Dispute between Korean presbytery
and congregation overshadows vote
By John H. Adams, The Layman, April 28, 2009
Will Korean presbytery vote?
Questions have been raised as to why the Presbytery of Midwest Hamni has not scheduled a vote on G-6.0106b and other proposed amendments to the PCUSA constitution.
Currently, the presbytery is under the authority of an administrative commission from the Synod of Lincoln Trails as a result of disagreements with Canaan Presbyterian Church, a Korean congregation. Canaan is also under the jurisdiction of a synod AC. A second synod trial has been ordered to resolve the issues.
But that does not prevent the presbytery from calling a meeting to consider the amendments, according David Crittenden, the synod’s stated clerk. Such a meeting would have to be called by the AC.
The Layman was unable to contact the Rev. Beth Wagner, moderator of the AC, to determine whether a voting date will be set before the May 19 deadline.
By all outward appearances, Canaan Presbyterian Church in Glenview, Ill., a Korean congregation, was dynamic and growing. In 2005, its membership increased to 995 and worship attendance was averaging 1,300. The top budget figure was $1.8 million in 2004 – roughly $1,800 per member, nearly double the average in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
But in 2006, worship attendance plunged to an average of 595. It fell further in 2007, to 415.
What happened? The controversy seems to overshadow the presbytery’s plans to vote in the national referendum on G-6.0106b and other proposed amendments.
“This case is tragic,” said the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission in a ruling handed down on Oct. 27, 2008. “It involves issues of culture and language; power and stubbornness. It also reflects the misunderstandings on the part of individuals and governing bodies as to processes and procedures set forth in the Book of Order … the facts in this case reflect egregious conduct and unique cultural circumstances.”
The disagreement, between Canaan’s leadership and an opposition group named “CaSaMo,” seemed to center around the church’s pastor, pressure from the synod for his retirement and the possibility that a presbytery administrative commission would name the pastor’s successor.
In April 2008, the synod court ruled in favor of the presbytery and the administrative commission overseeing Canaan Presbyterian.
But the GAPJC said in its October 2008 ruling that the Synod PJC exceeded its constitutional authority by presuming that Canaan pastor Yong S. Rhee and the majority of the Canaan elders had renounced the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Rhee and the elders argue that they did not intend to leave the denomination. Instead, they announced their departure from the Presbytery of Midwest Hamni and sought to be transferred to the Presbytery of Chicago.
Korean congregations are among the strongest in the denomination. Their members attend worship services faithfully. They give generously. They stress the authority of Scripture so strongly that when different interpretations arise, they sometimes divide into factions that have difficulty reconciling. Their pastors are highly honored.
But they sometimes become factionalized. Former PCUSA Moderator Syngman Rhee once noted that the evidence of those factions can be found in South Korea, where Presbyterian missionaries successfully planted the gospel. There are more than 30 Presbyterian denominations in South Korea.