Maumee Valley Presbytery
During a special called meeting, the Maumee Valley Presbytery in Findlay, Ohio, formed an Administrative Commission to work with a pair of churches that have disaffiliated from the Presbyterian Church (USA).First Presbyterian Church of Ada, located between Dayton and Toledo, and First Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus, found between Columbus and Toledo, have disaffiliated from the PCUSA but did not go through the presbytery’s dismissal procedures to do so.
The six-member Administrative Commission was formed Jan. 22 to work with both churches.
Dean McGormley, stated clerk for Maumee Valley Presbytery, acknowledged the presbytery had been notified by both churches that they had left the PCUSA and are part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).
“They are still a church in the PCUSA until such time the presbytery dismisses them, but it appears both have abandoned ship, though the ship still sails,” McGormley said. “The pastors and a good portion of the congregations have left, but the churches have not left. They are still entities and have not been dismissed or dissolved by the PCUSA.”
At a meeting between three members of the presbytery and the session and pastor of First Presbyterian of Ada in late November, the membership of the church was encouraged to participate in the Maumee Valley Presbytery separation process in place for churches with a desire to leave the PCUSA.
The Ada church representatives informed the three-member team, including McGormley, that the membership had voted to leave, had left and no longer was under the authority of the PCUSA and would not participate in the separation policy.
Ada Pastor Patrick Allen said the congregation voted 53-0 by written ballot in mid-October 2012 to leave the PCUSA and affiliate with the EPC. The next week, the church informed the presbytery of its decision.
“Hundreds of other congregations are doing this right now,” he said, citing the “New Form of Government” in the Book of Order as the primary reason for disaffiliating with the PCUSA. “The culture and theology really concerned us. In our minds, it changed the denomination.
“Sometimes you have to step out on faith into a new future. Our congregation is united on this decision, and we look forward to a new direction for our church.”
Allen said his understanding is that the Administrative Commission’s function will be to determine if any members of the Ada church want to remain with the PCUSA.
Allen said the route taken by his congregation is not the one preferred by the presbytery, but it is one the church felt was needed.
“We’re hopeful there won’t be any issues, and we’re hoping for a peaceful resolution, working to avoid any big fight over property,” he said. “We still can arrive at the same place, just by different paths.”
Allen explained Ada opted to disaffiliate rather than seek dismissal because of issues other churches had in leaving the PCUSA.
“We heard the policy was broken and not working,” Allen said. “We didn’t feel it wise to enter a policy so many felt broken. We didn’t think that would be best way for our church to arrive at its goal. We’ll have to see how the commission reacts. I have confidence in the people on the commission; they’re good people. We hope they discover our path to be a valid one even if it is not the one preferred. We hope they recognize that we have left and are now part of the EPC.”
The pastor also acknowledged that it is the church’s intent to work with the commission, saying, “Our hope is that we can work with the commission to help the presbytery resolve its internal polity and dismiss the congregation. We have already left, but we remain willing to assist the presbytery in wrapping up its relationship with the church in a peaceful way.”
First Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus sent a letter in mid-October 2012 signed individually by 11 members of its session, noting the congregation had voted to end its affiliation with the PCUSA. A letter from the church a month later indicated Bucyrus had withdrawn from the PCUSA and Maumee Valley Presbytery.
Pastor John Cory said members of his congregation of about 140 approached him within months of his call to the church and spoke of their disenchantment with the direction the PCUSA was heading. He sought resources for congregants and, eventually, it became clear a move needed to be made.
“There was momentum to move forward; we had to decide to remain or separate ourselves from the PCUSA,” he said.
Like Allen and Ada, Cory said there was a feeling that the dismissal process did not function as it should. He cited the dismissal process for First Presbyterian Church of Tecumseh in Michigan as an example.
“As we watched that process, it just didn’t seem like the presbytery and the Administrative Commission were responding in a Christ-honoring way; it seemed like there was hostility,” Cory said.
A diminished level of trust in the dismissal process, which appeared to lack consistency and seemed heavy-handed at times, led Bucyrus to choose disaffiliation from the PCUSA.
“It wasn’t a matter of just walking away; we didn’t believe we would be safe in the process,” Cory said.
Theological differences were at the root of the decision to leave the PCUSA.
“The denomination, as a whole, has made some bad choices that go against the Biblical mandate and what God says,” Cory explained. “Ultimately, there are differing viewpoints that caused increasing tension. Some folks adhere to the traditional beliefs, and there are others who explore the fringe of post-modern Christianity. It just doesn’t work.”
But FPC-Bucyrus, already accepted by the EPC, appears to have found the Reformed denomination that best suits the beliefs of its membership.
“It’s the closest fit to who we already were,” Cory said. “It’s not that we were changing; the (PCUSA) denomination was changing. We were trying to stay the same.”
It’s Cory’s hope that the remainder of his church’s time spent working with the Administrative Commission will be amicable.
“I look at this as Christians having a theological disagreement,” he said. “Sometimes relationships like this need to be changed, and you have to be with the group you feel most comfortable with. We’re not trying to change or convert (the PCUSA); we’re merely trying to stay true to what we believe to be true.
“We need to be sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the most glorifying way possible.”