Colonial joins New Wineskins;
pastors renounce jurisdiction
By Edward Terry, The Layman, August 24, 2010
Colonial Presbyterian Church continued its exodus from the Presbyterian Church (USA) Monday and was received into the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s New Wineskins Transitional Presbytery. On the same day, the clergy officially cut ties to the PCUSA and Heartland Presbytery.
The Revs. James West, Robert Lehleitner and Mary Brown faxed notification on Monday to Heartland Presbytery that all three pastors had renounced the jurisdiction of the PCUSA. Renouncing jurisdiction protects the ministers from any ecclesiastical retaliation, for which Heartland has a documented history.
On Aug. 22, the 1,700 member, dual-campus congregation located near Kansas City voted to leave the PCUSA and join the EPC due to disagreements over theology and standards.
The church previously had sought an open discernment process with participation by Heartland Presbytery. As it became clear that an overwhelming majority of Colonial’s membership was ready to leave, the presbytery authorized its standing administrative commission to act.
With the authority to dissolve the church’s session and take possession of Colonial’s property and assets, the administrative commission warned the congregation that a meeting to consider a departure was not allowed and an injunction in ecclesiastical court against such a meeting was granted.
Anticipating retaliatory action, Colonial sought protection in the secular courts and went forward with its meeting. Approximately 97 percent of present members favored leaving the PCUSA and joining the EPC. More than half of the congregation’s membership participated in the Aug. 22 vote.
“Based on these officials actions, Colonial Presbyterian Church and its pastors are no longer associated or affiliated with Heartland Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Your records should be updated to reflect these changes,” Colonial’s session reported to Heartland Presbytery in an Aug. 23 letter.
Calls to Heartland Presbytery on Monday have not been returned. Officials at Colonial also are declining comment at the advice of their legal counsel. A simple statement on the Colonial Web page acknowledges the new affiliation, including a frequently asked questions page about the EPC.
Though church officials are keeping mum, some members are speaking out. Signed in as “Colonial Member” on The Reformed Pastor’s blog, shared one opinion:
“This past week, right before we took our vote, we received a letter from our elders that was sent from Heartland, basically saying our elders are incompetent and do not know what they are doing,” the anonymous blog poster said. “We elected those people so basically they are saying the same thing about us. It is sad Heartland is caught up in the financial and political aspect of things rather than focusing on the real issue: Christ, spreading the Word and missions for the greater good of all of humanity. We will continue to pray for Heartland and if this is their ‘gracious’ plan for exiting, I pity their enemies.”