Small congregation in Mississippi asks presbytery to ‘graciously’ release it from PCUSA with property
By Craig M. Kibler, January 30, 2007
The session of a small congregation in Mississippi, saying that it has “become disillusioned and dismayed while watching the denominational direction become more and more liberal and further and further from our understanding of the Scriptures,” has requested that it be “graciously” released from the Presbyterian Church (USA) with its property.
The session of the 94-member French Camp Presbyterian Church in French Camp, Miss., made the request to the Presbytery of St. Andrew in a letter dated Aug. 10, 2006.
In response, the presbytery, at its Oct. 3, 2006 meeting, appointed a six-person task force “to relate to the French Camp congregation and to lead the presbytery in its consideration of the French Camp Presbyterian Church session’s request that the congregation be dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) with its property.”
No status report on the issue is listed on the docket for the presbytery’s Feb. 6 meeting.
The Presbytery of St. Andrew is the presbytery in which its committee on ministry, after the session of First Presbyterian Church in Corinth stated that it will “go in the direction of leaving” the Presbyterian Church (USA), warned the congregation’s pastor that advocating withdrawal from the denomination “is not an approved work.”
The committee on ministry also ordered that legal proceedings be initiated “to seek a declaratory judgment as to whether the courts in the State of Mississippi will recognize and uphold our constitution’s trust clause” regarding church property.
Letter from session
In its letter, the French Camp session stated that, after the actions of the 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, “the French Camp church can no longer in good faith continue our membership in the PCUSA. We value our friends in St. Andrew Presbytery and regret that we must dissolve our relationship with them.”
The full text of the session’s letter is as follows:
Dear Friends,
“The unique ministry of the French Camp Presbyterian Church as both a community and a campus church has prospered because of God’s gracious hand and the strong leadership he has provided. The church was well established when, in 1885, it played a major role in the founding of French Camp Academy. The Rev. Augustus Mecklin served as both church pastor and school president.
“For over 120 years, this partnership has provided spiritual training for the young people at French Camp Academy, with many successive presidents also serving as pastor. The current session takes this opportunity and responsibility very seriously. Therefore, we and the membership at large hold to a strict interpretation of the Bible as the only rule for faith and practice. We subscribe to the historical statements of faith and take a conservative stance on social issues of the day.
“We were in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from its inception. We were challenged and encouraged to stay as a redemptive agent. Over the years, we have been diligent in our ministry with French Camp Academy and in our involvement with denominational matters at presbytery. We have become disillusioned and dismayed while watching the denominational direction become more and more liberal and further and further from our understanding of the Scriptures, which call us to a holy lifestyle.
“After the recent General Assembly actions and affirmations, the French Camp church can no longer in good faith continue our membership in the PCUSA. We value our friends in St. Andrew Presbytery and regret that we must dissolve our relationship with them. Nonetheless, we request that you graciously release the French Camp church with its property so that the mission ministry of this community and campus church can continue unabated.”
Craig M. Kibler is the Director of Publications for the Presbyterian Lay Committee and Executive Editor of The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at cmkibler@www.layman.org.