General Synod in 2023 recognized a fifth stream of historical significance for the United Church of Christ. Here in Keystone, most of our congregations were nurtured in the Reformed stream. However, we do have a few from the other prevalent streams: Congregational, Christian, and Evangelical. This fifth stream was historically grouped with the (white) Christian stream, but there is much that distinguished them as a separate entity in our founding. At that Synod, then General Minister and President, Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, offered an official apology stating there were “always five” and shared his “grief that this fifth tradition had been willfully subjugated” for so long.

Rev. Dr. Nora Foust is planning a continuing education event on October 15th, open to lay and clergy, to continue the conversation started at Synod and with the publication of “Afro-Christian Convention: The Fifth Stream of the United Church of Christ” that same year. In this time of learning together, we will explore the Afro-Christian Convention and refresh existing knowledge around the Christian, Congregational, Evangelical, and Reformed traditions also present at our founding.

“Afro-Christian Convention: The Fifth Stream of the United Church of Christ” is available from Pilgrim Press, Amazon, and your favorite local bookseller. This continuing education event is being offered with no fee in hopes that you will purchase, and read, the book ahead of our session for which we do ask that you register.

Click here to register.