By Lee Shearer, Athens Banner Herald (Ga.)
A regional governing body has restored the governing body of an Athens Presbyterian church which was dissolved by a lower regional administrative church agency earlier this year.
The restored “session” of Central Presbyterian Church held its first meeting Sunday evening after being reinstated by the Synod of South Atlantic of the Presbyterian Church (USA), said Jeffrey Dorfman, Central Presbyterian’s treasurer. The session is similar to boards of deacons or elders in other churches.
The Central session was ordered last month to stand down by an administrative committee of the Northeast Georgia Presbytery, a group of more than 50 Presbyterian Church (USA) churches in northeast Georgia.
But the Synod of South Atlantic issued a stay on Thursday, saying the presbytery removed the session improperly, Dorfman said. The synod is a higher council of the denomination’s congregations in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
The synod also said the presbytery should not prevent further discussion on the underlying, sometimes rancorous dispute — whether the Central Presbyterian congregation should be allowed to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) for a more conservative denomination, and take the church property with them as they move to affiliate with the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, or ECO.
Northeast Georgia Presbytery’s Information for the 2/27/26 presbytery meeting (includes The Advisory Opinion: The Trust Clause and Gracious Separation; The report of the Administrative Commission; the 9/13/15 report to the congregation of Central Presbyterian Church from the session.)
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“voted by a large margin, 159-36, in favor.”
That’s hardly a schism, and I doubt the the “true church” minority could handle the mortgage, as revisionist usaully don’t tithe, so the presbytery would have to take over the payments, and I don’t see that happening. This may work out after all.
So many Church leaders think that the other side plays by fair rules. In truth they only play by the rules when it is to their advantage. Thus too many churches send Pee Wee Herman out to fight Goliath and are surprised when they are shut out. Jesus said “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Church leaders fail their congregations when they don’t recognize they are dealing with WOLVES
I think it very difficult for those who seek to leave the denomination with their property in tact at the end of a fair and reasonable process, to just walk away and seek the Lord’s blessing. But folks have an emotional and psychological attachment to their bricks and mortar, and it is an emotional transaction, not one of reason or logic. Hence the conflict and passion on all sides.
The core of the gracious separation, property in trust, call it what you will in the PCUSA is that the process by design and intent has nothing to do with reason or fairness. It is a financial and legal process to extract as much as possible, for the benefit of the PCUSA and the Presbytery. To squeeze the last dime out of the end process.
So any non-conforming PCUSA church who engages and enters into a any process or dialogue with their local Presbytery must realize the process will have nothing to do with grace or fairness, but a process where the adversary owns the rules and process, the deck is stacked, as a matter of pre-condition.
It is much like the ancient guidance of never going to war with an adversary on grounds and time of his choosing. You lose both tactical and strategic advantage. I guarantee you the Presbytery sees this as war, simply because money and power are involved. It is much like sheep and lambs assuming they enter the den with other sheep and lambs. No not be surprised then by the size of their teeth.