Affirmation of Baptism: An Order of Service

For my final project I have chosen to construct a liturgy for the Affirmation of Baptism. While the original context for this work was inspired by discussion around the need for such a service in the UFMCC, the liturgy could be used in any emerging church setting where people from multiple denominations have come together as a single congregation.

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Should Baptism be Required for Membership in the MCC?

From early in the history of the Metropolitan Community Churches, the Bylaws have stated that in order to attain good standing as a member of an MCC congregation, one must be a baptized Christian.[1] Though other requirements have changed over time, Baptism has remained a constant. At the same time, anecdotal evidence suggests that individual churches within the Fellowship have begun to dispense with this requirement, accepting members without Baptism, thus raising the question: should Baptism be required for membership in the MCC? I propose to approach this question as an issue of epistemology, ecclesiology and, more broadly, MCC corporate identity. My contention is that as long as the MCC identifies as a part of the Church universal, Baptism as a sign of profession of Christian faith is essential to church membership.

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Missions and Colonialism

The 19th and 20th centuries saw a great expansion in Protestant missionary activity.  With the growth of European colonialism often came missionaries, spreading the gospel to new lands as well as covering some old ground.  However, mixed with the good news were cultural values and commercial interests that produced mixed effects among indigenous populations.  While the meta-narrative of progress tells us that the modernization and development of the non-Western world was generally a good thing, it is often difficult to distinguish the oppressive side of missionary activity from the empowering side.

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