The first worship service of Hope Presbyterian Church (EPC) was held 2/7/16. (Photo from the Hope Facebook page.)
By Viola Larson, Naming His Grace blog.
Free to be free:
The document below was just sent out to both members of Journey Church and the new Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Folsom, Hope Presbyterian Church. I have not yet received it but some members of Hope’s session have received the letter.
The letter was written by the administrative commission that was assigned to Journey on Saturday, January the 30th. Besides the rudeness of sending this letter out to those who are now members of Hope Presbyterian Church (EPC) there are several other glaring problems.
(Photo from the Hope Presbyterian Church Facebook page.)
While expressing their affirmation of those who believe they must leave the PCUSA, the authors of the letter have offered nothing. Their intent, which succeeded, was to send a people away without property or money because they chose biblical authority over human desires and experience. I am thinking now of James 2:17.
The letter writers state that, “Pastor Huusko, the session and some members of the congregation are leaving Journey Church effective, February 1, 2016. They are forming Hope Presbyterian Church under the Evangelical Presbyterian Church denomination.”(Italics mine.) The negotiating team and now the AC have been and are reluctant to admit that there are a majority of the past members of Journey who opted to leave.
On Sunday morning, the 31st, over 160 members registered as charter members of our new church. Many others, who are not yet members of Journey asked to sign. They will be members when they go through a class and are received into Hope. God has truly blessed us with wonderful enthusiastic people.
Related article: Sing the song of freedom: We have crossed the threshold
3 Comments. Leave new
Viola – your feelings are getting the best of you here. As you left the Journey congregation did you notify the new clerk of session or the AC that you are renouncing membership at Journey and want to be removed immediately from active membership and removed from all future communications? This letter is perfectly acceptable and quite gracious in this situation. It sounds like as a charter member of a new EPC congregation you are not requesting transfer by letter and will have to join the new EPC congregation eventually by reaffirmation of faith. Not sure how you would expect The AC or clerk in your old congregation to know this?
We need to remember the example of Lot’s wife and look forward, not backward. The two angels told Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. …”
I believe that the Lord, working through the indwelling Holy Spirit, is gradually destroying the apostate Presbyterian Church (USA) just as surely as he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 19). It is steadily getting smaller and it seems that it will eventually vanish.
God bless Hope Presbyterian! Now you can move on in the grace and the work of the Lord.