by Dennis H. Piermont on The Presbyterian Outlook
In the fall of 2011, four congregations in the Presbytery of the Miami Valley each decided to hold congregational meetings on Reformation Sunday to seek “disaffiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” Each of these congregation occupied significant places in the life of the presbytery; each of their pastors served in some presbytery leadership capacity; and many of their ruling elders and members had various roles in the presbytery ministry.
These departures, now complete, have been difficult for this presbytery, bringing not only a loss of resource and talent, but also significant sadness in the loss of collegial connections. Perhaps the most difficult part of all of this was the realization that in our theologically diverse presbytery, where for many years we seemed able to weather the storms of denominational crises, our relational bridges were not strong enough to withstand the rising floodwaters of the tempest.
Read the article on the Presbyterian Outlook’s web site.
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I’m quite new to The Layman having read a few articles over the past 2 to 3 years. Talented authors write passionately but, in this and other articles I’ve read, two things come to mind – we make things much more difficult than necessary and seem obsessed with policy over substance. The “relational bridges were not strong enough” – just what does that mean? Was the foundation weak? Was there a foundation at all? We were given 10 commandments. Isn’t that enough? Isn’t it that simple? Can we all agree on them?