The congregation of Grace Presbyterian Church has determined it is time to seek a change in denominations.
During a congregational meeting held Sunday, June 1, Grace’s membership voted to seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to join ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
New Covenant Presbytery’s Gracious Reconciliation and Dismissal Procedure required a quorum of 30 percent of active members be present for the vote, and an affirmative vote of two-thirds of those present was needed for the motion to pass.
According to information on the Grace Presbyterian Church web site, 51 percent of the active membership for the Houston church turned out for Sunday’s vote, with 910 of the 1,019 votes cast (89.3 percent) in favor of leaving the national denomination, far surpassing the required number of 680 affirmative ballots needed to carry the two-thirds requirement to satisfy the motion.
The church will pay an estimated amount of $203,856 to New Covenant for per capita over five years if dismissal is approved by the presbytery. Also, if more than 10 percent of the congregation votes to remain in the PCUSA and a petition is signed by more than 25 active members with a determination by the presbytery that resources exist to organize a new church, Grace would have to make a payment to fund the start of the new church. That calculation would take into consideration the insured value of Grace’s property. The congregation also could be asked to make a voluntary gift to New Covenant Presbytery, though Grace Executive Director of Ministry Support Hardie Morgan indicated there is no way to determine what such payment would be at this time.
In a letter to the congregation posted on the Grace web site, the session wrote, “We labored for well over six months in prayer and grace seeking a decision regarding our church’s denominational affiliation. It was inspiring to witness brothers and sisters in Christ ‘bearing with one another’ as God’s holy and beloved children. Thank you for your Christ-like behavior.”
Dismissal from the PCUSA will have to be addressed and approved at a meeting of the presbytery. New Covenant Executive Presbyter Mike Cole indicated in an email to The Layman that he anticipates the motion for dismissal to be on the docket for the July 19 presbytery meeting.
Morgan said the goal now is to keep the process as civil as it has been since October.
“We want this to be a great witness for the kingdom as opposed to something that degrades into a lot of anger and fighting,” Morgan said. “We’re hopeful it reflects the same kind of civility we’ve had in the process so far. We’ve tried, and they’ve tried to make it that way, and we hope that continues through July 19 and beyond. We hope to continue to do ministry with (the presbytery), just in a different form of relationship.”
Cole agreed, writing, “The Presbytery of New Covenant is saddened by the decision to request dismissal to the ECO, and we are grateful that the leadership and congregation have been respectful of our covenant to be gracious with one another throughout this process. Even as we part ways, we anticipate sharing in mission opportunities to build and strengthen the Kingdom of God.”
Looking ahead
According to the Grace web site, pastors, elders and staff will meet with members for a prayer service in The Founders’ Chapel today at 6:30 p.m. that will focus on the future of the church as well as God’s blessings
Leadership of New Covenant Presbytery will meet with any members of Grace interested in learning about the process of establishing a new PCUSA congregation on Wednesday, June 4 at 7 p.m. at the church. The meeting is the first of several planned to determine the level of interest in such an option.
Deciding to seek dismissal
The congregational vote to seek dismissal came less than six weeks after the 28-member Grace session voted to call the meeting.
The session’s determination to make the recommendation to depart for ECO came six months after the Grace congregation voted Oct. 20, 2013, by a margin of 552-64, to enter into the discernment process of New Covenant.
The Presbytery Discernment Team (PDT) for Grace recommended that the session call a meeting of the congregation to vote on requesting dismissal from the PCUSA to affiliate with ECO. The PDT report was presented to the Grace congregation on April 13 and indicated that “a congregational vote would, regardless of outcome, offer the best opportunity for reconciliation among members and for renewed focus on the mission of Jesus Christ.”
Notification about the congregational vote for dismissal posted on the church web site April 23 listed core theology, vibrant leadership, church vitality, effective governance, church property and missional focus as key components in seeking the move to ECO.
Joining others that have left
Grace is one of the largest PCUSA churches in Texas with 2,631 members and is 22nd in the nation, according to 2012 PCUSA cumulative statistics.
If dismissed, Grace will become the fifth church from New Covenant Presbytery to join ECO along with Advent Presbyterian Church in Spring, West Isle Presbyterian Church in Galveston, First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood and Providence Church of Southeast Texas (Nederland).
