Ousted ministers say they were denied due process
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, May 23, 2000
BALTIMORE – The authority of presbyteries to dismiss pastors without benefit of hearings and other due-process protections is being tested in two cases before the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission. Decisions are expected this week.
The issue revolves around the actions of administrative commissions appointed by the Pittsburgh and Charlotte presbyteries. They involve ministers who are at the opposite end of the financial and prestige spectrum – an African-American Charlotte pastor who says he was fired with only a few days’ notice and one month’s severance pay and a tall-steeple Pittsburgh minister who wants vindication for his dismissal.
In both cases, the pastors said they want due process and justice – but the Charlotte case also involves a six-month severance package that was ordered by the synod court. That severance was appealed by the presbytery.
The cases:
- The Rev. Peter Bower is contesting his removal without a hearing from Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, one of the most heavily endowed congregations in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Bower, who received a six-figure severance, did not ask for more money. Rather, he is seeking an opportunity to hear his accusers face to face to rebut their criticism of his ministry. According to denominational statistics, Shadyside had 1,017 members in 1998 and average worship attendance of 250. The data showed that the congregation had lost about 50 percent of its membership in 10 years.
- The Rev. Daniel Hennigan of Woodland Presbyterian Church, a congregation of 123 members and an average worship attendance of 65 in 1998, also said he was denied a hearing and a chance to refute his accusers’ allegations. He and two African-American pastors who served on his committee of counsel charged that the presbytery’s action was racially motivated.
Counsel: Hearings not required
In both cases, the counsel for the presbyteries said no hearings were required because the ministers were not accused of wrongdoing. Rather, they said, the ministries had become ineffective.
Joseph Kennedy IV, an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, represented the presbytery in challenging Bower’s request for a hearing. Kennedy noted that the congregation voted 2-1 to ask the presbytery to remove Bower as senior pastor of Shadyside before the presbytery became involved through an administrative commission.
Kennedy said the presbytery did not grant Bower a hearing because it was not required. “This is not a case that involves any allegation of misconduct,” he said. “There is no issue of monetary compensation. It’s a claim for vindication. I believe the synod PJC [which ruled in Bower’s favor] was wrong … A pastoral relationship which was in crisis needed to be resolved.”
Synod court ordered hearing
The presbytery appealed Bower’s case from a synod court that ruled he was entitled to a hearing, but not reinstatement as pastor of Shadyside. Bower has been student-teaching in Pittsburgh and seeking another call.
Ross S. Bach, an attorney, minister and counsel for Bower, said, “This case is about justice. It’s not a critique about the work the administrative commission tried to do. But just ends were sought without using just means.”
Presbytery criticized
The Rev. Dr. Reginald Hawkins, lead counsel for Hennigan, said the Charlotte Presbytery “has done everything it could to eliminate black pastors from black churches. This [the administative commission’s role in ousting Hennigan] has been done among five black churches and only one of 128 white churches.”
Hennigan said he was given only a few days’ notice that his work at Woodland Church had ended.
Carol Bender, pastor of Plaza Presbyterian Church, represented the Charlotte Presbytery during the appeal hearing. She said Woodland Church was experiencing unspecified problems when the presbytery appointed the administrative commission “without prejudice or bias toward a smaller or African-American church.”
Bender said the commission did not conduct a hearing because there were no accusations of wrongdoing.
Hennigan said he has been financially strapped since his removal from the pastorate. “I have had to borrow money, to sell holdings that have been in the family for years,” he said. “I have received no assistance from the presbytery.”
He said the synod court’s award of a six month severance had not been paid. Bender said the money was set aside in escrow pending the outcome of the appeal.