Session clerk: ‘We didn’t die. We were murdered.’
Presbytery bans minister, dissolves church
By Edward Terry, The Layman , December 4, 2009
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Rev. Ian Lamont’s phone has stopped ringing – and so have the Sunday morning chimes at Seventh Presbyterian Church. Both Lamont and the leadership of the now-dissolved congregation consider the Presbytery of Cincinnati responsible.
Despite 22 years as an ordained minister and success re-energizing declining congregations, Lamont now is unable to find a call in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He’s also facing financial ruin as his severance from his previous congregation is about to end and he’s holding two mortgages while trying to support a wife and four children. The Presbytery of Cincinnati denied Seventh’s call for Lamont as its pastor in September, even though he remains in good standing with his presbytery and, at one time, had several congregations interested in calling him.
He can’t help but wonder if he’s been blacklisted.
Dr. Ian Lamont
Equally broken hearted are the remaining former members of Seventh, which, like so many other congregations, had seen its membership decline. Seventh had its final service Sept. 27, and a few weeks later, its presbytery hammered the final nail in its coffin.
‘We were murdered’
The presbytery’s action was not surprising to Seventh’s clerk of session, Margaret Valentine. The closing unofficially began long before the recent events, she said.
“We closed the church not because we couldn’t continue – we were in a financially strong position,” she said. “We didn’t die. We were murdered.”
Five years ago, Seventh began assessing its future and developing a strategy for revival. After hearing a Presbyterian minister share the story of an Episcopal congregation in Texas overcoming similar difficulties, the congregation was inspired and took action.
Founded in 1849, Seventh Presbyterian was located minutes from downtown Cincinnati in the diverse East Walnut Hills neighborhood. Membership saw a heavy decline in the 1960s and continued declining decades later. According to PCUSA Research Services stats, membership dropped from nearly 120 in 1998 to 60 in 2008. As of its closing, average worship attendance was 25 to 35, Valentine said.
Seventh Presbyterian Church Clerk of Session Margaret Valentine speaks at the Presbytery of Cincinnati meeting on Nov. 10, prior to the dissolution action.
But, Seventh had tremendous potential thanks to good financial stewardship and an advantageous location. On a highly visible corner lot, between the ripe mission fields of Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati, Seventh decided closing would not help bring new people to Jesus Christ. With an interim pastor in the pulpit, they began shaping a vision for the future and wanted to hire a full-time senior minister who specializes in congregational transformation.
But several roadblocks – some that admittedly couldn’t be helped and others that seemed deliberately placed by presbytery leadership – held them back. Among the “roadblocks” was a denial to extend the interim’s contract to complete Seventh’s re-visioning process. That denial later was overturned on appeal, Valentine said, but the process always felt more labored than it should.
“The purpose of a presbytery is to help its members,” Valentine said, adding that Seventh’s plans were met with cold responses. “This presbytery does harm to its members.”
In interim mode for several years and not feeling supported, a member of the congregation’s pastor nominating committee (PNC) floated the idea of using an executive search firm to find the right pastor. The congregation hired a search firm that specialized in ministry leadership and developed specific criteria for the search. More than 180 were identified as candidates, 64 of those were interviewed by the search firm and two finalists were chosen. After getting initial approval from the presbytery’s committee on ministry (COM) liaison, Seventh was ready to call Lamont.
The former Seventh Presbyterian Church building, with a tax value of nearly $2 million, is now in the possession of the Presbytery of Cincinnati. The presbytery dissolved the congregation Nov. 10 after denying Seventh’s call for a new pastor.
Not a good match’
In a June 15 meeting with General Presbyter Jim DiEgidio and some COM members, Seventh was informed of several red flags, despite the earlier go-ahead. Among DiEgidio’s concerns on June 15 were: the pool of candidates being too small, a dispute in Lamont’s former congregation and the possibility that his last pastoral relationship could be dissolved by Giddings-Lovejoy. Reminding Seventh’s leaders that it ultimately would be up to the presbytery whether to accept Lamont, he recommended the group “do what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.”
Meeting participants asked for further clarification on the objections to help with their decision, but DiEgidio would not oblige, beyond what he already had said. They then offered Lamont the job and put the decision before the COM and presbytery.
The congregation did get the detailed objections it wanted, but only after it was too late. The PNC had already extended the offer and COM then voted 10-9 on recommending the presbytery disapprove the call. During a July 12 service, the COM’s co-moderator, the Rev. L.P. Jones, reported nine concerns:
- The candidate does not seem to be a good theological match with the congregation.
- More than one COM member who conducted interviews with Lamont found him arrogant, brash and unyielding.
- The work of People Management (the search firm) does not appear to have been helpful for the process of Presbyterian discernment.
- The salary and benefits (approximately $110,000) seemed excessive.
- The marriage between pastor and congregation does not appear to work.
- Red flags raised by the Giddings-Lovejoy associate presbyter in conversations with the Cincinnati general presbyter affirmed the negative impressions from the entrance interview.