Four other churches – Memorial Presbyterian Church in San Augustine and First Presbyterian Church of Lake Jackson ( Evangelical Presbyterian Church), Heritage Presbyterian Church (Evangelical Covenant Church), First Presbyterian Church in Freeport (Cumberland Presbyterian Church) – also have been dismissed by the presbytery.
Windwood Presbyterian Church in Spring is engaged in protracted litigation with the presbytery over property, and it is anticipated the church also will seek a new denominational home.
11 Comments. Leave new
The $200,000-plus exit ransom would be far better spent in joining Windwood in litigation against New Covenant presbytery. The trust clause must be destroyed, and it can be destroyed (at least in states such as Texas, where courts have severely weakened it) if congregations will stop paying these exit ransoms, and instead pursue a definitive court victory.
I don’t know if you are aware, Don, but in addition to Highland Park, First Pres. in Houston is asking the courts to determine who owns their property, the local Church or the denomination. This became public last week. I am very hopeful that both Churches will be determined to own their own property and that any Church in Texas will be able to leave the denomination without having to pay anything to the local presbytery other than what the Church feels compelled to do (compelled not obligated).
There was much research and many town hall meetings held to weigh the pros and cons of staying or departing from the national PCUSA. It is unfortunate that the national PCUSA has left the path of orthodoxy and is forcing the conscience of congregations to look for the door. The committees of the General Assemblies have done great damage with their political agendas.
Thanks David –though I’m following the HP case closely, I didn’t know First Church Houston was pursuing a legal win. That’s good news indeed.
It would be better if the ECO weren’t put there destroying congregations by poaching the ‘rich’ ones with property and money. We know what this is about. Follow the money.
Ron is right, follow the money. These churches made a commitment to the PCUSA during the merger. Individuals can leave freely any time they want. FPC is claiming their suit isn’t preparation for leaving despite the vote failing. Everyone cheering them on is essentially calling FPC’s leadership liars who fully intend to leave the PCUSA despite their promise to honor the vote, and their later statements about the lawsuit promising they’re not leaving.
It is indeed sad that we have come to this. However the Word of God is specific, and choice is not an option. Should we wish to take issue with what the PCUSA is fast approaching, then it is time to locate an affiliation which still adheres to those precepts which bind the church together. Remember that it is our duty to Love the sinner (of which I am one) and hate the sin, not to accept it. This is where we tend to go astray.
Ray
If you have specific evidence of ECO “poaching”, please enlighten the rest of us. I am acquainted with a number of the churches you call “rich” , and am sure that ECO did not first approach them, but responded to their inquiries. Please don’t accuse fellow Christians of sinful behaviors unless you have clear evidence of wrongdoing. And, if you do have such evidence, you should confront the wrongdoers privately as Jesus taught, seeking their repentance and correction of their errors.
Churches in ECO own their own property — nothing “belongs” to the denomination. So if you are interested in determining where the money trail leads, I would suggest you consider those PCUSA presbyteries which are grasping after outlandish sums of money, preying on the yearnings of PCUSA churches trying to find a denomination in which they can feel at home.
Poaching??? Look who is calling the kettle black. The PCUSA has been apostate officially since the Confession of 1967, officially. Rich??? Seems like you are getting your instruction from those who foster class warfare.
Mateen!
You say, “Churches in ECO own their own property — nothing ‘belongs’ to the denomination.” Read what happened to Jonah when he took that attitude Jonah 4:5-8:
“So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted.” How can this be? Jonah sat in his church and waited for the Lord to destroy the city, the apostate denomination. His church had a hole in the roof, so the Lord devised a big weed – the ECO – to shelter Jonah from the sun. The Holy Spirit came along and knocked the weed down, exposing Jonah – like his great grandson Paul in Acts 9:3 – to a solar revelation. The denomination turned to the Lord like a city struck by Billy Graham. Behold the revival!
Mr. Fincke,
I agree with you wholeheartedly on the theological level. All that is belongs to the Lord. At the level of civil law in this country, however, there is a tussle over who “owns” local church property. PCUSA executives are now claiming that title belongs to the denomination when a church attempts to leave. EPC, PCA and ECO documents clarify that those denominations make no ownership claims on local church properties. That is what my references pertained to.