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Over and over again, people say this: it will all get sorted out in the courts. But in the meanwhile, people are laying the foundations now for what's to come -- and this hasn't exactly been a time of peace and happiness in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Reports are popping up all over the country of presbyteries and sessions marking their positions, getting ready, taking first steps. Some congregations that want to leave the denomination -- most prominently, Kirk of the Hills in Tulsa -- are testing the question of whether churches can leave and take their property with them. The PC(USA)'s stated clerk, Clifton Kirkpatrick, has sent a letter to presbytery stated clerks raising concerns about some of what he sees happening -- and warning that some proposals being considered could violate either the denomination's constitution or authoritative interpretations of the constitution that the General Assembly has approved. Peggy Hedden, chairman of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, has responded by accusing the denomination's leadership of being in a "take-no-prisoners attitude" and of trying to threaten and intimidate those who disagree with recent General Assembly actions. That's not all.
Over and over again, people say this: it will all get sorted out in the courts. But in the meanwhile, people are laying the foundations now for what's to come -- and this hasn't exactly been a time of peace and happiness in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Reports are popping up all over the country of presbyteries and sessions marking their positions, getting ready, taking first steps. Some congregations that want to leave the denomination -- most prominently, Kirk of the Hills in Tulsa -- are testing the question of whether churches can leave and take their property with them. The PC(USA)'s stated clerk, Clifton Kirkpatrick, has sent a letter to presbytery stated clerks raising concerns about some of what he sees happening -- and warning that some proposals being considered could violate either the denomination's constitution or authoritative interpretations of the constitution that the General Assembly has approved. Peggy Hedden, chairman of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, has responded by accusing the denomination's leadership of being in a "take-no-prisoners attitude" and of trying to threaten and intimidate those who disagree with recent General Assembly actions. That's not all. Some presbyteries have responded to the controversial report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the PC(USA) by passing resolutions which say, in one form or another, that no exceptions will be granted to allow the ordination of sexually-active gays and lesbians. In June, the assembly approved an authoritative interpretation that would allow a candidate for ordination or installation to declare a "scruple," an objection based on conscience to the denomination's ordination standards. And the presbytery or session involved would decide whether that exception could be permitted or whether it was so significant as to violate an "essential" of Reformed faith or polity. But some presbyteries aren't waiting for any candidates to emerge with their scruples. They're passing resolutions in advance -- for example, Nevada presbytery voted Sept. 20 to say that any departure from the PC(USA)'s ordination standards would preclude a candidate from being ordained or installed there. Central Florida presbytery, meeting Sept. 11-12, passed a resolution saying it won't recognize as valid any ordinations or installations involving deviations from the ordination standards. There's also been a buzz in some circles over what The Layman (following the lead of Toby Brown on his blog, "A Classic Presbyterian") is calling "The Louisville Papers" -- private memos written by lawyers on the PC(USA)'s national staff regarding how presbyteries should respond to congregations that try to leave the denomination with their property. And another disciplinary case has been filed, this time in Pittsburgh presbytery, involving a minister, Janet Edwards, who conducted a same-sex union ceremony for a lesbian couple in June 2005. Edwards is a parish associate at the Community of Reconciliation, an interdenominational congregation.
The complaint against Edwards was filed Sept. 12 by an investigating committee the presbytery had appointed to look into the situation. So it's a time of more contention in the PC(USA) -- of mistrust, of passion and anger, of a deep desire for something better. Some presbyteries are turning to prayer and are asking Presbyterians -- no matter how divided they may be -- to stick together in the hard but faithful work of trying to detect where God may be leading the denomination. And what does it all add up to? "It's very uncertain how it's going to shake out," Hedden said in an interview. Kirkpatrick is providing his interpretations, but "that's of course all his opinion," she said. "Presbyteries are entitled to their own opinions as well. It's going to be some time before anything authoritative is decided." Who owns the property? As congregations discuss what to do next -- whether to stay in the PC(USA) or to leave -- a piece of that conversation inevitably revolves around whether the presbytery will allow the congregation to take its property. A number of presbyteries are already wading into those waters. On Sept. 9, Sacramento presbytery passed a resolution which apparently would allow departing congregations to keep their property -- that resolution states the presbytery "shall take no action to enforce any general trust interest" involving property of congregations within its jurisdiction. In other words, if a congregation wants to leave, the presbytery will let them go -- property and all. Many expect that resolution, passed by a 73-65 vote -- to be challenged in the church courts. Some presbyteries have negotiated financial settlements with congregations that want to leave the denomination. Milwaukee presbytery, for example, has allowed First Church in Cedar Grove, Wis., to go to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and to pay $150,000 to keep its property. In Oklahoma, the Kirk of the Hills congregation voted 967-36 on Aug. 30 to leave the PC(USA) (read article here) for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church -- and the question of what will happen to the church's valuable property is already being considered by a court in Tulsa. In Louisiana, in a dispute involving First Church in Baton Rouge, a state district court judge on Sept. 14 granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits the Presbytery of South Louisiana from taking the congregation's property while the case is being considered. The congregation filed a petition asking the court to rule that its property is not held in trust by the denomination and that the PC(USA) has no right to it. Pending the resolution of that claim, Judge Timothy Kelley issued a preliminary injunction restraining the presbytery from taking action involving the property or initiating any disciplinary actions against the congregation's ministers or members. But while the congregation is asking the court to clarify who owns the property, its pastor, Gerrit Dawson, has said the lawsuit filed to try to clear the title does not mean the congregation has taken formal steps to leave the PC(USA). In a Sept. 6, 2006 letter to the congregation, Dawson wrote that the lawsuit "is not an act of disaffiliation with the PC(USA)" but is an attempt to clear the title before embarking on a capital campaign. Dawson wrote, "we cannot hope to raise needed funds until the issue of ownership is settled." Ordination cases As the property issue is being worked through congregation by congregation, presbyteries also are deciding how to respond to the report of the Theological Task Force. Some, rather than waiting for candidates with "scruples" to present themselves, are stating in advance that they won't allow any exceptions to the PC(USA)'s ordination standards. And Kirkpatrick is warning that governing bodies can't exceed their authority. "I am particularly concerned about proposals that I hear are coming to some of our presbyteries that are not in accord with our Constitution and its authoritative interpretations (which also have the binding authority of the Constitution itself)," Kirkpatrick wrote in the memo to stated clerks. Kirkpatrick wrote that among the proposals that worry him are ones that would require candidates to subscribe to all or certain constitutional standards -- putting aside the scrupling process the task force called for and the assembly approved. He wrote, "presbyteries cannot set aside, on their own, standards clearly specified in an already adopted authoritative interpretation." Also, presbyteries can't set "super-standards" on their own or declare that any of the standards from the constitution won't be applied, he wrote. And they can't decide in advance that certain answers to questions candidates would be asked would not be acceptable; "their answers are to be judged on a case-by-case basis," Kirkpatrick wrote. Of course, not everyone agrees with him. And some presbyteries aren't waiting for anyone's approval to move ahead.
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Thanks,
Marty Ducote