- The congregational meeting in which call was extended was attended by fewer than half of the congregation.
- The report of Giddings-Lovejoy indicated inappropriate action with regard to Lamont’s finances at his previous congregation.
- Lamont appears to be unwilling to accept any responsibility in the conflict at the last congregation he served.
Requests to put the specific concerns in writing again were denied, Valentine said. There also were no attempts by presbytery leadership to contact Lamont for clarification. Though introduced at the presbytery meeting where his call was denied, Lamont never got the opportunity to address the concerns.
“Truth seems to have lost its place in the process,” Lamont said. “It’s politics, not polity. I think that’s evident. If they had questions, then why didn’t they ask them?”
If anyone had asked, Lamont was prepared to answer. He even had a copy of a letter dated Sept. 8 from Giddings-Lovejoy’s associate executive to Cincinnati’s COM, with a stated goal of clearing up “mis-statements” about Lamont’s status. In addition to praising Lamont for helping strengthen the relationship between his former congregation and the presbytery, the letter also affirmed Lamont’s status as in “good standing” and “he is free to cons
ider other calls in this presbytery.”
Giddings-Lovejoy Associate Executive Susan Niesen would not comment, other than to confirm that Lamont remains in good standing and is eligible to receive a call.
Disputing the ‘red flags’
Many of the red flags focused on the dissolution of Lamont’s relationship with his former congregation, Dardenne Presbyterian Church, a 1,500-member congregation in Dardenne Prairie, Mo.
Lamont accepted its call after successfully re-vitalizing First Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers, Fla. Lamont, who had not yet sold his home in Florida, said he stepped out on faith and purchased a home in Missouri. At the same time, the national housing crisis began and Lamont was stuck with two mortgages.
Lamont asked the session for help and a fund was set up by the session for the congregation to make donations. Some members objected to the action and one member filed a complaint with the presbytery.
“That was interpreted by Cincinnati that I was doing something funny with the books – embezzling,” he said. “I’m sitting right there and the lies and innuendos are flying, and no one ever said, ‘Hey, let’s ask the guy.’”
A formal remedial review by Giddings-Lovejoy, focusing on the actions of Dardenne’s session, began. There were no charges against Lamont, nor any wrongdoing suggested. However, he was excused from pastoral duties by the session to allow Dardenne to resolve conflicts that preceded Lamont’s arrival.
In a letter to Cincinnati’s COM, meant to communicate the “actions of the presbytery clearly and accurately,” Niesen confirmed that Lamont entered the dissolution agreement in the interest of healing the church and that Lamont helped strengthen the relationship between the presbytery and Dardenne.
“I was vacating the pulpit to help the presbytery, and now it’s being held against me,” Lamont said.
On July 1, 2009, the presbytery dissolved the calls of Lamont as well as an associate pastor at Dardenne. On the floor of presbytery, Lamont apologized for his failure in his call, and asked for forgiveness from God, the presbytery and Dardenne. In her letter to Cincinnati, Niesen said Lamont’s statement was “a healing moment that allowed a point of grace and accountability in a complicated and conflicted situation.”
That’s one of the reasons the COM’s objections, one being that Lamont had not taken responsibility for the situation and that he’s arrogant, are so confounding. Other objections – specifically Lamont’s personality, the mismatch and the use of a search firm – seem arbitrary to both Lamont and Valentine.
“They let the process continue,” Lamont said. “I preach for the call and get the unanimous vote, and then they say he’s a bad pastoral, theological fit? That’s nuts. … These are good people (Seventh) who trusted the process. They felt that if they followed the process they’d get a pastor … We did everything we were told.”
Following the vote and ceremony dissolving Seventh, Cincinnati’s Stated Clerk Janis Adams said in an interview that options on pastoral leadership were discussed with Valentine after Lamont’s call was rejected. Valentine said the session asked for a list of available pastors, but was not given further guidance.
In discussing the reasons for Lamont’s rejection, Adams pointed to the red flags raised by Giddings-Lovejoy and the use of a “headhunter” by the PNC to do its work. To have a full understanding, one would have to talk with members of the COM and the general presbyter. The Layman requested interviews with members of the COM and the general presbyter, but no one chose to comment. DiEgidio was not at the Nov. 10 presbytery meeting due to an emergency and currently is on leave due to a death in his family.
Acknowledging that the use of a search firm is unusual, Valentine still considers it a prudent action and Seventh’s members were pleased with the results. Out of three search firms identified, Seventh even went so far as to choose the one with PCUSA clergy on staff.
“There is no church that has done a more thorough search,” she said.
Lamont only had “preliminary” interviews with members of the COM and when he met with DiEgidio, the questioning centered on the issues of women’s ordination and homosexuality, he said. Making no apologies for his conservative stance, Lamont said his answer to those questions were that he would uphold the constitution of the PCUSA and the Confessions.
