The United Church of Christ Historical Council encourages continued study of Black history within the denomination. The book Afro-Christian Convention: The Fifth Stream of the United Church of Christ, published by Pilgrim Press, highlights the tradition of independent Black churches with deep African rootedness that is acknowledged as one of the unique historical religious streams that came together to form the modern-day UCC.
“The story of the Afro-Christian Convention as the fifth stream of the United Church of Christ is a little-known part of our ‘hidden history,’ that clearly points to some of the gifts and challenges of our collective story,” said Julia Speller, a member of the Historical Council and a leading voice of the Afro-Christian tradition. “But it also reveals important lessons that will help us live more faithfully and fully into our commitment of being a ‘united and uniting’ church.”
The book’s description explains how the Afro-Christian Convention offers a story of faith, survival and empowerment in the hostile environment of racism, and yet, “the spirit, worldview, worship and impact of Afro-Christian Convention churches are not appropriately represented under the banner of the Congregational stream of UCC history, a stream informed predominantly by white perspective.”
A free, eight-part study guide to accompany Afro-Christian Convention is available for download here. It is intended for Bible studies, book clubs, and all who want to learn about and discuss the Afro-Christian tradition.
Speller, a co-author of the study guide, says: “While it is important to know this story, it is equally necessary to discover how the values that sustained the Afro-Christians in the past can be important tools for our work and witness today."