Atlanta Daily World

GIANT
MERGER
OF
PROTESTANTS PROPOSED

By CLAIRE COX

NEW YORK - (UPI) - Officials of two major churches joined Thursday in announcing a proposed unified constitution they said would implement the boldest step ever taken toward Protestant unity in the United States.

The United Church of Christ, formed by the union of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church (E. and R.) announced that the draft constitution would be voted upon at its second general synod in Oberlin, Ohio, next month.

The United Church represents the first joining of forces of two different major Protestant organizations in U. S. history. Different groups practicing the same religion have formed a number of mergers, among them have been various Methodist groups and two leading Presbyterian organizations. Several Lutheran groups currently are conducting merger talks.

On the North American continent, the only major unification similar to that of the United Church of Christ took place years ago in Canada, where several different Protestant sects joined into the United Church of Canada.

SEVEN OTHERS LARGER

Only seven U.S. Protestant groups are larger than the total membership of the Congregational and E. and R. churches. They are the Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Baptist Convention, U. S. A., the United Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., the Protestant Episcopal Church, the National Baptist Convention of America and the United Lutheran Church in America.

The Congregational Christian churches have a total membership of 1,401,565, and the E. and R. members number 807,280.