Grand Canyon Presbytery Dismisses 5 Churches to ECO

At an Oct. 1 special called meeting, the Presbytery of Grand Canyon dismissed five of its churches to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.

The five churches dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) represented a total of 1,372* members and paid the presbytery a total of $566,104.24 in settlement agreements. The churches include:

• Christ Presbyterian Church, Goodyear, Ariz.
• Community Presbyterian Church, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
• First Presbyterian Church, Wickenburg, Ariz.
• Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church, Fountain Hills, Ariz.
• Horizon Presbyterian Church, Phoenix, Ariz.

Christ Presbyterian Church

According to the settlement agreement, the 468-member church agreed to pay the presbytery $173,964 to be dismissed. Those costs included:

• $3,000 – Appraisal cost
• $1,000 – Cost for commission operations (approx.)
• $1,500 – Cost for copying all of church documents for historical records – all records concerning membership records, session minutes, lists of officers/pastors, all legal transactions, etc. (approx.)
• $1,000 – Cost for transfer property ownership to Christ Presbyterian Church (Est)
• $16,116 – Per capita for 2016
• $17,008 – Per-capita reimbursement for 3 forgiven years (1990’s)
• $30,000 – Reimbursement of funds previously given to help call a pastor
• $104,340 – The value of the PCUSA’s portion of the property valuation based on the equity value of the property (10 percent, A biblical tithe), which may be paid in yearly payments for five years in the amount of $20,868 each year.

Since 2010, both the session and members of Christ Presbyterian began showing more concern about the theological positions of the PCUSA, and according to the settlement agreement, “worked to gain greater understanding of those views and how they fit with those held at Christ Church.”

In 2015, the church held town hall meetings, then took a straw poll which indicated that 94 percent of the congregation agreed with the decision to seek dismissal from the denomination. An Administrative Commission from the presbytery then began working with the church, first meeting with the pastor and session, both individually and together. The following concerns were expressed by both:

• Failure of the church to specify the Essential Tenets of the faith
• The redefinition of marriage and the Authoritative Interpretation to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in PCUSA
• Vagueness about the authority of Scripture and its importance in its theology
• Issues related to the divinity of Christ and to the GA refusal to acknowledge the “singular saving Lordship of Jesus Christ.”
• GA decisions to replace the fidelity-and-chastity language of the Book of Order to allow “scruples” and in effect create “local option”
• The issue of being fearful that in the event of the pastor’s departure/retirement, that they would not be able to find a pastor that fit the evangelical position of their congregation under the PCUSA system.

The Administrative Commission also held 11 small group meetings with church members. According to the agreement “All in all, with the meetings and a large number of surveys returned to us, we heard from over 194 members of the church concerning their dismissal. From those, we learned that 186 want to leave and 8 want to stay or are undecided.”

Community Presbyterian Church

The 275-member Community Presbyterian Church must pay the presbytery a one-time payment of $60,000 to be dismissed from the PCUSA to ECO. Those costs include:

• $3,500 – Cost of the property appraisal by Valbridge Property Advisors/ MJN Enterprises, Inc.
• $1,278.37 – Administrative Commission expenses to date, including cost of mailings to CPC members and worshiping visitors in connection with the request by the session to be dismissed from the PCUSA.
• $750 – Cost of copying records for the presbytery, Community Presbyterian Church and the PCUSA as required.
• $1,000 – Estimated cost of property title transfer to Community Presbyterian Church upon final settlement of dismissal.
• $53,471.63 – Final consideration to the Presbytery of the Grand Canyon for property

The church’s session sent a letter to the presbytery on Oct. 15, 2015 asking to be dismissed from the PCUSA.  According to the settlement agreement, the decision was “based on the theological drift between the progressive adherents of the PCUSA and the Bible-based traditional believers. They felt that the PCUSA has ‘…. left us in many areas where there was agreement in the 1983 merger of the UPC and the PCUSA.’ The session listed the following areas that they believe are not in alignment with the current PCUSA denomination teachings: The authority of scripture; the Lordship of Jesus Christ; current support of Israel and the Jewish people; Christian ethics; what it means to be Reformed; mission; unity in the Universal Church; sanctity of marriage, and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

On May 16-17, 2016 the presbytery’s administrative commission meet with the church staff, the session and in small group settings, members of the church. “It was the feeling of the commission that the majority of those attending these small group meetings favored dismissal from the PCUSA in order to join the ECO,” stated the agreement.

