Presbytery dismisses congregation to EPC and creates ‘continuing’ PCUSA church; property issue unresolved
By Patrick Jean, Staff Writer, April 26, 2007
The fight by Montreat Presbyterian Church to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) is over, with the Presbytery of Western North Carolina voting to dismiss the congregation so that it may join the smaller, more conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Montreat Presbyterian Church
Task force recommends partitioning congregation,
taking over governance of church and property
Special Task Force for Montreat’s
recommended decision to presbytery
Minister claims allowing church to leave
tantamount to declaring PCUSA ‘apostate’
Anticipating churches may leave PCUSA,
presbytery sets high-hurdle ‘exit guidelines’
Six-month ‘season of prayer, study and dialogue’
sought over church’s request to leave the PCUSA
Steering committee aims
to keep PCUSA congregation
Church in Montreat votes
to leave the PCUSA
Montreat session delays
vote on dismissal proposal
Montreat church schedules meetings
to decide if it should leave the PCUSA The fight for ownership of the church’s property continues, with the presbytery voting to take possession while a task force studies the issue – and the departing congregation insisting that it owns the property outright under state law.
And just to muddy the waters further, the dismissal vote created a “continuing” Montreat Presbyterian Church that will keep the church name and is designated “the true church within the PCUSA.”
Between 300 and 400 people attended the presbytery’s meeting April 24 at the Montreat Conference Center. The approximately 100 visitors witnessed often contentious debate lasting more than three hours on the dismissal question and about one hour on the property question.
In the end, commissioners voted 185-69 to dismiss the church’s congregation to the EPC and 174-35, with one abstention and one ballot voided as “faulty,” to take possession of the church property pending further study. The congregation worships in Gaither Chapel at Montreat College, while its offices and classrooms are in the Henry Building.
Morning sets tone
Visitors who arrived for the morning session got a preview of the emotional discussion to follow that afternoon. Discussion of the rules for debating the dismissal and property votes ran more than 40 minutes into the meeting’s allotted lunch time.
Sam Hope, a member of the steering committee that sought to keep the Montreat Presbyterian Church name within the PCUSA, offered to submit a paper containing the names of 317 people who he said wanted a “continuing church” in the denomination. But others questioned the validity of the names since only 27 Montreat Presbyterian Church members voted to stay in the PCUSA on Jan. 21, while 311 voted to go.
In the end, the paper was not submitted.
The Rev. Don Scofield, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Rutherfordton and head of the presbytery task force that wrote the recommendations on Montreat Presbyterian Church’s dismissal request, told commissioners his panel took four factors into consideration:
- 1. “Seek and witness to Jesus Christ. That’s where we began and where we ended up.”
- 2. “Express our love and concern for all who are involved, all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We wanted to show that the church can do things differently, that it’s not about winners and losers, and winner-takes-all kind of thinking here.”
- 3. “Avoid in any way harming the ministry and mission of the Montreat Presbyterian Church or the conference center or the college.”
- 4. “Not to be reactive. There were folks who said, ‘We know what those folks are thinking over there.’ And we kept saying, ‘Can’t do it that way. We have to go and listen to them ourselves.'”
“We truly sought God’s will in this process,” he said. “We tried to stay away from negativity and tried to remain objective and neutral through the process.”
Adam Boyd, an elder at Montreat Presbyterian Church, told commissioners there is no division in his congregation. “Of the 27 people we know who voted to remain in the PCUSA,” he said, “everyone that we are aware of said that while they would choose to remain in the PCUSA individually, they would not leave our church.”
Boyd disagreed with those who likened it to a divorce. “We are brothers and sisters, and brothers and sisters never divorce,” he said. “We are your brothers and sisters who are called to serve our Father in the EPC.” Boyd also told commissioners that regardless of their vote, there would be an Evangelical Presbyterian Church congregation in Montreat. “Our children are going to grow up serving together in these two churches … and telling the story of what this body decides to do today,” he said. “And it’s going to be one of two stories:
“They’re either going to tell a story of strife and ugliness, Christians arguing with each other, Christians being judged by one another. It’s a story the world loves to tell, a story of Christians fighting, of Christians proving that we don’t love each other the way we say we do. They’re either going to tell that story, or they’re going to tell the story of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina leaving a sister church in charity. They’re going to tell a story of Christians proving their love for one another in their actions and deeds.”
Dozens of commissioners followed, speaking for and against dismissal:
- Henry Neale, an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Asheville and a board member of the Mountain Retreat Association, which operates the Montreat Conference Center, favored dismissal. He said the conference center would not close or leave the PCUSA, as some fear, if Montreat Presbyterian Church left.
- Heath Rada, an elder at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville, said the issue is bigger than a dismissal request because “Montreat is viewed by thousands, including me, as holy or hallowed ground for the PCUSA.” Despite that, he said, he favored dismissal.
- Bob McFerren, an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Burnsville, spoke against dismissal. “They can’t work with us,” he said, “but they want to be dismissed to work with us.”
- The Rev. Stanley Bennett, a retired former pastor of Montreat Presbyterian Church, spoke against dismissal. He suggested forming an administrative commission.
The Rev. Parker T. Williamson, editor emeritus of The Layman and The Layman Online, proposed a substitute motion that the presbytery “relinquish any claim, explicit or implied,” to the Montreat Presbyterian Church name or property. That motion was defeated.
