When the General Assembly closed up shop in Birmingham last summer, there was a whole lot of shaking going on — mostly from folks not too happy about the report on the Trinity or another from the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
But now, a year later, the quaking seems to have subsided, at least in some spots on the map. Some presbyteries are reporting relatively little tumult related to the theological task force report, with none of their congregations having initiated steps to leave the PC(USA).
While that may be true, there certainly have been some high-profile cases of churches heading off for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) — among them, Kirk of the Hills in Tulsa; Signal Mountain (Tenn.) Church; and most recently, the Memorial Church in Pittsburgh. A June 3 congregational meeting produced a vote of 951 to 93, to join other New Wineskins churches in a transitional non-geographic presbytery, in anticipation of ultimate affiliation with the EPC.
On May 29, the East Tennessee presbytery voted to dismiss the Signal Mountain Church, with its property, to the EPC. The congregation will continue to provide $500,000 in mission support to the presbytery, payable over the next five years, and has in a statement thanked the presbytery “for the pastoral and grace-filled manner that was exemplified in the process.”
A presbytery administrative review committee determined in its final report that the 1,800-member congregation from Signal Mountain overwhelmingly favored departure — knowing the congregation voted 1,082 to 10 in January to leave. The congregation did not appear to be in schism, the review committee stated, so the presbytery should “with deep regret and sorrow” dismiss the congregation from the PC(USA).
A letter the Signal Mountain leadership sent the presbytery in January refers to longstanding frustrations with the denomination — the session has been withholding money from the General Assembly for nearly 15 years — and specifically mentions concerns about the Trinity report and the TTF PUP task force recommendations.
The 2006 assembly approved the task force report and to “receive” for study (rather than adopt) the Trinity report, which carries the title “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing” (see pages 16 and 17.) That controversial report discusses the doctrine of the Trinity and suggests language “mined from Scripture” that could be used to describe the Trinity, in addition to the traditional “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
While some have reacted strongly to the Trinity report and the task force recommendations, in other places the 2006 General Assembly seems to have caused more of a ripple than a big splash. Some presbyteries are putting more energy into local concerns — supporting small, struggling congregations, for example, or trying to clarify the presbytery’s mission and vision — rather than focusing on the difficulties of the national denomination.
As one presbytery executive wrote: “Louisville feels very far away,” in his rural setting.
Getting along
By e-mail, The Presbyterian Outlook asked presbytery executives to answer several questions about how their presbyteries are responding to the recommendations of the theological task force, and about the impact the Birmingham assembly has had on the presbytery’s life and work.
The answers they gave, while certainly not a scientific survey, seem to indicate that in many places the decisions of the 2006 assembly did not make a huge dent in presbytery life.
For example, the theological task force recommended that presbyteries establish discussion groups including people from a range of theological views. Some presbyteries have done that; others have not. In some cases, there’s been an emphasis on more informal relationship-building — two or three pastors who don’t know each other well or who disagree on hot-button issues meeting for coffee or lunch, for example, or agreeing to pray for each other regularly — rather than setting up a mechanism for more comprehensive conversations.
Some presbytery executives are working hard to indicate, both to evangelicals and progressives, that they will be fair-minded and respectful; to try to, as one executive put it, “dampen the fires.”
For example, Hudson River presbytery, which Executive Presbyter Susan Andrews described as “a traditionally very liberal presbytery,” invited evangelical leader Jin S. Kim to speak last March. Kim’s “vision of multi-cultural ministry is transcending theological lines,” Andrews wrote.
“In September, we will focus on the Emerging Church — another area of creativity in the church at large that is bringing people together across traditionally conservative/liberal lines,” she wrote.
And Presbyterians in some places just value getting along.
In the small presbytery of Western Kentucky, for example, “we have the distinct advantage of being more like a ‘family’ church,” wrote Executive Presbyter Richard Cooper. “We have long recognized that there may be some difference among our churches or presbyters about where they stand on particular issues but the ‘family’ still works hard (for the most part) to be a family.”
