Largest congregation in Pittsburgh Presbytery votes overwhelmingly to leave PCUSA, join EPC
By Craig M. Kibler, The Layman Online, June 4, 2007
Calling it a “historic stand for the Gospel,” the largest congregation in Pittsburgh Presbytery has voted overwhelmingly to ask to be dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Saying that it had been “led by the Holy Spirit and guided by a unanimous vote of its ruling elders and deacons,” the 1,734-member Memorial Park Presbyterian Church in Allison Park, Pa., voted 951 (91.1 percent) in favor of the proposal; 93 (8.9 percent) voted against the proposal; there were four abstentions; and three ballots were disallowed by the members of Pittsburgh Presbytery overseeing the voting process.
“At Memorial Park, we will always be Presbyterian. We are a conservative, evangelical, missions-oriented Presbyterian Church,” Jay Roy, a ruling elder and former president of the Pittsburgh Federal Home Loan Bank, said in a statement issued by the church.
“Our motto is ‘preaching the unchanging Word to an ever-changing world,'” Roy said. “Without apology, we believe that the Bible is God’s infallible Word. We are unashamed when we proclaim that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth and life.”
Negotiations may begin this week to allow the church to keep its property, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. The presbytery must approve any settlement.
At least 761 votes were needed to seek dismissal from the PCUSA. Memorial Park has more than 1,700 members, but the presbytery and the congregation agreed on a smaller number of active, available members from which to calculate the majority needed for the vote, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Biblical truth
“Over the years, this church has stood firm for Biblical truth in the midst of a denomination that has consistently moved away from historic Christian teaching,” said the congregation’s senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Dean Weaver.
Weaver said the members affirmed that it is time to “realign ourselves with other Presbyterians in our country and around the world who believe the same things we do and have the same passion for evangelism and for missions.”
“I feel humbled and grateful to God that our congregation spoke with such a clear, compelling voice – with a voice full of grace and compassion, but also with determination to follow Christ,” said Weaver, national co-moderator of the New Wineskins Association of Churches.
There was brief applause when the vote was announced. Weaver asked God to comfort those who had voted with the minority, “that they would know they are loved and are part of this congregation,” he said.
Al Hodil, a member since 1999, was near tears afterward, but told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that it was the right decision. “I think this is about getting us back to Scripture,” he said. “But how can you be happy? I think it’s good for the congregation, but sad it has to come to this.”
Next step
The next step, Weaver told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “is to continue to work faithfully with our brothers and sisters in the Presbytery of Pittsburgh for a negotiated settlement that will be gracious and honor Christ.”
The Rev. James Mead, executive pastor to Pittsburgh Presbytery, also expressed gratitude that the vote was clear, but he was not happy.
“We are saddened that Memorial Park members and leaders have elected to separate,” he told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Weaver expressed his gratitude for the numerous congregations and individuals in Pittsburgh and around the world who have supported the congregation in this decision.
“It has been encouraging to receive the calls, letters and e-mails from as far away as Africa and as close as the North Hills, letting us know that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ were praying for us today as we took this historic stand for the Gospel,” he said in the church’s statement.
Memorial Park, like many congregations in the New Wineskins Association of Churches, believes the denomination has downgraded Biblical authority and compromised classical Christian doctrines such as salvation through Christ alone.
Mead has publicly argued that those claims are exaggerated and that the church’s theology is solidly Biblical.
“However,” he told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “we believe that wrestling with such painful issues is part of God’s redemptive plan for the world. It’s our prayer that, as we move forward, our Christian love for each other will shine forth in our community.”
Mead also said Memorial Park’s rhetoric has alienated other pastors, which could complicate negotiations. In response to complaints from pastors whose members received Memorial Park’s literature from friends, he told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the presbytery took out newspaper ads affirming that Pittsburgh Presbytery believes in salvation through Christ alone, in Biblical authority and in traditional Christian sexual ethics.
“The efforts of the leadership of Memorial Park over the past several years have been somewhat wounding to other pastors in the presbytery – disseminating the kind of information that appears to many, perhaps most, in the presbytery to be misleading,” Mead said. “So these are going to be tough negotiations.”
Craig M. Kibler is the Director of Publications/Executive Editor of The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at cmkibler@layman.org.