Heartland Presbytery proposal targets congregations thinking about leaving PCUSA
By Craig M. Kibler, June 15, 2007
In a move reminiscent of the Thought Police in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Heartland Presbytery will consider a proposal that advocates draconian actions against congregations that are thinking about, but haven’t actually voted on, withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The proposal, recommended by the presbytery’s committee on ministry and scheduled for action at the June 16 presbytery meeting, also includes a listing of congregations considering withdrawal and a list of ministers under scrutiny. Other congregations may be added to this list, according to the proposal, “by vote of the committee on ministry or the presbytery council.”
In an intensification of strategies outlined in “The Louisville Papers,” the proposal states a church’s session can be dissolved if it calls for a congregational meeting to vote on seeking dismissal from the PCUSA. The proposal also states that, if a congregation holds such a meeting before the presbytery approves the proposal, an omnibus administrative commission retroactively will “immediately” have “the power” to dissolve the session and take over the church.
In addition, the proposal includes a threat to dissolve the pastoral relationship of a minister if he or she “advocates” for separation from the denomination. The proposal also urges members of congregations “who are concerned that their church leadership is contemplating separation” to inform the committee of ministry.
Warning to congregations
Furthermore, the proposal includes a warning to congregations considering separation from the PCUSA. Stating that it “sincerely hopes that no other churches will be added to the responsibilities” of the omnibus administrative commission, the committee on ministry says that “at least one other church was under consideration” for inclusion on the listing of congregations considering separation, but that, “in an act of trust,” it had deployed “a small administrative review committee” to discuss the situation with the pastor and session. That group, the committee on ministry stated, “expects to soon meet with the congregation directly.”
As part of the proposal, the committee on ministry wants the omnibus administrative commission to have access to all of the records of a congregation considering dismissal from the PCUSA, such as “membership rolls, minutes of session and all boards and committees, financial records, membership directories, newsletters and materials distributed for congregational information.”
The omnibus administrative commission, under the proposal, would have the “authority to engage appropriate legal counsel” in order to “determine and negotiate appropriate distribution of all property and assets of the congregation, with any final resolution to be recommended to the presbytery council for approval.”
The proposal would grant to the omnibus administrative commission the “authority to take all necessary steps to discern the ‘true church’ (Book of Order G-8.0601), that is, those wishing to remain loyal to the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
Crackdowns on congregations
This is not the first time that a presbytery has sought to crack down on congregations considering withdrawal from the denomination.
On Feb. 27, commissioners to Great Rivers Presbytery, acting on a recommendation from presbytery trustees, authorized an administrative commission with the authority to, “if necessary, ‘visit particular churches, governing bodies or other organizations of the church reported to be affected with disorder, and to inquire into and settle the difficulties therein,’ to the extent permitted by the Book of Order (G-9.0503a(4)),” according to the trustees’ report.
“The rationale for this action is the potential need to react promptly between assembly meetings if a particular church proposes actions which, if taken, would result in separation from the PCUSA and/or which are at variance with the Constitution of the PCUSA,” the report states. “The current volatility of the issues facing the presbytery and the larger church call for advance planning and preparedness for a variety of contingencies.”
In June 2005, commissioners to the Presbytery of Kiskiminetas in western Pennsylvania voted to reject a presbytery proposal to begin a crackdown on “any church reported to be considering withdrawal.”
That proposal also called for appointing an omnibus administrative commission that would be granted full powers to take over congregations and freeze all of their property and assets.
In addition, the defeated proposal would have granted the omnibus administrative commission the authority “to rescind any current or previous schismatic actions of the session” and “to instruct the pastor(s) and elder(s) or the session to cease such activity that is causing disorder and/or is schismatic.”
The proposal by the Presbytery of Kiskiminetas was not unlike the actions of other presbyteries in their efforts, following the outline in “The Louisville Papers,” to push the denomination’s claim to the property of congregations involved in disputes.
In April 2006, the Presbytery of Eastern Oklahoma filed affidavits in all of its counties declaring the presbytery’s authority to limit the right of congregations to sell or encumber their church property and challenging the congregations’ right to stake a claim to the property if its members voted to leave the PCUSA.
In May 2005, the Presbytery of Charlotte in North Carolina asked the congregation of Harrisburg Presbyterian Church to restate its articles of incorporation to ensure that the church’s property would revert to the denomination if the congregation was dissolved. The congregation rejected that proposal by a vote of 72-22.
Heartland Presbytery
On June 17, 2003, Heartland Presbytery adopted a policy that required local congregations to pay their full per capita and make and fulfill a presbytery mission pledge before being eligible for presbytery services.
That policy was adopted after two congregations withheld their per-capita requests to the General Assembly for reasons of conscience. The same two congregations now are listed in the proposal by the presbytery’s committee on ministry for thinking about separation, and their pastors included on the list of ministers under scrutiny.
That policy stated:
- “No congregation will be considered eligible to request assistance from the presbytery in the form of mission support, shared grants or loan guarantees unless that congregation has demonstrated its full participation in the fiscal and ecclesiastical life of the presbytery, including the payment of per capita, the making and meeting of a mission pledge, being current on Board of Pensions dues, the filing of annual statistical reports, and the annual reporting of the pastor’s terms of call.”