The Rev. Lynn Webber, stated supply for Westminster Presbyterian Church in Asheville, proposed a substitute motion not to dismiss the Montreat Presbyterian Church. She likened the vote for dismissal to a vote for apostasy in the PCUSA – the same argument made by the Rev. Albert G. “Pete” Peery Jr., pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Asheville, in a letter mailed to commissioners. Webber’s substitute motion was defeated.
The Rev. Dr. Brad Long, executive director of Presbyterian Reformed Ministries International, proposed removing three sections from the presbytery task force’s recommendation on the church’s dismissal request:
- Dividing the congregation into “the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church” and “the EPC Congregation.”
- Authorizing the appointment of an administrative commission to act as the session for the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church.
- Requesting the Mountain Retreat Association to provide free “suitable space for worship and other church activities for the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church.”
Long’s proposal was defeated.
The vote in favor of the dismissal request came about 5 p.m., more than three hours after the debate began. The recommended decision included one key change from what was reported April 16 by The Layman Online:
The original recommendation said the presbytery would “dismiss (pursuant to Book of Order [clause] 11.0103i) the EPC Congregation to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, upon a request from the EPC presbytery stated clerk, with the blessings and prayers of the presbytery for its faithful and fruitful service to the Lord.” The revised recommendation said the presbytery would “dismiss (pursuant to BO: 11.0103i) the EPC Congregation without the property (since this matter is dealt with Part II) to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church …”
Property debate begins
With the Montreat Presbyterian Church congregation dismissed as the “EPC Congregation,” commissioners turned their attention to what to do about the church’s property.
Scofield laid out the task force’s recommendations and said the panel felt a six-month waiting period to determine the church property’s ownership was best.
The Rev. Richard White, pastor of Montreat Presbyterian Church, told commissioners that the “EPC Congregation” never asked to be dismissed with its property, but that it owns the property under state law.
North Carolina General Statute 61-2 covers church property. Titled “Trustees may hold property,” it states: “The trustees and their successors have power to receive donations, and to purchase, take and hold property, real and personal, in trust for such church or denomination, religious society or congregation; and they may sue or be sued in all proper actions, for or on account of the donations and property so held or claimed by them, and for and on account of any matters relating thereto. They shall be accountable to the churches, denominations, societies and congregations for the use and management of such property, and shall surrender it to any person authorized to demand it.”
Williamson cited the Ten Commandments in arguing against the property recommendation. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house,” he said. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or his maidservant or his ox or his ass or anything that is your neighbor’s. The property is entitled to the trustees of Montreat Presbyterian Church. They own it, they’ve worked for it, they gave sacrificially for it, it is theirs. I pray that this presbytery will not covet its neighbor’s property.”
The Rev. Lamar Williamson, a retired pastor in Montreat and a member of the task force, said the task force doesn’t want to claim the property. “What we do want is the time … for some serious, open negotiation” to reach a “least-objectionable, most-acceptable” settlement, he said.
Some of the other commissioners who spoke offered opinions for or against the property recommendation, but others had questions about the language in the recommendation or wanted to know what was in the Book of Order that gave the presbytery the right to the property – or what was in the Bible that gave the “EPC Congregation” claim to the property.
The Rev. Lee Kruse proposed an amendment that the property automatically go to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church if the presbytery or any of its members sues the “EPC Congregation.” Her proposal was defeated.
The vote in favor of the property recommendation came at about 6:15 p.m., about an hour after the debate began.
Twelve commissioners, including Parker Williamson, requested that their dissenting votes on the dismissal and property recommendations be officially included in the presbytery’s meeting minutes.
Months in the making
Here is a brief background of the Montreat Presbyterian Church congregation’s action to leave the PCUSA:
- The church in September 2006 scheduled a series of congregational meetings to determine if it should request dismissal.
- After the series of meetings, the congregational vote occurred Jan. 21, with 92 percent of worshipers voting to go, eight percent voting to stay and three members abstaining.
Attempts to keep the congregation in the denomination preceded the vote, including a visit by the Rev. Joan Gray, moderator of the 217th General Assembly. They continued after the vote with:
- A resolution from the Montreat Conference Center board of directors calling for a six-month “season of prayer, study and dialogue” – and a recommendation that the presbytery turn down the congregation’s dismissal request if their call was rejected.
- The formation of a steering committee “to discern how to be helpful to the loyal minority of the Montreat Presbyterian Church, the Presbytery of Western North Carolina, the Montreat Conference Center, the Montreat community and the whole PCUSA.”
What’s next?
The dismissal vote authorized the chairs of the presbytery’s committee on ministry and coordinating council, along with the general presbyter, to appoint an administrative commission to act as the session for the “continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church.”
The vote also voids the dismissal if the “EPC Congregation” or any of its members brings a civil lawsuit against the presbytery. The task force then would become an administrative commission with original jurisdiction over the congregation and the powers and responsibilities of a session.
The property vote lets the presbytery “hold and manage” the church property in trust for the mission of the presbytery and the PCUSA while the task force studies the issue.
The task force is to hold meetings for up to six months to reach a settlement concerning the property. Two representatives from each of the following parties are invited to take part in the meetings:
- The EPC Congregation.
- Montreat College.
- The continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church.
- The Mountain Retreat Association.
- The task force.
A recommendation is expected at the presbytery’s October meeting.
Until then, the Henry Building is to be shared by the “EPC Congregation,” which gets 90 percent of the space, and the “continuing Montreat Pres