A survey on the issue of dismissal was mailed to church members. Of the 160 surveys mailed, 132 were returned, showing that 120 or 90.9 percent were in favor of being dismissed to ECO; 3 or 2.3 percent wished to remain in the PCUSA and 9 (6.8 percent) were undecided.

Negotiations began between the church and AC and the agreement stated that the final financial settlement “will allow this Christian community to have a viable, ongoing program (mission work, scholarships, and facility upkeep), while keeping expense consistent with the contributions of their membership. The proposed settlement also recognizes that since the inception of this congregation, they have been faithful in sending per-capita and denomination monies as required, even as they entered a several-year period of discernment to remain in the PCUSA.”

First Presbyterian Church

The settlement agreement between the 162-member First Presbyterian Church of Wickenburg, Ariz., and Grand Canyon Presbytery stipulates that the church pay the presbytery $70,778.24 to be dismissed to ECO. The amount can be paid in yearly installments of no less than $10,111.18 per year for seven years. Those costs include:

• $3,500.00 – Appraisal cost from Valbridge Property Advisors/MJN Enterprises, Inc.
• $498.24 – Cost for Commission operations/expenses including mailings to members.
• $750.00 – Cost for copying all of church documents for historical records – all records concerning membership records, session minutes, lists of officers/pastors, all legal transactions, as required. First Presbyterian Church has reproduced those records they wish to retain for historical purposes.
• $1,000 – Cost for transferring property ownership to First Presbyterian Church upon final settlement of dismissal.
• $18,530 – Per Capita reimbursement for period of non-payment, adjusted to reflect actual church membership from the years 2011 (partial) and to include 2016.
• $46,500 – Value of the property as adjusted for purposes of Gracious Dismissal settlement. This amount is 8.3 percent of the revised property valuation.

The church began its period of discernment following the 2010 General Assembly. In 2011, the church stopped paying per capita, but increased its contributions to missions, “so that giving to God would not by diminished,” according to the agreement.

The church sent a letter requesting dismissal from the PCUSA to the presbytery in Oct. 2015. An Administrative Commission was formed in Jan., 2016.

The commission met with the pastor and session, whose concerns about the PCUSA included:

• Failure of the church to specify the Essential Tenets of the faith
• The redefinition of marriage and the Authoritative Interpretation to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in PCUSA
• Vagueness about the authority of Scripture and its importance in our theology
• Issues related to the divinity of Christ and to the GA refusal to acknowledge the “singular saving Lordship of Jesus Christ.”
• GA decisions to replace the Fidelity and Chastity language of the Book of Order to allow “scruples” and in effect create “local option”

The Administrative Commission conducted three small group meetings with church member and conducted a survey, which showed that 95 percent of the 130 church members the AC had contact with wished to be dismissed from the PCUSA, while approximately 10-15 wanted to stay in the denomination or were undecided.

Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church

Fountain Hills’ settlement agreement requires the 267-member church to pay the presbytery a total of $247,132 to be dismissed. Of that amount, $30,726 must be paid at the time of dismissal, with the rest being paid in annual installments until the year 2021. The amount includes:

• $177,656 – A biblical tithe of the appraised property value, reduced by the outstanding mortgage loan principal.
• $20,000 – Mission support for Native American Ministries within the Presbytery of Grand Canyon.
• $18,750 – Contribution to the Mission Endowment Fund of the Presbytery of Grand Canyon.
• $22,726 – Per capita payments, including the amount due for 2016.
• $8,000 – Estimated AC expenses, including cost for the property appraisal, records copying, etc. Actual costs at the time of dismissal shall be used for the final settlement.

