Reflections on UCC ad controversy by Joyce Hollyday

Thanks to Jim Lowder.  The letter Jim refers to was basically the one prepared by People for the American Way, which has also had an action site for sending letters of protest to CBS and NBC. I added the last paragraph.  Others are encouraged to send letters of their own or to use one of the many which have been drafted and included on the various action websites.  It is most important to get some kind of communication in to these networks.  They will not read the letters in any event, but will probably count and categorize them.  We need to make our voices and our opinions heard.  -- Rick Mitchell

Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 10:34:00 -0500

Joyce Hollyday is one of the co-pastors of Circle of Mercy ... and also a staff person with the Southeast Region of UCC. Yesterday she had an op ed piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. I've included it below. One of the best reflections on the ad controversy that I have read. By the way, thanks so much for your powerful letter to the network presidents. Many of us are working on letters as well as participating in the UCC's action campaign.

 

Blessings,

 

Jim

 

Joyce Hollyday:

 

Many Americans gathered with family and friends on Thanksgiving for a day devoted to feasting and football. Likely, few of them called to mind the Native Americans who were central characters in the holiday’s history—or the Pilgrims, those oddly dressed English settlers who came to this country fleeing persecution and seeking religious freedom. Fewer still know that the Pilgrims established the Congregational Church, one branch of what is today the United Church of Christ—a denomination with 1.3 million members and close to 6,000 churches, formed from an eclectic mix that included not only New England Congregationalists but also conservative rural Southern Christian congregations, African-American mission churches, and German-speaking believers from the Evangelical and Reformed traditions. This rich pluralism of the United Church of Christ, which has expanded in recent years to reflect the even broader diversity of our nation, has made it a denomination of "extravagant welcome," a message it is attempting to convey to the American public through television ads this month.

How ironic that one week after we celebrated a holiday born of freedom of religious expression—and one month after one of the most competitive and controversial elections in history—the CBS and NBC television networks refused to air a 30-second television ad that highlights the United Church of Christ’s inclusion of all people, regardless of race, age, ability, economic circumstance, or sexual orientation. The ad declares, "Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we." NBC called it "too controversial," and CBS deemed it "unacceptable for broadcast" because it assumes acceptance of gay and lesbian couples and, according to CBS, implies support for gay marriage.

At stake in the controversy that has been generated by the networks’ decision is not only freedom of speech, but also the question of who gets to define religious faith in this country. Pollsters and pundits would have us believe after the recent election that "moral values" in America is largely about unqualified support for a self-proclaimed, born-again president and opposition to gay marriage. But many devout, Bible-believing Christians across the land embrace a markedly different view.

In this religious season of Advent, as we await and prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, we remember that his earthly journey took him from a feeding trough to a cross; that he was born a homeless refugee and executed as a scandalous criminal. Jesus called his followers to simplicity and surrender, inviting them to abandon arrogant and violent ways, boldly confronting the status quo that enforced the power and economic arrangements of his day. He told them that whenever they fed, or clothed, or visited one of the "least of these" in the world’s eyes—the hungry, the sick, the prisoners—they showed that compassion to him. He proclaimed peacemakers "blessed" and exhorted his followers, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." He formed around himself a community of radical inclusion and compassion, welcoming in particular the people who were marginalized and stigmatized by his society: the leprous and the lame, blind beggars, despised women, hated foreigners.

Some of us Christians in America don’t see how you can follow Jesus and exclude some of God’s children from the circle of grace. We don’t understand how you can care for the poor and gut the programs that sustain them. We don’t see how you can claim the label "pro-life" and ardently support the death penalty and war. We don’t know how you can love your enemies and bomb them. For us, there is far more to "moral values" than most current commentary acknowledges. For us, following Jesus means we are called to mirror his compassion for the poor, his inclusion of the marginalized, his pursuit of peace, and his proclamations of justice. Those of us in the United Church of Christ would like to spread that message. It’s a shame that NBC and CBS won’t let us be heard.

Rev. Joyce Hollyday, an Associate Conference Minister for the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ, is a co-pastor of Circle of Mercy congregation in Asheville, NC, and the author of several books, including "Then Shall Your Light Rise: Spiritual Formation and Social Witness."

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