EPC forms two new presbyteries
By Carmen Fowler LaBerge, The Layman, June 27, 2011
CORDOVA, Tenn. — The 460 commissioners of the 31st General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church meeting in Cordova, Tenn voted unanimously to form two new geographic presbyteries.
The first new presbytery was carved out of parts of the presbyteries of the Midwest, East and Mid-Atlantic. The new Allegheny presbytery consists of all member churches and teaching elders within the geographic boundaries of western New York, western Pennsylvania, the western two counties of the state of Maryland, the northern part of West and the eastern portion of the state of Ohio.
Churches received into the EPC
(June 2010 through May 2011)
National transitional presbytery
1. Troy PC, Troy, MO, Central south
2. Downtown church of Memphis, TN mission church
3. Grace Reformed Church, Prattville, AL, mission church
4. First Presbyterian Church, Covington, TN (from PCUSA)
5. First Presbyterian Church, Trenton, TN (from PCUSA)
Presbytery of East
6. Argyle PC, Argyle, NY (from PCUSA)
7. First Presbyterian Church, Beaver, PA (from PCUSA)
8. Park Ave Community Church, NH
9. Bellvue PC, Gap, PA (from PCUSA)
10. First Presbyterian Church, West town, NY (from PCUSA)
Mid Atlantic
11. Trinity Church – mission church, Hilton Head, SC, Midwest
12. Hopewell, Franklin, IN (from PCUSA)
13. Southport, Indianapolis (from PCUSA)
Rivers and Lake
14. Faith PC, Quincy, IL (from NW EPC transitional)
15. Christ Alone, Green Bay, WI, West
16. First Armenia, Fresno, CA (from PCUSA)
17. Neighborhood Church, Littleton, CO mission church
18. Sierra PC, Nevada City, CA (from PCUSA)
19. FPC Jacksonville, OR (from PCUSA)
20. Hope PC, Rouge River, OR (from PCUSA)
21. Squim Community Church, Squim, WA (from PCUSA)
22. FPC Bakersfield, CA (from PCUSA)
New Wineskins EPC transitional presbytery
23. Colonial, Kansas City, MO (from PCUSA)
24. FPC, Humbolt, TN (from PCUSA)
25. Advent, Cordova, TN (from PCUSA)
26. Woodland, Memphis, TN (from PCUSA
The second new presbytery was created by dividing the presbytery of the West. The new Pacific presbytery consists of the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and Nevada and the western portion of Idaho.
Both recommendations arose from the Presbytery Boundary Study Committee. The chair of the committee Mike Glodo acknowledged that the work of the committee includes two primary mandates:
· Think philosophically about what a presbytery ought to be, and
· Address immediate boundary issues.
Glodo said, “We have a two year commission and we will be prepared at next year’s General Assembly meeting to offer you a philosophy of what a presbytery ought to be the furthers and promotes the mission of the church.”
Of the committee, Glodo added, “We want to be bricklayers who put a few more bricks in the missional edifice that all of us desire the EPC to become. It would be no use for us to come up with better boundaries if it did not serve the mission of Christ.”
Unpacking some of the philosophy taking shape in committee’s conversations, Glodo offered that “the encouragement of missional networks is where the DNA of New Wineskins has found fertile soil in the EPC. We want to conceive of a presbytery that promotes the mission of the church composed of missional networks that are both intra, inter and co-centric with the presbytery itself. The new presbytery of the Allegheny presbytery represents a good example of what this might look like elsewhere.”
Turning the attention of the assembly to the presbytery boundaries under discussion today, Glodo said, “As far as logistics we don’t yet know what we don’t know. While we don’t rejoice in the difficulties of other bodies, we also realize that the EPC are likely to receive more congregations. We just don’t know what to expect in the coming 12-18 months and prematurely drawing boundaries would not be prudent.”
The committee will give its final report to the 32nd meeting of the EPC GA in the summer of 2012.