Points of conflict
There are, of course, congregations, some of them aligned with the New Wineskins Association of Churches, who are convinced the time has come to split from the PC(USA) family; others are considering it. For example, the second largest congregation in Northern New England Presbytery, Londonderry Church in Londonderry, N.H., has started the process of trying to leave the PC(USA), voting to withhold all mission and per capita support of the denomination, wrote General Presbyter Richard O. Wyatt.
But some other congregations are taking their time, waiting to see how the denomination responds, not rushing for the exit. That could change, some presbytery executives say, depending on what rulings emerge from the church courts on issues such as whether presbyteries can refuse to honor any “scruples” or objections a candidate for ordination might declare regarding the ordination of sexually active gays or lesbians.
Some Presbyterians believe, in conscience, that a gay or lesbian living in a committed, lifelong partnership should be eligible for ordination. But the PC(USA)’s constitution limits ordination to those who practice fidelity if they’re married or chastity if they’re single, and others contend those rules are theologically correct and should be enforced.
How much leeway can be granted — and how far open the task force may have cracked that door — is being closely watched and may ultimately be a matter for the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission to decide. Some congregations seem willing to wait, for now, to see how all that gets sorted out.
Lynne M. Myers, the interim executive in Presbytery de Cristo, said no congregations there have announced they intend to leave the PC(USA), although some remain unhappy with the task force report. “A few have simply decided not to fight, but to do a kind of ‘separation in place,’ “ she wrote.
And exactly how much unhappiness there is with national church issues seems to vary from place to place.
“We have no churches asking to be dismissed, no court cases or administrative commissions, etc. No one is withholding funds, or not paying their per capita. The actions of the Birmingham GA meeting have had little to no real effect on us. Thanks be to God!” wrote Phil Leftwich, executive presbyter with Middle Tennessee Presbytery.
But Greg Goodwiller, executive presbyter of St. Andrew Presbytery in Mississippi, has seen a flurry of activity since the 2006 GA, everything from overtures being written to congregations leaving. Goodwiller describes the time since the last assembly as “clearly the most divisive in my tenure.”
And Clark Cowden, evangelist presbyter in San Joaquin presbytery in California, has seen a lot of action too — with his presbytery passing statements on ordination standards and property issues, and with four congregations with ties to New Wineskins considering departure.
The assembly’s actions “have made life more difficult here,” Cowden wrote. “People are more anxious, more edgy, more distrustful, more cynical, more skeptical, more frustrated, and looking more seriously at pulling out.”
How presbyteries respond
Some presbyteries have been implementing some or all of the task force recommendations.
Blackhawk Presbytery in Illinois, for example, is among those trying alternatives to parliamentary procedure at times, at the task force’s request. John Rickard, Blackhawk’s general presbyter, wrote that the presbytery is focusing on “building relationships, trust, and a sense of mutual mission.”
In Indian Nations Presbytery in Oklahoma, “We are experimenting with various models for discussion and consensus-building during presbytery meetings rather than putting up motions and ‘slugging it out’ on the floor,” wrote General Presbyter Aaron Carland. “For this presbytery, that continues to be a learning process; but we are feeling good about it.”
Central Florida Presbytery offered a workshop on spiritual discernment, and some of its committees have used the process of “mutual invitation” the theological task force considered important in its own work.
Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery has studied the theological introduction to the task force recommendations and created an “inclusive church” discussion group that meets regularly.
Following the Birmingham assembly, Great Rivers Presbytery in Illinois initiated a theologically diverse “covenant partnership group” that meets monthly, including Bible study, discussion, worship with communion and lunch. The presbytery council financially supports the group’s work.
Some presbyteries also are looking more carefully at how candidates for ordination or transfer are being examined.
Baltimore Presbytery set up its own task force to consider the implications of the theological task force’s recommendations. That task force recommended a process for dealing with any scruples a candidate might declare, a process the presbytery later adopted.
