Intercommunion
A key phrase associated with COCU was “catholic and reformed” (later, “catholic, evangelical, and reformed”). With the failure of the Plan of Union that had become clear by 1972, COCU turned in 1973 to negotiating "intercommunion", whereby each member church would retain its own autonomy and identity, while recognizing the validity of the rites, membership, and ministry of the others and accepting them as true churches. This proposal, submitted to the churches in 1979, was titled "The COCU Consensus: In Quest of a Church of Christ Uniting." It was one part of a three part proposal; the other two parts were first published as "Covenanting Toward Community: From Consensus to Communion" and later republished with revisions in 1989 as "Churches in Covenant Communion."
Read more about this topic: Consultation On Church Union