Pastor, session: Presbytery ignored due process
By Edward Terry, The Layman, January 7, 2010
This weekend, the Rev. Dennis Allison could lose his job as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Mansfield, Ohio. But Allison and his congregation’s session aren’t going to let that happen without a fight.
With a long-list of accusations, an administrative commission of Muskingum Valley Presbytery was formed in December 2008 and has since advised removing Allison as pastor. Also at risk are the jobs of other ordained and non-ordained staff, which the commission’s report identifies as “the best approach to regaining peace and harmony.” The “clean slate” of staff is not part of the formal recommendation to dissolve Allison’s call at Mansfield, but is mentioned in the report.
What the Book of Order says about due process
Specifically, the Mansfield session claims violations to section G-9.0505 in the Book of Order:
(1) When an administrative commission has been appointed to settle differences within a church, a governing body, or an organization of the church, it shall, before making its final decision, afford to all persons to be affected by the decision fair notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matters at issue. (See G-9.0503a(4), a(6), G-9.0505b-d) Fair notice shall consist of a short and plain statement of the matters at issue as identified by the commission and of the time and place for a hearing upon the matters at issue. The hearing shall include at least an opportunity for all persons in interest to have their positions on the matters at issue stated orally.
(2) Whenever the administrative commission has been empowered to dissolve a pastoral relationship and the administrative commission chooses to exercise that power, there shall always be a meeting of the congregation at which the commission shall hear the positions of the pastor and the members if they choose to speak. The pastor shall be accorded the right to hear the concerns expressed by members in the meeting and to have reasonable time to respond during the meeting. (See G-14.0610, G-14.0611, G-14.0612, G-11.0103o).
The presbytery will consider the action at a special meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 9 at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Canton, Ohio.
The alleged complaints investigated included: conflict within the congregation; loss of membership, attendance and financial support; intimidation members, officers and staff by the senior pastor; irregularities in membership rolls; and concerns over the session’s handling of financial and fiduciary responsibilities.
According to the commission’s report: “The commission makes this recommendation not on any grounds that there has been malpractice, corruption or wrongly intentioned ministry. Had any of these been the case, the commission would have had an easier time reaching a conclusion and recommendation. Rather, the commission has reached its conclusion based upon evidence that the church is in a conflict which is not resolving itself and needs a change in its pastoral leadership, and possibly its staff, if it is to have a chance to be healed by God.”
Allison and the session have publicly accused the presbytery of ignoring the Presbyterian Church (USA) constitution in its “mishandling” of issues at Mansfield, and have asked fellow Muskingum congregations to stand behind them.
Fighting ‘rumor and innuendo’
In his Dec. 6 sermon at Mansfield, Allison addressed the pending action. Calling the accusations “rumor and innuendo” that went unchecked by the presbytery, Allison declared that he, church staff and Manfield’s session would stand firm. This was announced after Allison’s personal offer to resign for the good of the congregation was rejected by the session.
“They deliberated and they prayed and they considered, and at the end of all that they said ‘for the good of the church, don’t,” he said. “They said that not because I matter, or not because this church couldn’t go on without me, you see, but because other churches matter. … These factions have abused their powers before and they’re going to do it again.”
The following week, the session echoed Allison’s sermon with a lengthy letter to other Muskingum Valley congregations asking for support at the Jan. 9 meeting and warning of the possible danger to other congregations. In refuting the presbytery’s accusations, the session claims: the constitution of the PCUSA was bypassed; the establishment of an administrative commission and its recommendation were based on erroneous information as a result of not following the constitution; the congregation is healthy; and the disruption of the presbytery has been detrimental to Mansfield’s healing process.
“We fear that the course of action followed by the AC was based upon erroneous information, manipulated by a few dissatisfied persons, and may have been undertaken with a predetermined outcome in mind, thus tainting the process,” the letter states. “Most importantly, we fear that the proposed course of action will cause far more harm than good, that it does not reflect the will of the congregation, and that it is inherently illogical.”
Among the session’s other claims are:
- the presbytery’s committee on ministry falsely stated that it worked with the session and pastors of the church for two years;
- the presbytery’s committee on ministry failing to properly investigate “inflammatory” accusations before making them public in forming an administrative commission;
- focusing investigative interviews on people who aren’t church members;
- operating under a shroud of “anonymity”;
- offering no opportunity to refute allegations or face accusers;
- and finding no merit regarding the allegations on mishandling membership rolls, church finances and the nominating process.
