Another Church in Eastminster Presbytery votes to leave the PC(USA)

This is news I received in my email while on vacation. This same letter can be read on our Presbytery's website - www.eastminsterpresbytery.org

Now we have three local churches who have opted out of the PC(USA): Hudson, Stow and now - North Benton

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A Pastoral Letter from General Presbyter Dan Schomer
June 25, 2007

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

On Wednesday evening, June 20, eight members of the Committee on Ministry and I met at the First Presbyterian Church, Ellsworth, with a group of about fifteen members from the North Benton Presbyterian Church. We had called this gathering because the North Benton session had called a congregational meeting for June 24 to vote on whether to seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and seek transfer to the provisional New Wineskins Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

On the evening of June 20 we spent two hours together. Two documents were distributed:

(1) a document from Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), called “The Church’s One Foundation Is Jesus Christ Her Lord” which was written as a response to a series of attacks on the on the New Wineskins website; and (2) a letter from General Assembly Moderator Joan Gray. These two documents can be viewed and downloaded from the presbytery website.

I had learned earlier in the day that, in response to the one page letter the presbytery had sent to every member of the North Benton congregation inviting them to the June 20 gathering, Pastor Jim Henkel had sent a six-page letter that sought to discredit the PCUSA response to attacks and justify the proposed actions for the congregational meeting.

Our gathering with the North Benton members was heartbreaking. They told of how they had heard little from the pulpit over the past several months other than how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) had gone astray. We were asked by them if the Presbyterian Church really no longer believes that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation or that Presbyterians no longer accept the authority of the Bible. There were some tears that night too. People were hurting and said so. They saw that their church family was being divided.

One in attendance stated the situation in this way, “Whether we vote yes or no, some people are going to leave.”

Four members of the Committee on Ministry attended the congregational meeting at the North Benton Church on June 24. According to the report I received, the meeting began at 11:45 a.m. and ended at 2:30 p.m. There were 116 voting members in attendance. A motion was made that the North Benton Presbyterian Church seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and authorize the session to take the necessary steps to do so. A member of the congregation made a motion to postpone action indefinitely. After a length discussion, the vote was 84 against postponement and 26 in favor of postponement (74% to 26%). After further discussion, a written ballot was taken. The results of the ballot were reported as follows: 81 for, 29 against, 6 abstaining (70%, 25%, 5%).

Another motion was made to that the North Benton Presbyterian Church seek transitional membership into the New Wineskins Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and authorize the session to take the necessary steps to do so. After considerable discussion, a written ballot was taken. The results of the ballot were reported as follows: 78 for, 28 against, 10 abstaining (67%, 24%, 9%).

Once again, Eastminster Presbytery is faced with how to respond to a congregation seeking to leave the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). For now, one thing we can all do is pray that God will comfort those who mourn these decisions and grant the presbytery discernment as we respond to the actions of the North Benton congregation.

In Christ’s service together,

Dan Schomer