Presbytery’s stated clerk declares return of pastors ‘violation of leave’
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, June 29, 2005
The stated clerk of the Presbytery of the Pacific has declared that the presence of Alan Meenan and David Manock at the June 26 worship service at Hollywood Presbyterian Church was a “violation of the leave imposed” by the presbytery’s administrative commission.
In a letter circulated in response to a stay of enforcement signed by 51 commissioners who attended a May 10 presbytery meeting, Marshall said, “Stay requests must have the validation of the Synod PJC.”
But the section of the Book of Order that the supporters used to get Meenan and Manock reinstated says the stay was effective upon securing enough signatures and submitting them to the presbytery within a 45-day deadline. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii can overturn the stay later if it deems it invalid.
Section D-6.0103 of the Book of Order says “any governing body … may stay enforcement” by one of several actions. The language clearly doesn’t suggest, as Marshall stated, that the stay can only be granted by the synod.
In the case of Hollywood Presbyterian Church, the session decided to follow the Book of Order procedure that secures a stay of enforcement with the signatures of one-third of a presbytery’s members who opposed the decision made at that meeting.
Supporters of Meenan and Manock secured 51 signatures on the stay of enforcement – more than one-third – and delivered it to Marshall on June 24, 44 days after the presbytery vote on May 10 that affirmed the administrative commission’s decision to place the ministers on administrative leave. The presbytery may – but is not required – appeal the stay to the synod’s Permanent Judicial Commission.
Marshall labeled the stay a “request” and said it had “no bearing on the work of the administrative commission.”
On May 3, the Presbytery of the Pacific voted to establish the administrative commission and give it original jurisdiction to govern Hollywood Presbyterian Church. Even though commissioners also affirmed the ministries of Meenan and Manock, the administrative commission, shortly after the May 3 meeting, ordered the pastors immediately to go on administrative leave, to vacate their offices within a few hours and to cease contact with members, officers and staff.
“The commission must continue its work and let the synod deal with the stay request,” Marshall said in his letter. “You have done a good job. Keep it up.”
Marta Gardner, a Hollywood elder, responded with a letter to the session. “While none of us are experts in the constitution of the PCUSA, it is fairly simple reading, and my clear reading of the Book of Order section D-6.0000-0103, that shows that Frank has completely misinterpreted the situation.”
She said the stay was effective upon presentation of the 51 signatures to Marshall. “The presbytery may object to the stay that has been filed, in which case the permanent judicial commission [of the synod] would have to conduct a hearing on all the related issues, with all parties represented. At that time, the stay may be modified or terminated. That has not happened.”
Gardner added, “One thing I am unhappily learning through this whole process is that we should become as educated as we can be, and stop relying on ‘experts,’ whether they are stated clerks, attorneys, commissions, other elders or even our own pastors. Many of our problems have been exacerbated by inattention to (or intentional disregard for) the processes clearly delineated in the BOO. I hope each of you will dust off your Books of Order, read and study on your own. It’s actually a very special document, and we should fight to see it upheld correctly.”