“The only theological question I got was on the ordaining of homosexuals,” he said, adding that someone at the presbytery meeting asked for clarification on the theological misfit. “Nobody answered and they let it drop.”
It was the search firm and the PNC of Seventh that spent time questioning Lamont’s qualifications, yet it was COM and the presbytery that ultimately decided he wasn’t a good fit.
“Pastoral fit? That should be determined by the church, or the group they hired that vetted me way more completely than any member of the committee on ministry,” Lamont said.
Denied without the benefit of information
On Sept. 8, the presbytery voted 96-40 to deny Lamont’s call and less than a week later, Seventh Presbyterian had begun the process of closing. Its session, feeling there were no other options, voted to close. The presbytery made it official on Nov. 10 with only a handful of objections when it came to a vote. By that time, the building was already empty and arrangements already were made for transfer of Seventh’s remaining property to the presbytery.
Prior to the Sept. 8 meeting, Valentine, on behalf of her church, made a plea by letter to members of the presbytery. It included an explanation of Seventh’s strategic plan, the caveat that denying Lamont would be a vote to close Seventh and details of the 5-year process. It had no impact as the dissolution took place with no objections and only a few questions that arose due to not understanding how this historic church was suddenly closing.
Valentine tried to help them understand, but by then Seventh’s fate was sealed.
“What happened at Seventh is a tragedy and not very Presbyterian,” Valentine said at the meeting, describing the action as motivated by jealousy, opinion and agenda. “You have broken our hearts at Seventh. You are taking our church tonight. But you cannot take our courage – you cannot take our faith.”
The former members of Seventh have scattered, Valentine said. Some are visiting other Presbyterian congregations, and others likely will join other denominations, she said.
The feelings are still raw for Valentine. Claiming a pedigree that includes American and Presbyterian founding fathers John Witherspoon, Jonathan Mayhew and Benjamin Rush, Valentine just can’t imagine leaving the Presbyterian Church.
As for Lamont, his faith is still strong even though prospects remain grim. Still living in St. Louis, Lamont has defaulted on one of his two mortgages and his severance from Dardenne runs out in January.
Feeling that his denial is based on his conservative views, the experience has affirmed why he’s not a “denominational guy.”
“I think the denomination should be there to serve the cause, not the cause there to serve the denomination,” he said. “I’m a Presbyterian, but I’m grieved about what’s happening in the Presbyterian Church because we’ve lost our way, and we believe the way forward is down, and it’s not.”
Blacklisted? It’s hard not to think that, considering what happened in Cincinnati and what’s happened since. A PCUSA congregation in North Carolina had expressed in
terest and had set up a telephone interview the week after the Cincinnati rejection. The day before the interview, Lamont got a curious e-mail. It read “due to circumstances beyond our control, our PNC is not going to be able to conduct the conference call tomorrow night. We will be in touch.” Lamont replied asking what happened. The response said it was a confidential matter and writer couldn’t say anything else at this time.
This seemed like more than a coincidence to Lamont, who is certain his PCUSA Book of Order-backed stance on the controversial homosexual ordination issue is to blame. When asked if his career is over, Lamont said: “It depends on the presbytery. If the presbytery is looking for someone who can be trusted, keeps their word, believes what they say and preaches the Scriptures, sure.”
Seventh’s ministry will continue
Though heartbroken, the members of Seventh Presbyterian still have something to celebrate.
Having their fill with fighting for the right to worship and pursue a ministry, they weren’t going to give up completely. Before turning over their building and land to the presbytery, the members made sure its $2 million trust would be used as it was intended. They also fulfilled their mission commitments for the remainder of the year and offered generous severance packages to long-time employees.
The organizations it once supported already have begun mourning the loss, according to letters of regret following news of the closure. Seventh has a history of hosting various events and outreach activities, including a food pantry, site for a youth summer camp and the funding of various neighborhood nonprofits.
Through the Seventh Presbyterian Field of Interest Legacy Fund at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, the congregation’s endowment will continue to support causes that assist battered women and offer people a hand-up, rather than a hand-out, Valentine said. Aside from the Legacy Fund, Seventh also used its remaining money to buy a much-needed furnace for Winton Hills Presbyterian Church, helped with the Thanksgiving meals at Mercy Neighborhood Ministries and purchased Christmas presents for residents at Bethany House.
Some of the congregation’s most prized possessions will continue to live on as pew cushions, candlesticks, communion ware, books and other items were distributed to other churches. Historic and sentimental items were divided among members, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Cincinnati Historical Society and the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia.
“Our mission-based church will have a permanent mission,” Valentine said. “It will do the right thing forever.”
The final punctuation on this historic congregation is the addition of Dr. Ian Lamont’s photo to Seventh’s gallery of former pastors, which has been donated to the Cincinnati Historical Society. Under Lamont’s picture will be his date of call, July 5, 2009, and his date of denial, Sept. 8, 2009.