The Layman
Two churches were dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) during their respective presbytery meetings.
First Presbyterian Church of Kannapolis was dismissed during Charlotte Presbytery’s Feb. 8 meeting, and Edna Presbyterian Church was released from the national denomination at the March 1 meeting of Mission Presbytery.
First Presbyterian Church-Kannapolis
Charlotte Presbytery gave approval for the dismissal of First Presbyterian Church-Kannapolis, located northeast of Charlotte, N.C., in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, and its pastor Darryl Evans to be dismissed to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, pending finalization of some legal issues.
An Administrative Commission document from the presbytery showed that FPC-Kannapolis, organized in 1909, followed the policy on reconciliation, and a quorum of the congregation voted Jan. 12 to seek dismissal from the PCUSA.
The FPC-Kannapolis web site shows that nearly 98 percent of the active voting membership (132 of 135) cast ballots in favor of being dismissed to align with ECO, allowing the congregation to leave with its property. The presbytery’s policy allows churches with a vote of 90 percent or greater in favor of leaving to do so without having to negotiate financial dismissal terms with the Administrative Commission.
A task force was formed by the FPC-Kannapolis session in October 2012 to examine the state of the PCUSA, Charlotte Presbytery and other movements taking place among Reformed denominations.
Acting on findings from a report given by the task force in May 2013, the session officially engaged in the dismissal process on Aug. 21, 2013, voting unanimously a month later to recommend the congregation be dismissed to join ECO.
Church officials declined to comment about the dismissal.
Edna Presbyterian Church
The 159-year-old church, located in the southeast Texas coastal county of Jackson between Galveston and Corpus Christi, was dismissed to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).
The session of the 63-member church worked through the listening phase of the presbytery’s gracious separation policy process with a Resolution Team and eventually worked out a settlement agreement.
According to a presbytery document, Edna Presbyterian Church agreed to pay a 10 percent settlement tithe of $80,108.60. It is due within 60 months of the dismissal with a promissory note for the tithe amount and a lien on the church property.
Edna also will pay closing costs related to the transfer of property.
7 Comments. Leave new
Wow! I was at the Mission Presbytery meeting exhibiting. Never heard a word about Edna’s leaving. No announcement in church in the “Presbytery Report” either.
Goodness! What a huge settlement for such a small church to have to pay!! Takes courage for them to step out in faith and accept such debt. Proud of them for standing up for what they believe.
the pcusa took 80,000 bucks from a 65 member church??? cant wait to hear gradye parsons tell the world why greed is so evil.
They were dismissed “during their respective presbytery meetings?” Didn’t they have the decency to wait until after the meetings had ended to go their own way? Maybe you meant: “during their respectable presbytery meetings.” They were dismissed in a respectable manner after the minutes of raucous session meetings came to light.
“Raucous Session Meetings” ??? Are you speaking from your own knowledge, or trying to infer something that isn’t there.
As for your misreading of the first line of the story. The first line is totally explained in the second, the churches were dismissed at the scheduled meetings of their respective PC(USA) presbyteries.
The rest of the story covers the fact that each church followed the respective gracious dismissal policy of the presbytery it belonged to at the time.
FWIW .. .Charlotte Presbytery’s dismissal policy is truly gracious. Mission’s policy on the other hand is truly non-missional and draconian. A 63 member church having to pay an $80,000 ‘tithe’ backed by a promissory note AND a lien on the property.
The transfer may have been by executive commission in order not to give other congregations an idea of leaving. Strange things happen in this world today, including churches and the like.
One way to grab the attention of employees/servants is to diminish the amount of remuneration they receive. The Reformation Faith has not gotten their attention. The clear word of God has not gotten their attention. The Christian Faith once and for all delivered has not gotten their attention. The significant number of churches leaving the PC(USA) has not gotten their attention – but it is giving them exorbitant amounts of money to continue their heresy and apostate behaviors and teachings.
Grab their attention as they grab on to their ‘gracious separation’ blood-money!
I am quite sure that a significant drop in per capita dollars to the apostate agencies and their personnel will get their attention.
It is past the right time to begin to withhold the dollars that permit this apostasy to continue and to gain momentum.
Be good stewards, place all requested per capita money in your congregation’s financial institution. If/When Christ is honored, the Bible is accorded its rightful place in this Reformed/Christian Church, the monies can be sent to the reformed presbyteries for a Christ-honoring mission by the humbled and repentant PC(USA).
Stand up to their apostasy and heresy. Their unrighteous leaven has already defiled our regional / national bodies and blasphemed the work and mission of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Let the corruptible PC(USA) body be buried in death that the power of God which raised the dead body of Christ might raise the PC(USA) to Christ-honoring new life.