlehem Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (1985- 1987) and served as a commission member (1987-1989). His published works include: “The Ecumenical Nurture of Piety,” Prism, 1989; “Conversion to Koinonia: From Chicago, 1983, to Santiago de Compostela, 1993,” TheNewMercersburg Review, 1993; “A New Entry for Muhlenberg’s Journal?” Prism, 1993; “The Greater and the Lesser Stories in the history of the United Church of Christ”, Mid-Stream, 1993; “Never Again Saying, T Have No Need of You,”’ Prism, 1995; and “A Summer For Ecumenism,” Mid-Stream, 1998. Born Aug. 10, 1950, in Stamford, Conn., John Harmon Thomas grew up in neighboring Darien, graduating from Darien High School (1968). He earned a B.A. degree in history from Gettysburg (PA) College (1972) and an M.Div. degree from Yale University Divinity School, New Haven, Conn. (1975). He also studied at the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, in 1988. He and his wife, Lynda, have two children.
