Church dismissals pick up in February
The Layman , February 29, 2012
As spring draws closer, the number of congregations leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) continues to increase as more churches respond to controversial changes within the denomination.
Many departing churches have cited the 2011 approval of Amendment 10A and the passage of the new Form of Government (nFOG) as symptoms of a more serious underlying problem in the denomination: variant views of the authority of Scripture.
Amendment 10A deleted the explicit “fidelity/chastity” requirement from the constitutional ordination standard, and now allows the PCUSA to ordain of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people as deacons, elders and pastors. The new Form of Government has raised concerns of a more “top-down” PCUSA bureaucracy and a universalistic theology.
The following is a review of PCUSA churches (or former ones) that have either been approved for dismissal, are in the process of leaving or are considering departure.
First Presbyterian Church (Davenport, Wash.)
On Feb. 11, the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest approved the dismissal of Davenport First Presbyterian Church (DFPC) of Davenport, Wash. to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).
Based on a recommendation from an administrative commission established in 2010, the dismissal agreement allows the church to leave with property intact and requires a payment of $73,200 to the presbytery. In its recommendation, the commission admitted that DFPC acquired most of its property as a result of its own legacy without help from the PCUSA.
Calling the PCUSA’s teachings “alien and inimical to the Christian faith,” the session of DFPC explained in Jan. 23 letter to the presbytery that the church didn’t feel “theologically at home” with the PCUSA.
Acknowledging that the decision came with deep sadness, the session said the PCUSA has “persisted in the pursuit of an increasingly politicized and universalist course and the result has been division, discord, distrust and a catastrophic decline in numbers.”
“In 2011, the PCUSA officially abandoned its Biblical, historical, Reformed heritage by passing Amendment 10A,” stated DFPC clerk Lorie Klahn in the letter.
Klahn called the constitutional changes an indicator of a “much deeper problem: the abandonment of Scripture as the true, perfect and complete Word of God, which plainly reveals Jesus Christ as the one and only way to salvation.”
“PCUSA leadership has failed to define once and for all the binding and essential tenets of the Christian faith,” she added.
Following a two-year discernment process with the presbytery, DFPC’s congregation voted 71 out of 76 members voted to request dismissal to the EPC on Sept. 11, 2011.
In 2010, the church reported 142 members with total offerings of $114,918.
First Presbyterian Church (South Charleston, Ohio)
A nine-year process has come to an end for First Presbyterian Church (FPCSC) of South Charleston, Ohio.
The Presbytery of the Miami Valley approved a covenant of gracious separation with the church, on Feb. 11, releasing all property claims in exchange for $10,000 – the estimated amount of FPCSC’s 2011-12 per-capita contribution.
The congregation’s path to dismissal began with a 2003 study of denominational issues after members became concerned about the PCUSA’s theological shift.
“We discovered that where we were headed in terms of mission and ministry at the church was a different direction than where the denomination was headed,” South Charleston Senior Pastor Bill Reisenweaver said
From 2006 to 2010, the 187-member church posted statements of opposition to various General Assembly actions every two years to its website. Reisenweaver said the shift was “increasingly contradictory to what we preach and teach.”
On Oct. 20, 2011, the church voted unanimously (103-0) to leave the PCUSA for the EPC.
Shiloh Presbyterian Church (St. Marys, Pa.)
As previously reported in The Layman, Kiskiminetas Presbytery approved the dismissal of Shiloh Presbyterian Church, a 144-year old congregation in St. Marys, Pa., to the EPC on Dec. 31.
In early February, the church held its final service as a PCUSA congregation – a service attended by representatives from both Kikiminetas, and the EPC’s Presbytery of the Alleghenies.
In the final dismissal agreement, Shiloh retained its property and agreed to pay Kiskiminetas $36,000 in missions support.
Wiggins Presbyterian Church (Wiggins, Miss.)
Wiggins Presbyterian Church of Wiggins, Miss. has been dismissed to the EPC after a unanimous vote by the Presbytery of Mississippi. Last year, the church voted to request dismissal by a vote of 29-1.
In 2010, the church reported 49 members and offerings of $82,768.
Further information about the dismissal was not available as of this posting. According to a PCUSA pastor who asked to remain anonymous, the presbytery may be facing up to four more dismissal votes at its May meeting.
For more information about churches in the dismissal process, check out The Layman’s list, “Churches Discerning Their Denominational Affiliation.”
Note: All membership statistics are as of 2010 and obtained from PCUSA Research Services.