To the Editor:

I was saddened to learn of the First Community Congregational United Church of Christ’s withdrawal from the UCC, as reported in The Lehigh Acres Citizen on Feb. 24. I was the interim minister for more than two years (200602008) and during that time there was absolutely no “dissatisfaction with the UCC polity,” as stated by the spokeswoman in the article.

To the contrary, the church participated in workshops and meetings of the UCC used many of its resources, the UCC held the church’s insurance policy and managed its endowments.

There was absolutely no “pressure” put on the church to be “open to the UCC policies.” That is contradictory to the polity of the UCC which declares that each church is autonomous and challenges each person to do his or her own thinking and believing.

How tragic that the “polity” the people are dissatisfied with:

* Requires the leadership to be trained and ordained. The present leader not even a licensed minister, even though the spokeswoman says she is ordained (but no name of the church who ordained her). If ordained, why is the local church going to ordain her again? That is contradictory to the polity of the UCC for ordination is by the larger church body.

* The polity allows all people to be free to speak in a meeting. At the meeting for withdrawal the UCC leaders were denied the freedom to speak.

* The polity requires a church to carefully plan with legal notice for such traumatic vote as withdrawal. The spokeswoman declared that the “vote to dissociate was not a planned vote.”

* The polity does not coerce a church to agree with pronouncements made by the UCC.

I applaud the Rev. Kent Siladi, UCC Conference minister, on his extending the hand of friendship to this church and I do not belive for a moment that his allegations “are inaccurate,” as stated by the spokeswoman. I have no idea what a “classic church” is like and so will stick with the UCC whose purpose is Jesus’ pray; “that they may all be one.”

Rev., Donald Henderson

Sarasota, Fla.