The agreement stated that the concerns over the PCUSA “escalated in 2014. Congregants began to approach the session with questions like, ‘How is our Session going to respond to the actions of the 2014 General Assembly with regard to the authority of Scripture?’  The pastor and session then entered into a time of study and reflection, and initiated a series of meetings with the congregation at-large. The session formally requested to enter into a season of discernment with the Presbytery of Grand Canyon in October 2015, with a goal to seek dismissal from the PCUSA.”

During the months of March and April of 2016, the presbytery’s Administrative Commission conducted 12 small group members with church members, then conducted a mail-in survey with those not able to attend the meetings. The concerns raised included:

• A strong desire for the PCUSA to specify essential tenets of faith for all members of the PCUSA, and dismay that the PCUSA has not done so.
• Great concern over the Authoritative Interpretation to allow same-sex marriage in PCUSA churches in states where same-sex marriage is allowed by civil law.
• Property ownership came up in almost every small group meeting, with significant concern over costs to transfer ownership to the Fountain Hills congregation.

The agreement stated that: “Through the Discernment process, the AC heard from 182 members of the Fountain Hills congregation – a substantial majority of the active membership. 62 percent of respondents favored dismissal from the PCUSA, while 21 percent wished to remain with the PCUSA and 18 percent stated that they were not sure on the question of dismissal. Many of the “not sure” group raised the issue of dismissal costs as at least a contributing factor in their personal decision-making process. Taken at face-value only, the statistics from the small-group process are somewhat misleading. The AC found that most members at Fountain Hills expressed a genuine love for their church family and a passionate desire to keep that family together. While 21 percent of small-group participants expressed a desire to remain with the PCUSA, it is highly likely that most, if not all, of these members will remain with the church regardless of denominational affiliation. The AC found no evidence for a viable remnant of the congregation, to continue as a PCUSA church, following dismissal of the Fountain Hills congregation.”

Horizon Presbyterian Church

The 200-member Horizon Presbyterian Church agreed to a settlement of $124,230 to be dismissed from the PCUSA and into ECO. That amount includes:

• $1,000 – Cost for Commission operations/attorney fees
• $1,000 – Cost for copying all of church documents for historical records – all records concerning membership records, session minutes, lists of officers/pastors, all legal transactions, etc. (approx.)
• $1,000 – Cost for transfer property ownership to Horizon Presbyterian Church (Est)
• $11,980 – Per capita for 2015 and 2016
• $106,500 – This is the value of the PCUSA’s portion of the property valuation based on the equity value of the property (10 percent – A biblical tithe)

In the fall of 2015, the session asked to enter the presbytery’s discernment process. The presbytery’s AC began work in early 2016.

According to the settlement agreement, in 2012 the church’s session began having “heartfelt conversations about what they believe as a church and the various issues on which they felt the denomination was not in the same place they were. By the 2014 GA, more issues arose which pressed the session and pastor to take more active steps to determine whether it was time to leave or not. The church has struggled to decide how to move, which has caused some people to leave due to the slow pace of action or not wanting to deal with conflict about the issues. From the end of 2013 – 2015 the membership dropped from 200 to 124.”

The presbytery’s AC meet with church members on two different days and of the 43 people they met with, found that 34 wished to be dismissed from the PCUSA and nine wished to remain or were undecided.

The issues raised by the members included:

• The PCUSA has become too involved in politics, especially decisions related to Israel and divestment from American companies;
• Issues related to same-sex marriage and the definition of marriage
• Feeling that the PCUSA does not have clear doctrines or beliefs that can be called essential tenets to which all can agree
• They feel the PCUSA has left them, not the other way around.
• Concerned about not believing in the divinity of Christ – “Christ has been dethroned.”
• Want to be part of a church that has common goals and beliefs

 

*Membership numbers were taken from the PCUSA’s statistical snapshots of congregations for the calendar year 2013.