Kirkpatrick advises executives to fight for his view of the constitution
September 11, 2006
September 8, 2006
To Presbytery Stated Clerks Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Dear Colleagues:
I hope all of you are doing well as we begin a new program year in the life of the church. I continue to be grateful for your good leadership in the presbyteries of our church and count it a great blessing to be your friend and colleague in this ministry.
This is a challenging time to be stated clerks. I know that in certain parts of our church there are deep disagreements and anxieties over actions of the 217th General Assembly, ordination standards, the trust clause, and the future of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). So, while it is a challenging time, I believe it is also a time in which our calling to strengthen the ecclesial life of the church and to encourage faithfulness to our Constitution is more crucial than ever.
As our governing bodies deal with these difficult issues, I would remind you of the wise advice given by this year’s General Assembly with near unanimity. The assembly called on all governing bodies, as we face difficult issues, to be engaged in “processes of intensive discernment through worship, community building, study, and collaborative work.” The assembly also encouraged us prior to decision making to engage in the spiritual disciplines of prayer, discernment of the will of God, and seeking to hear God’s voice through the voices of those in our community.
These calls challenge our organizations at all levels to be more than “governing bodies.” We are to seek to transform our lives together so that we are more like the body of Christ, where each part is deeply honored and respected and all seek not so much their own will but the will of Christ, who is the head of the body. Our Form of Government says it well in G-4.0300d, “Presbyterians are not simply to reflect the will of the people, but rather to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ.”
It is this vision that is at the heart of our Constitution. It is why, in part, it is so important for us to remind Presbyterians that faithfulness to the Constitution is critical as we deal with difficult issues in our life together.
I am particularly concerned about proposals that I hear are coming to some of our presbyteries that are not in accord with our Constitution and its authoritative interpretations (which also have the binding authority of the Constitution itself). I hope, in your role as stated clerks, you will join me in reminding Presbyterians that while dissent and advocacy for change are deeply engrained Presbyterian values, no presbytery by any vote margin has the authority to take actions that are not in accord with the Constitution, or to set aside its provisions.
Among the proposals that are of particular concern to me:
- Actions by a presbytery that in essence set aside the assembly’s authoritative interpretation of G-6.0108 and require subscription to all or specific constitutional standards. Examinations are to be conducted based on constitutional standards established by the whole church, but ordination and installation decisions are to be made by ordaining bodies based on whether “the candidate has departed from essentials of Reformed faith and polity” (G-6.0108b). Authoritative interpretations can be changed by new interpretations from the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission or the assembly itself, and presbyteries may send in overtures seeking such change, but presbyteries cannot set aside, on their own, standards clearly specified in an already adopted authoritative interpretation.
- Efforts to set “super standards” on the one hand, or to declare that certain standards will not be in force on the other, in the examination of candidates. In our polity, sessions and presbyteries make ordination and installation decisions, and the General Assembly and presbyteries together set the basic standards through the constitutional process. General Assemblies do not make ordaining decisions, and presbyteries cannot add to or take away from standards upon which examinations are based (except by overturing the assembly for constitutional change).
- Establishing answers that are required of candidates for installation and ordination, or determining in advance answers that will be unacceptable. Ordaining bodies may determine questions they wish to ask of candidates, but their answers are to be judged on a case-by-case basis, based on the standards set by the Constitution.
- Proposals to grant congregations – based on a super majority vote or other criteria – to leave the denomination with their property in the event of schism. The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission case, Strong and Bagby v. Synod of the Mid-South, makes it very clear that presbyteries are the body of original decision-making in all matters related to dismissing, dissolving, or transferring congregations and cannot delegate that authority to a session or congregation. This is to be done on a case-by-case basis, based on the criteria in G-8 and especially the standard that any such action should be for the benefit of the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
- Actions to restrict presbyteries from fulfilling their G-9.0404d responsibilities to transmit their per capita assessments to synods and General Assembly. The authoritative interpretation by the 211th General Assembly (1999) of G-9.0404d made it clear that the payment of per capita to higher governing bodies is a presbytery responsibility “as long as it has funds available,” and cannot be contravened because certain sessions wish to have funds withheld. Presbyteries do not have the authority to change those provisions without seeking an amendment or new interpretation of the Constitution.
- Mandates that presbyteries seek to place on sessions for procedures or content for the examination of candidates to be elders or deacons beyond those specified in the Constitution or its authoritative interpretations. One ordaining body does not have the authority to impose on another ordaining body particular requirements greater than those in the Constitution. The most recent authoritative interpretation of G-6.0108 by the 217th General Assembly recognizes the historic duty of each governing body to examine its own members and apply the constitutional standards in that process.
The Office of the General Assembly has worked to provide you with additional assistance related to the concerns raised in this letter, including recent advisory opinions (#18 on Discernment in Examining Bodies and #19 on the Trust Clause) and a constitutional musing (#11 on Examining Officers). They are available online at www.pcusa.org/constitutionalservices. I hope you find them to be helpful resources.
Yes these are difficult days for many of you. But it is in times like this that we most need to seek the spirit and mind of Christ and to be faithful to our Constitution, as we seek to build up the church in faithfulness to its Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
May God’s richest blessings be with you, your presbyteries, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Grace and peace,
Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
cc. Synod Stated Clerks Presbytery and Synod Executives