On Oct. 18, 2004, the Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly – the highest court in the denomination – unanimously ruled that the policy was unconstitutional. It was the court’s fourth ruling affirming the right of local church sessions to determine how the tithes and offerings of their members and worshipers are spent.
Previous rulings, as well as statements by past general assemblies, held that sessions could not be compelled to pay per-capita requests to support higher governing bodies and that ministers and elders could not be punished for a failure to do so.
Text of proposal
The new proposal by the presbytery’s committee on ministry states that the purpose of the omnibus administrative commission “shall be to act on behalf of the presbytery on all matters regarding ministers, congregations and members of congregations who are considering withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
The full text of the proposal, included as an addendum to the committee on ministry’s report in the presbytery informational packet, is as follows:
“The Committee on Ministry recommends that Heartland Presbytery form an administrative commission as follows:
“1) The purpose of the commission shall be to act on behalf of the presbytery on all matters regarding ministers, congregations and members of congregations who are considering withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (USA).
“2) The slate of members for proposed election to the commission shall be developed prior to the June 16th presbytery meeting by the moderators of the Council, the Committee on Ministry and the Nominating Committee, in consultation with presbytery executive staff and including representation from the COM and Council.
“3) The list of duties and powers to be proposed for the commission shall be as follows:
1. “The commission shall seek, where possible, reconciliation with all ministers and members of all involved congregations.
2. “The commission shall obtain appropriate resources and information (legal, polity, financial, etc.) for continued interaction with these congregations, in consultation with Council, Committee on Ministry and presbytery staff.
3. “The presbytery, by this action, shall delegate to the commission the following powers, to take effect when it should become evident to the commission that minister(s) or congregation member(s) are moving toward expressing a desire for separation and that reconciliation is not likely:
- a. “Access to all church records, including but not limited to: membership rolls, minutes of session and all boards and committees, financial records, membership directories, newsletters, and materials distributed for congregational information
- b. “Authority to call a congregational meeting (G-7.0303.a(2)) and to obtain current and accurate membership lists from the church for this purpose.
- c. “Authority to engage appropriate legal counsel.
- d. “Authority to take all necessary steps to discern the “true church” (G-8.0601), that is, those wishing to remain loyal to the Presbyterian Church (USA).
- e. “In the event that a session calls a congregational meeting for the purpose of considering actions leading to separation from the PCUSA, the commission shall have the authority to dissolve the session and assume the full powers and jurisdiction of the session. In the event that this has occurred prior to this action of the presbytery, the power shall be effective immediately. With the full authority of the session, the commission shall be empowered to:
- i. “Provide for worship and for the continuing pastoral care of all members of the congregation, in the manner of Christ.
- ii. “Receive and act on requests from members to be transferred or deleted from the rolls.
- iii. “Determine and negotiate appropriate distribution of all property and assets of the congregation, with any final resolution to be recommended to the Presbytery Council for approval.
- f. “Authority to dissolve the pastoral relationship upon evidence that the pastor has advocated separation from the denomination or upon renunciation of jurisdiction, fully observing the due process requirements of the Constitution, G-9.0505b.(2).
- g. “Authority, in consultation with the Committee on Ministry, to transfer the minister to an established judicatory of another Reformed denomination with which the Presbyterian Church (USA) is in correspondence.
- h. “Authority to declare a minister to have renounced jurisdiction in accordance with G-11.0416 upon evidence that they have obtained membership of any character in another denomination.
4. “The current list of churches for which the administrative commission has authority is ” First, Paola, Kansas ” Hillsdale, Kansas
5. “Other congregations may be added to this list by vote of the Committee on Ministry or the Presbytery Council, or such subcommittees as they may designate, according to procedures established by those bodies.
Background
“The Presbytery Council, at its May 21, 2007, meeting, in response to events occurring in congregations, approved a motion similar to the one above, including a request for the Committee on Ministry to present some details of the recommendation. Acting on more recent information and reflecting its continued work at communication and reconciliation with congregations, the Committee on Ministry approved the above recommendation to presbytery at its June 7, 2007, meeting.
“The committee is grieved at the desire of some Presbyterians to separate from the denomination in which we have covenanted together to worship and serve. As the recommendation above reflects, our first effort has been, and will continue to be, to seek reconciliation wherever possible to work diligently for the peace, unity and purity of the church.
“It is apparent that the leadership of at least two congregations in Heartland Presbytery, and perhaps others, have determined that their faith compels them to no longer be part of our fellowship. The desire to separate raises many complex issues of theology, polity and law. From the beginning, this committee (as well as the Presbytery Council and staff) has operated under certain understandings with regard to these matters. Central to our response has been an understanding that there are three separate questions to be resolved when a congregation is considering separation:
1. Ministers
“Any minister of the Word and sacrament is a member of the presbytery, not the congregation, and is free to determine that he or she no longer wishes to continue as a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister, and this decision can be made at any time. A simple written request to be deleted from the rolls, or a renunciation of jurisdiction, is effective for ending the minister’s participation in our common life. A minister may also request in writing to be transferred to another Reformed denomination with whom the PCUSA is in correspondence and, upon receipt by that denomination, that request will be honored.
“In this case, both pastors, the Rev. Kirk Johnston at First, Paola, and the temporary supply pastor, the Rev. Laurie Johnston at Hillsdale, have indicated publicly their intention to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA), regardless of the outcome of votes in their respective congregations.
2. Members and Membership
“This committee does not believe that any vote of any congregation