Baltimore Presbytery also considered an overture that the divinity of Jesus Christ was not something about which scruples could be declared, an overture that was revised to express “our belief in the full humanity and divinity of Christ” and which then passed unanimously, according to Executive Presbyter Peter K. Nord.
Nord wrote “the sense of tension that was present” immediately after the 2006 assembly “seems to have dissipated greatly.”
Some presbyteries have adopted statements of how to handle scruples — saying, for example, that no scrupling involving ordination standards will be accepted. Challenges to some of those measures are pending in the church courts.
And some are working hard to make sure their examinations are consistent.
John Calvin Presbytery adopted “a set of questions that will be used with all persons seeking ordination or membership,” wrote David E. Meerse, interim general presbyter. “Some of the questions are mandatory; others are optional questions, which might be used as a follow-up, depending on the answer to the mandatory questions.”
Central Florida Presbytery adopted a resolution “regarding this presbytery’s understanding of who is eligible for ordination to church office,” wrote Paige McRight, presbytery executive.
“Since that meeting, the Committee on Ministry has been faithful to ask each minister transferring into this presbytery whether he or she has theological scruples to declare. I cannot promise that our sessions are doing the same in the examination of elders and deacons, but we are taking seriously our obligation to know the ministers we welcome into membership here.”
Charlotte Presbytery created a team that has presented aspects of the task force report, and “we are satisfied that we have engaged the presbytery in a process that will give us greater security as to how to examine candidates and transferring Ministers of Word and Sacrament,” wrote General Presbyter Samuel E. Roberson.
“To be honest, the intense, urgent environment that developed after the Birmingham General Assembly has greatly defused.”
Thinking locally
And some presbyteries are concentrating more on local challenges than they are on national controversies.
De Cristo, for example, is in transition with leadership and faces financial challenges “so sobering that the presbytery has decided it does not have the luxury of fighting” over the theological task force report, Myers wrote. Cayuga-Syracuse is, among other things, working on a Mission Action Plan and identifying “churches at risk of closure,” wrote Executive Presbyter Dave Johnson.
In Central Florida, the presbytery is trying to start churches in brand-new communities being built in what were formerly orange groves, McRight wrote.
“Some of that work is with people recently arrived from other countries, and established congregations here are generous in providing a home to nesting immigrant congregations. Some of that work has challenged established congregations to look at offering programs and worship styles that have less appeal to those who are already members than to those who are unchurched neighbors.
“As I remember the General Assembly in Birmingham, I remember our celebration of the increasingly multicultural nature of our church and I remember (moderator) Joan Gray’s invitation to us to pray continuously that the church will be a faithful witness of God’s grace.”
Northeast Georgia Presbytery is dedicating this summer to talking about what local congregations are doing in mission, and to discussing congregational transformation and the missional church. “We are working hard to stay focused on fostering healthy, missional congregations,” wrote General Presbyter Ken Meeks Jr.
Louise Brokaw, general presbyter of Lake Huron presbytery, wrote, “We do not have any congregations interested in leaving the denomination. Overtures are not being written. Withholding funds is not happening. This is a presbytery far more impacted by the declining population and economy of the area, the reality of living in a Post Christendom culture, and … functioning as if overwhelmed.
“The Presbytery of Lake Huron is also a presbytery now focused on good things going on in congregations, increased mission participation locally, and in terms of mission trips, increased energy around worship and increasing desire to move toward being active disciples of Christ, rather than just members of a church,” she wrote.
In New Brunswick Presbytery in New Jersey, “we are sending teams to Ghana and Taiwan this summer,” wrote Executive Presbyter Joyce Emery. “We are recovering from floods and supporting that endeavor plus mission groups to the South. People are homeless. We have a team that is recently returned from Israel/Palestine. … We are supporting new congregations and a South Asian Ministry Conversation.
“Honestly, Birmingham made little difference in our life together. We’ve already hosted great splits in the church in previous centuries. We’re not interested in that role or lifestyle. John 17 means a lot to us — for Jesus must still be praying for us.”
