Not only did the congregation of First Presbyterian Church in Prosser, Wash., leave the Presbyterian Church (USA), but the name of the church also was changed.
FPC-Prosser, organized in 1905, was dismissed from Central Washington Presbytery and the PCUSA to join ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians on Aug. 17, 2013, and changed its name to Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Covenant Pastor Paul Fredericks remained a PCUSA pastor through Jan. 1 to fulfill obligations with Central Washington Presbytery. Like the congregation he already has been accepted by ECO and was granted permission by the presbytery to labor outside the bounds of the PCUSA to continue as Covenant’s pastor until his commitments were satisfied.
Looking at the church’s future
The 150-member church, located in south central Washington between Yakima and Tri-Cities near the Oregon border, started to take a serious look at its denominational affiliation with the passage of Amendment 10A and the new Form of Government (nFOG) in May 2011.
“The relationship of the church to the denomination always has been kind of shaky, and we were not excited about the direction of the denomination,” Fredericks said. “We never really got caught up in what the denomination did, but we never really agreed with it. The passage of 10A really grabbed our attention, and we had to talk about (the church’s future).”
Fredericks explained that the denomination’s stance on the infallibility of Scripture – that the Bible is the final authority – and its view on Christendom – that Jesus Christ is 100 percent human and 100 percent divine – were symptoms of the cultural disease plaguing the PCUSA, along with the notion that salvation could come by means other than Christ.
“The theological drift happening was sad enough,” Fredericks said. “It was a shock to many that the denomination did not believe these things. We did not believe we could be associated with that point of view. As an evangelical church, we are focused on reaching people for Jesus Christ, and it was more of a distraction to deal with these issues while trying to share the Gospel. They impeded our ability to evangelize. We felt the drift going on was here to stay, and we didn’t see the trend getting any better.”
Congregational meetings to inform church members of what was happening, why it was happening and what options were available started taking place in September 2011. Those meetings yielded feedback that offered little commitment to the PCUSA in informal polls taken.
“That was a real eye opener for our leadership,” Fredericks said in reference to 83 people indicating they wanted to leave the denomination to just three wanting to stay. “There was no energy to seek renewal. Our people said that (PCUSA) ship has sailed. We are a church that holds to orthodox, historical Christianity.”
Following Central Washington Presbytery’s approval of a gracious dismissal process in October 2011, Fredericks attended a Fellowship of Presbyterians/ECO gathering in January 2012, allowing the session to start exploring more fully the possibility of aligning with the new denomination.
In March 2012, the session unanimously voted to enter the discernment/dismissal process, which initiated a series of meetings with the presbytery’s Discernment Team. At a January 2013 congregational meeting, 74 percent of Covenant’s membership turned out for a vote on leaving the PCUSA for ECO. Ninety-six percent of those casting ballots were in favor of the move.
Meeting terms, finalizing dismissal
Meetings with an Administrative Commission (AC) from Central Washington Presbytery commenced in May 2013 to formulate terms for dismissal. The agreement called for payment of three years of per capita totaling approximately $15,000, a change of name and the recommendation of a mission gift to the presbytery, which Covenant declined.
During a Sept. 30 presbytery meeting, final paperwork was signed, the lump sum was paid by Covenant, and the presbytery granted a quitclaim deed to the church, bringing the process to a close.
Fredericks explained that the dismissal was an amicable one, which was the goal entering the process.
“Our goal during this whole thing was to walk through the process as graciously as we could,” he said. “There are lots of riffs in society and plenty of examples of ungraciousness. Our presbytery has been very gracious to us. We made an effort to be a positive example, and I think we did that.
“We have nothing to complain about. We feel privileged that we were part of this presbytery. We know our brothers and sisters in other presbyteries don’t always have that same privilege. There was a certain degree of sadness about leaving, but there is excitement about being part of ECO.”
Fredericks explained that ECO’s focus on the essential tenets was important to the Covenant congregation, and the new denomination’s handling of the church’s acceptance was viewed favorably.
“ECO is trying to invest in individual churches. We want to stand with truth and grace, and we can do that in ECO,” he said. “Getting the theology right is only half the picture. We really need to be theologically orthodox and evangelical. We see that in ECO.”
While there is excitement about joining the new and emerging denomination, there still is an air of uncertainty for Covenant’s members as they embark on a new journey, though it is overshadowed by the desire to fulfill the Great Commission.
“It’s a new step and a new journey for us, and there’s a little bit of uncertainty about what ECO will be like now that we are part of it,” Fredericks admitted. “But evangelization has to be pushed to the forefront. We now can focus on what we always really wanted to do. We can reach out to those who haven’t stepped across that line of faith and share Jesus with them. And we no longer have to explain what the denomination is doing.”