A change of name not likely. Middle Smithfield Presbyterian Church has joined the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) after ending its long affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The process of discernment and dismissal for the church in East Stroudsburg, Pa., took more than 18 months and was completed in June 2012 when it was dismissed by the Lehigh Presbytery with the condition of acceptance by the EPC. That was finalized three months later when Middle Smithfield was accepted into the EPC’s Presbytery of the East, Pastor Jeff Brower explained.
The congregation of Middle Smithfield recently met to discuss the possibility of changing the name of the church, but Brower said that is not likely to happen.
The church of 185 members will celebrate its 200th anniversary next year, and Brower said that many congregants are not anxious to change the name the church has had throughout its history.
“Part of our agreement with the presbytery allowed us to keep our name,” said Brower, now in his 13th year at Middle Smithfield. “We have a lot of members who don’t want to change it. I suspect we’ll keep the name but add our affiliation with the EPC.”
Brower said it is likely a phrase such as “An Evangelical Presbyterian Church” or “A member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church” probably will accompany the church’s name.
“We’ve been through too much battling not to acknowledge the change that has taken place,” he said.
The decision to leave the PCUSA came as a result of the release of the “New Form of Government,” the “Book of Order” for the denomination.
“Shortly after NFOG came out, and we read the document we decided to seek dismissal,” Brower said. “You don’t have to read very far to know this is just too much. The new document espouses total universalism and some horrible theology. We felt the theology being taught was just intolerable.”
Brower said the issue was taken before the session, which decided to pursue a change. That change was found in the EPC.
“What really sold us was attending an Evangelical Presbyterian (Church) meeting,” Brower said. “We were blown away by the amount of prayer and the obvious love for the Word of God. It felt so good. We left thinking, clearly, this is the kind of meeting we should have.”
The session explored the issue with the congregation and took a straw poll in the summer of 2011 that proved to be unanimous in a decision to leave the PCUSA.
“We had a binding vote to leave the PCUSA regardless if the EPC took us into the denomination or not,” Brower said. “We found it to be incredibly exciting.”
Brower said the church followed the discernment and dismissal policy of Lehigh Presbytery to the letter in expressing its intent to leave and negotiated the terms of dismissal with the presbytery.
The terms involved a descending payment of per-capita expenses over a five-year period to total approximately $17,000 as well as a payment of $2,500 annually for five years to the PCUSA mission budget. Brower said that annual payment to the mission budget will be made to assist with Camp Brainerd, a local Presbyterian camp located near the church in the Pocono Mountains.
Brower also indicated there were no property disputes between the church and the presbytery in a dismissal process he summed up as “easier than many, not as easy as some.”
Middle Smithfield also could not have become an independent church for at least five years under the agreement reached with Lehigh, but that was not part of its plans.
“We don’t intend to do that,” Brower said. “We have found a home, and we intend to stay. To be under the umbrella of what we believe as God’s people is so complete and wonderful. We’re confident about where the future will take us.”