Press Release from the National Council of Churches:
The Rev. Patrice L. Rosner, Associate General Secretary for the Education and Leadership Ministries Commission of the National Council of Churches in the USA, was elected as the new Director of Churches Uniting in Christ, to begin her work on June 5, 2006.
"While we regret the loss of Patrice here at the Council, we celebrate with her the new challenge and adventure she has accepted at CUIC and wish her the very best," said the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, NCC General Secretary. "For nearly six and one-half years, she has done an outstanding job for the Council and we expect great things now for Churches Uniting in Christ."
In accepting her call to this position, Rosner, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) said, “It both humbles me and excites me to be called to give leadership to CUIC, an initiative so rich with possibilities for living into the vision of seeking full visible unity in Christ. With these communions I hold a fervent hope that in this next year, through prayer, discernment, and dialogue with one another, the CUIC partners will come to consensus in their proposal for the mutual recognition and mutual reconciliation of ordained ministries. The communions have so many gifts to give to and receive from one another.”
As Director of Churches Uniting in Christ, Rosner will serve as the primary staff to CUIC, with responsibilities to help the member communions in living out their relationship in seeking full communion in mission, service, worship and ministry. She will coordinate the work of CUIC, interpret its vision, and give leadership to shaping opportunities for a visible witness of the churches in the world, especially in relation to overcoming racism.
Rosner brings a strong background of ecumenical experience to this new position, especially in the areas of Christian education and leadership development. In her work with the National Council of Churches these past six years, she has coordinated thirteen program committees involving more than 22 communions and agencies. She has given leadership in the areas of dismantling systemic institutional racism, preparing Bible study curriculum, developing programs for a variety of age levels and settings and continuing education for pastors and lay leaders, and ecumenical formation of youth and young adults.
Meeting in Charlotte, N.C., upon the invitation of Bishop George W. C. Walker, Sr., Senior Bishop of the AME Zion Church, the Coordinating Council of CUIC also elected new officers: as president, the Rev. Dr. Suzanne Webb, pastor of a Disciples congregation in St. Louis; as Vice President, Bishop Ronald Cunningham, Ecumenical Officer for the C.M.E. Church; as secretary, Mr. Abraham Wright, a lay person in the International Council of Community Churches and teacher in Beltsville, MD; and as treasurer, Mr. James Tse, an Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accountant in New York.
Inaugurated in January 2002, Churches Uniting in Christ includes the following member communion: the African Methodist Episcopal Church [AME], the African Methodist Episcopal Church Zion [AME Zion], the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)[Disciples], the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church [CME], the Episcopal Church (USA) [Episcopal],the International Council of Community Churches [ICCC], the Presbyterian Church (USA) [PCUSA], the United Church of Christ [UCC], and the United Methodist Church [UMC]. In addition, there are two “Partners in Mission and Dialogue”: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] and the Moravian Church (Northern Province) [Moravians].
