Church Puts Off Decision to Move

The United Church of Christ will wait at least two years before deciding whether to move its headquarters from New York City to either Cleveland or St. Louis.

Delegates to the 16th General Synod agreed this week to postpone the decision until the next synod, in 1989, spokeswoman Beverly Chain said.

The 700 delegates voted to accept a committee’s recommendation to limit the cities under consideration to Cleveland, New York City and St. Louis, and eliminate Louisville, Ky., which made a last-minute pitch for the headquarters.

The vote by a show of hands followed the rejection, 366 to 355, of a motion to select St. Louis as the headquarters city.

The search for a new headquarters city began last winter with the appointment of a relocation committee by the church’s executive council, which governs the denomination between synods.

The committee considered Cleveland, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York and St. Louis, then recommended St. Louis.

The executive council, however, rejected the suggestion in March, recommending only that the headquarters for the 1.7 million-member church be moved out of New York City by 1991.

The church’s $1.6 million annual rent in New York for offices for its 140 employees and 170 support workers has been cited as a factor for the move.

Wisconsin delegate Paul Quakenbush said that the church had been contemplating a move for 15 years and that it was time to reach a decision. He said delegates should trust the committee’s choice of St. Louis.