Largest congregation in Presbytery of South Louisiana votes 422-60 to leave the PCUSA
The Layman Online, Posted Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saying that “remaining in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and fighting for reform is not a viable option,” the largest congregation in the Presbytery of South Louisiana voted 422-60 on Oct. 29 to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA). The vote to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church was 420-60 with two abstentions.
The vote at First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge came at the “unanimous recommendation of the session’s denominational affairs committee, the unanimous endorsement of the board of trustees and the unanimous recommendation of the session.”
“This was a defining moment for us,” the Rev. Gerrit Dawson, senior pastor, told The Layman Online in Fair Oaks, Calif., where he was attending the convocation of the New Wineskins Association of Churches. “We want to conduct our mission with clarity about the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of Scripture.”
The congregation has 1,592 members, according to official denominational statistics, compared to the average PCUSA congregation’s 209 members. The Presbytery of South Louisiana is comprised of 67 congregations in the southern part of the state, including New Orleans.
In a letter to members of the congregation posted on the church’s Web site before the vote, the session wrote that, within the PCUSA, “the tolerance of a variety of theological viewpoints has led to theological pluralism. It was noted that after the passage of the PUP report, discipline is less likely. The PCUSA is declining and has a limited life span. Reform has no real chance of success.”
The affiliation issue, and not church property, is the sole purpose of the vote. A year ago, the Presbytery of South Louisiana conceded that First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge owns the congregation’s property.
In a 55-13 vote Nov. 4, 2006, the presbytery agreed to a stipulated judgment that said First Presbyterian Church “holds all property titled in its name in full, complete and unfettered ownership” and that neither the presbytery “nor any person, entity, administrative unit, agency, commission, committee or governing body action on behalf of the Presbytery of South Louisiana or in its stead, or claiming by, through or under the Presbytery of South Louisiana, has any right, title or interest in or to the property, whether in trust or otherwise, nor any right to determine control, directly or indirectly, the use or ownership of the property.”
The session said in the letter that the congregation’s “affiliation with the EPC is the most desirable option within the Presbyterian church. The theological foundations of the EPC are sound, complete and embody the traditional and fundamental beliefs of the Presbyterian church that we love. The [denominational affairs] committee acknowledges that any differences in polity could be identified and resolved within the five years of membership in the transitional presbytery.”
While saying that separation from the PCUSA “will not be without consequences or pain,” the congregation voted for “continued, but limited financial support” to the presbytery.