Large San Francisco congregation
announces desire to leave PCUSA
By Edward Terry, The Layman, February 17, 2010
The Presbytery of San Francisco’s new dismissal policy, approved in September 2009, is about to get its first test.
The 2,000-member Community Presbyterian Church (CPC) in Danville, Calif., has announced it wants to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) and affiliate with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). CPC’s session approved the action at its Feb. 2 meeting, blaming the PCUSA’s denominational theological, moral and political drift. The session’s position statement, in its desire to depart, also claims a tolerance of theological pluralism, conflicted witness to the world and divided loyalties by the PCUSA.
“We grieve that time and again a minority within PCUSA has sought to compromise the authority of Scripture and the uniqueness and Lordship of Christ,” the session said. “The trend we see is disturbing and turns our focus away from our primary mission of proclaiming the ‘Good News’ of the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. … We are now bound only by a governance structure that promotes the celebration of diversity while failing to clearly define and enforce common essential beliefs. In effect, and ironically, the PCUSA has promoted unity only for the issue of theological diversity.”
The statement also acknowledges a mistrust of denominational leadership and that CPC has “lost hope” in affecting change in the PCUSA.
“The passion and energy that has been diverted to an interminable struggle must now be released to create a new denominational alliance for discipleship and mission,” the session statement said. “In the EPC, CPC’s theology will be supported, our commitment to the Presbyterian form of church government and Reformed theology will continue. Changing denominations from one Presbyterian body to another will remove the tension over denominational issues, the distraction from our mission, and the time demands on our pastors required to deal with PCUSA developments.”
If dismissed, the loss of CPC will impact votes on controversial issues. Less than a year ago, San Francisco Presbytery surprised many when it voted against removing from the PCUSA Book of Order the fidelity-chastity standard, which requires ordained officers to be faithful in marriage between a man and woman or chaste in singleness. The amendment failed at the national level in 2009 and was rejected in San Francisco by a margin of 10 votes. Presuming that its 16 votes were against the amendment, CPC’s absence would have produced a different outcome.
CPC Pastor Scott Farmer, who along with five other commissioners helped author the presbytery’s new dismissal policy, isn’t so sure the proposed departure will have such an impact.
“The evangelical votes in the San Francisco Presbytery rarely comprise a majority today or at any time in my memory,” he said. “I do not expect CPC’s expected dismissal to change that.”
Reactions to CPC’s dismissal request have been mixed, Farmer said.
“So far, from the congregation I have heard positive feedback on the direction and prayerful process used by the session, and appreciation for my personal grief at this decision,” he said. “From colleagues in the San Francisco Presbytery I have received notes of affection, grief, loss, affirmation, some hurt and several wondering about the thinking which led CPC’s session to this decision.”
Presbytery of San Francisco’s Interim Executive Presbyter Craig Palmer said the presbytery’s reaction has been one of disappointment and sadness. He said he has no reflection on what the potential loss of CPC means to the presbytery because he’s counting on reconciliation.
“(Dismissal) is not the outcome I hope we get to,” he said.
In preparation for the dismissal process, CPC will host four “town hall” meetings for its congregation from February to July. CPC also has provided a page on its Web site dedicated to the issue. The site has resources such as the session’s statement, a letter from Farmer, a copy of the presbytery’s gracious dismissal policy, the town hall meeting schedule, reminders of CPC’s position on key issues and links to sermons on the issues of contention.
In his letter to CPC members, Farmer anticipates a mid-September congregational vote, which is dependent on presbytery approval. To reach that point, however, there are several hoops to jump through.
According to the San Francisco dismissal policy and CPC’s explanation to its members, the next step is interaction with a Presbytery Engagement Team (PET). That team has not been formed yet, Palmer said, but should be in the next month or so.
If reconciliation is not possible, the PET and a CPC committee will negotiate the terms of dismissal. The congregation then must vote on the agreement. A vote of 75 percent or higher advances the dismissal to the next presbytery meeting. If approved, a transition process begins.
Disagreement about property ownership is among the issues San Francisco is seeking to avoid. The policy states that civil litigation will not be used as a weapon and congregations dismissed to another Reformed denomination will be able to leave with their property. It also asks departing congregations to voluntarily support the presbytery financially for a period of five years after the dismissal.
Both CPC and the Presbytery of San Francisco are covering new ground with the dismissal request, but Farmer is counting on the same gracious approach he’s experienced in 27 years of ministry in the presbytery.
“I expect our culture of prayerful valuing of each other to continue throughout the process ahead,” Farmer said. “In writing the Gracious Dismissal Policy, we tried to eliminate as much ambiguity as possible in order to open honest dialogue between congregations and our presbytery. We have learned the costs of either side feeling the need to resort to surprise actions. All of us, on every side, hope that Christ is honored and the Kingdom advanced even as the watching world witnesses Christians going through this process.”