Moderator regrets his presence fueled Torrance church conflict
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, July 11, 2005
After being part of a minority faction – and its scheduled preacher – that disrupted the worship service at First Presbyterian Church in Torrance, Calif., on June 26, General Assembly Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase says he “regretted that my presence itself had become part of what fueled the conflict.”
Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase enters sanctuary planning to become the preacher for the service. On his personal Web site, “U-C: What I see,” Ufford-Chase wrote about his reaction to the confrontation in a column titled “Reflections on a difficult day in the life of the Moderator.”
He also said he regrets that he wasn’t contacted by The Layman Online. The story was based primarily on repeated viewings of a video of the service. Several photographs from that video were published on The Layman Online. In addition, the Presbyterian Lay Committee’s news service has requested a transcript of the service translated from Korean into English.
“I regret that the Presbyterian Layman chose not to contact me for an interview before publishing their story about what was absolutely the most uncomfortable and difficult day I have experienced during my term as moderator,” Ufford-Chase said. “Though we clearly do not have the same understanding of all the facts, I appreciate many of the concerns they have lifted up. I think we would agree that what we do in worship matters greatly to our God.”
“I am painfully aware of my own shortcomings as I was caught up in this conflict. Being a part, however peripherally, of such a bitter disagreement in the midst of a worship service is something that I regret. I pray that my own admission of my regret will not be the only part of this reflection that I find quoted by those who disagree with me.”
Ufford-Chase, who had spurned the request by the majority at the Torrance church not to try to speak at the service, said his involvement in the Torrance dispute began when he offered to worship with the minority faction at a site that is not on the campus of the Torrance church. He said the members of that group invited him to attend the 11 a.m. service at the Torrance church.
“I was told that their intention was to go to the front of the Sanctuary, to ask the pastor for time in the pulpit, and to remain respectful and calm at all times,” Ufford-Chase said. “In the event that we were not welcomed, I was informed that the plan was to leave and drive to the high school to worship with the members who feel they have been forced out of their church.”
Moderator Ufford-Chase, second from left, on chancel area prepared to speak after rejecting pleas that he not take part in the disruption of the service. The session and lawyers representing the Torrance church did write letters to Ufford-Chase and the minority faction welcoming them to attend the worship service. However, those letters urged them not to try to take over the service. Nonetheless, Ufford-Chase and a large contingent of the minority faction went up to the chancel area. Although Ufford-Chase, wearing his moderator’s stole, remained quiet, others noisily disrupted the service and attempted to seize the microphone before they dispersed.
“We spent approximately ten minutes in the service of worship,” he added. “Had I been offered the opportunity to speak, a courtesy that has been extended to me as Moderator at every PCUSA church I have visited this year, I intended to offer words of encouragement and an exhortation to reconcile to a congregation of brothers and sisters who clearly are in crisis. I was not invited to speak.”
After long-running disputes with the Presbytery of Hamni, the Synod of Southern California and the Presbyterian Church (USA), the 2,700-member Torrance congregation voted 781-144 to leave the PCUSA. Both the majority and the minority claim the ownership of the property in a civil case that is before a Los Angeles Superior Court.
During the service, Ufford-Chase said he discovered “that there was little common ground and no hope for any kind of dialogue in that context. As I shared afterward with my wife, given my lifelong commitment to dialogue and peacemaking, the situation was extremely uncomfortable for me. I imagine that everyone in the room would have said the same.”
“In the end, I accompanied about one hundred members as they left the sanctuary, and we moved across town to the high school where close to five hundred members have been worshiping for the last month,” he said.
Ufford-Chase expressed his hope that “this won’t precipitate a round of arguments about the rightness of my actions in particular. This was as difficult a situation as I have encountered in some time. Some folks will disagree with how I participated. Others will agree. Everyone is free to state an opinion, and I welcome thoughtful and constructive feedback. However, let’s not forget the work we’re called to be doing as we follow Jesus Christ into a world that cries out for his healing presence. Months of fighting with one another over whether the moderator acted appropriately does not seem like it glorifies God. Please, if you have comments to share – write them to me directly instead of to one another about me.”