“Our feeling is that if we do not voice to you our concerns, the momentum of the subverted process will sweep away our congregation and damage the reputation and careers of our pastor and staff, and more importantly the ministry (of) Mansfield First Presbyterian will further suffer,” the letter says. “If we allow without a dispute the administrative commission and committee on ministry to bypass due process established by our constitution, we will have no credibility if we try to challenge any similarly flawed action toward any other congregation in this presbytery.”
Ironically, the presbytery cited the PCUSA constitution as its reason for not commenting on the issue for The Layman’s report.
“We cannot respond to inquiries about specific situations while we are working through the processes outlined in our constitution,” said Martin Radcliff, associate general presbytery and stated clerk. “When a matter is concluded we will issue a statement.”
Deep wounds
Mansfield, like any other congregation, is self-admittedly far from perfect. Manfield’s flock survived and recovered from highly-publicized sexual abuse allegations and convictions nearly 20 years ago involving members of the church. Though none of the staff were involved, the entire ministerial team resigned and the church lost half of its attendees. Lawsuits also haunted the church in the years that followed.
In 1994, Allison arrived and dealt with the dark cloud over the congregation. More than 15 years later, the church continues to recover from the tragic events and is gaining ground, Allison said. Some members of the congregation and staff recall that during the ordeal, Mansfield was ignored by the presbytery and left to fend for itself. Overcoming those challenges has help
ed shape Mansfield’s resolve in the face of its current challenge.
“Our membership is holding and we’re strong financially,” Allison said. “We were doing fine until the meddling came up.”
Time to heal
PCUSA Research Services statistics show that Mansfield has had its ups and downs in the last 10 years, another factor in presbytery’s argument that it’s time for a change in leadership. Worship attendance in 2008 was 152 – more than the PCUSA average but approximately half of 1998’s estimate. The biggest attendance drops in 10 years came in 2007 and 2008.
With the exception of 2003, membership at Mansfield had steadily declined from about 675 in 1998 to less than 400 in 2008. The statistics mirror trends across PCUSA, which has lost half of its membership since 1965.
But the numbers do not reflect the congregation’s hopes for the future. Having recently completed a $1.2 million capital campaign to upgrade its facilities, Mansfield has seen its membership stabilize, enjoys a vibrant youth ministry and remains focused on mission work. Among its outreach efforts in Mansfield, a city of 50,000 in northeast Ohio that has been hit especially hard by the recession, are: a food pantry, housing and utilities emergency assistance, a clothes closet and Habitat for Humanity support.
In a letter to the administrative commission, Youth Minister Denise Conrad points out that the coveted young adult demographic is where Manfield is seeing success. The average age of new members during the period the administrative commission has been at work is 35, she said.
“The generation that is leaving other churches in record numbers is finding what they need in a church in Mansfield,” Conrad said. “They are coming and they are joining the community of faith they are finding here.”
Conrad goes on to challenge Muskingum’s singling out of Mansfield for membership and attendance losses.
“Muskingum Valley Presbytery’s loss was nearly 5 percent during the reporting period,” she said. “This was the largest decline in the Synod of the Covenant. … Some churches within the Muskingum Valley Presbytery have seen a membership decline upwards of 30 percent.”
Though the presbytery’s administrative commission acknowledged some of the strengths of the Mansfield congregation and pastor in the report, it maintains that a change in leadership must be a part of that future.
In his Dec. 6 sermon, Allison speculates that being a conservative congregation in a denomination that’s growing more liberal hasn’t helped. A member of the Confessing Church movement, Mansfield has taken stands on issues that more than likely put it on presbytery’s radar, he said.
According to its letter to fellow Muskingum Valley congregations, all the session wants is the opportunity to continue the process of healing its deep wounds in peace. The threat of removing a pastor, against the will of the congregation, is not the right step, the session argues.
“To blame the current leadership is to do injustice to the strength of the ministry which has emerged as a result of our history, and does injustice to the faithful effective efforts of pastor, staff and other church leaders, particularly a pastor that has been called to minister in troubled fields,” the session said in its letter. “For times such as these does God call people to respond, and our session and pastor have responded and continue to respond to the call.”