50 years ago — June 29, 1959
Southern states had strict laws segregating the races. Though the General Assemblies had spoken against such laws, the practice persisted — even in the churches. There were pastors who took bold stands from their pulpits against these laws of segregation. One pastor in Georgia declared his stance against segregation from the pulpit. The resulting turmoil in the congregation led the presbytery to remove the pastor. The example of this removal intimidated some pastors from having a prophetic voice against societal injustices. To “have the commission remove the pastor must indicate to more timid souls in pressured situations that if they stand for their deeply-held convictions in line with the assembly declarations, they will be possible candidates for membership in such an evicted company.” No charges were filed by the commission; they simply relied on a phrase from the Book of Order that allowed removal for the sake of the peace of the church. There was no opportunity for “due process” for the pastor and no opportunity for the pastor to address the situation or be heard in the ecclesiastical courts. This type of maneuver had been “protested in these columns for many years.”
From an editorial by Aubrey N. Brown
