Beyond the ‘tipping point’
Washington church will vote on PCUSA dismissal in November
Jason P. Reagan, The Layman, October 21, 2011
After six months of discussion, including four church-wide forums, a Washington church session is the latest to recommend leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) over theological issues.
On Oct. 13, the Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church’s session announced to the 1,691-member congregation its recommendation that the Gig Harbor-based church seek dismissal from the Presbytery of Olympia and to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).
“We now believe we have reached a tipping point,” Senior Pastor Mark Toone said during a June church forum. “And speaking personally, I have lost hope that we can bring about the renewal we have worked and prayed so hard for,” he added.
Toone’s remarks came on the heels of the recent passage of Amendment 10A, which deleted ordination standards addressing explicit chastity and fidelity requirements from the PCUSA constitution. The deleted standard required that ordained officers be faithful in marriage between a man and a woman, or chaste in singleness
The amendment’s passage, according to church leaders was one “tipping point” that led to, first, the formation of a Denominational Concerns Task Force in May, and, most recently, to the session’s recommendation to dismiss
“This is not a sudden, knee-jerk reaction,” Toone said. “It is actually the final straw following nearly 20 years of intentional, hard work by [the] church’s leadership for reform and renewal within the PCUSA,” he added.
“Our view of the Bible is that it is the infallible and authoritative final word on matters of life and faith and that when it speaks clearly, it is to be obeyed,” stated a recent document released by task force. “The recent passage of 10A suggests that an increasing number in our denomination do not read the Bible in the same way.”
“The vast majority of your brothers and sisters in Christ in this denomination hold a very high sense of the authority of Scripture. Difference arises in the interpretation and application of Scripture,” Olympia General Presbyter Lynn Longfield told a congregational gathering in July.
“We all interpret and apply Scripture, and we can differ in the way we do so,” she said.
Throughout the discernment process, Chapel Hill’s session has pointed to differences in essential beliefs concerning the nature and importance of Jesus Christ.
“The denomination has never been willing to declare that any theological tenet, such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, for example, is non-negotiable,” Toone said.
The task force adds: “We affirm that Jesus is the eternal second person of the Trinity who came to earth, God-in-the-flesh, lived a sinless life, died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world and was raised bodily back to life on the third day. An increasing segment in our denomination does not affirm these positions.”
As part of the discernment process, the church has posted resources concerning Scripture’s view of homosexuality and other issues, including audio files by Toone.
Following a final “town-hall” forum on Oct. 23, the church will vote on the session’s dismissal recommendation on Nov. 13.
Toone said the decision to seek possible affiliation with the EPC was strengthened after a church delegation attended the inaugural gathering of the EPC’s Presbytery of the Pacific.
“We believe that the EPC offers the best environment for us to continue to be the kind of church that God has called us to be, free from the growing pressures within our own denomination that challenge our deepest convictions about the Bible, Jesus and our mission to God’s world,” Toone said.
If the congregation affirms the session’s recommendation, the Presbytery of Olympia could, according to its discernment policy, form an Administrative Commission. The commission will then come up with a negotiated dismissal plan which would require presbytery approval.
Included in the final plan will be the dispensation of the Chapel Hill’s property. According to the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer’s office, the church owns two tracts valued at approximately $2.8 million.
“The goal of the presbytery is not to persuade Chapel Hill to stay, nor is it to advocate for a change somehow in your theological position or perspective,” Longfield said in her June address.
“If your strongest impulse for changing denominations is to get away from the PCUSA rather than to become a part of something you really affirm as a whole church — then you will not thrive,” she said, adding that the presbytery would maintain a commitment to hearing from all church members.
“The presbytery will not foment dissent if the majority and leadership of this congregation seek to leave,” she added.
The Presbytery of Olympia voted down Amendment 10A by a vote of 39-78.
Chapel Hill collected $3.6 million in offerings in 2010, according to PCUSA Research Services. It’s combined per capita to the presbytery, Synod of the Pacific and General Assembly totals $58,221. In 2006, the session voted to withhold the General Assembly’s portion of that amount — $10,706. However, the church continues to send per capita funds to the presbytery and synod.