The United Church of Christ has gotten involved with mascot battles in the past (chiefly over a protest of the racist
Chief Wahoo mascot of the Cleveland Indians). Earlier this week, the
UCC's Central Atlantic Conference board of directors decided to jump into the mascot war. Their target this time is the Washington Redskins:
In a meeting Saturday in Catonsville, the 25-member board of directors of the Central Atlantic Conference of the UCC unanimously passed the boycott resolution, pointedly avoiding use of the word Redskins. The board, mostly laypeople, proposed that the 22,000 members of the liberal denomination “join a boycott of games played by the Washington National League Football team and not wear, display or purchase any items with the Washington National League Football team logo until the name changes.”
The 180 congregations in the conference, which stretches from Richmond to New Jersey, were asked to debate the resolution before a vote on whether to adopt it at the conference’s annual meeting in mid-June. The conference also asked the church’s national governing body to consider passing a similar boycott resolution.
“If you look at the dictionary definition of the present team name, it’s a derogatory term,” said the Rev. John R. Deckenback, the minister who leads the conference. “We’d like the name of the team to be changed.”
Team spokesman Tony Wyllie offered a response, saying, “We respect those who disagree with our team’s name, but we wish the United Church of Christ would listen to the voice of the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Native Americans, who support our name and understand it honors the heritage and tradition of the Native American community.”
Assuming that this conference resolution passes, it only affects the UCC staff and resources within that specific conference. It would not affect my own conference (the Iowa Conference), nor would it directly involve national UCC staff or resources. However, it might (and probably will if passed in June) lead to a denomination-wide resolution against using the mascot name "Redskins" at our next General Synod.
