“The session chooses to stand with the overwhelming majority of the global Christian world and affirm its unchanged commitment to orthodox Reformed Christian belief.”
A California church now faces the next step in what may be a long dismissal process following the congregation’s decision to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA).
By a vote of 427-164 during a congregational meeting on Oct. 16, Fremont Presbyterian Church of Sacramento, Calif., voted to pursue dismissal from the PCUSA in order to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).
“A congregational vote to join another Presbyterian denomination would be less about leaving the PCUSA than recognizing that the PCUSA has already left us,” members of the church’s session said in a released statement.
“The PCUSA has grown increasingly dysfunctional during the past few decades,” they added. “Our affiliation is proving more of a hindrance than a support for our ministries.
The session unanimously recommended leaving the PCUSA in July, shortly after the denomination adopted Amendment 10A, which deleted ordination standards addressing explicit chastity and fidelity requirements from the PCUSA constitution. The deleted standard required that ordained officers be faithful in marriage between a man and a woman, or chaste in singleness.
However, the session pointed out that the passage of the amendment, which will permit presbyteries to ordain gay candidates involved in same-sex relationships, was only one of many reasons for seeking dismissal. Church leaders say the decision has been a long time in the making.
“For more than a decade, elders and pastors at Fremont have been concerned with the various ways unorthodoxy has been increasingly tolerated in the denomination,” the elders said. “This year’s votes to change our ordination standards … and to alter our form of government … show that the PCUSA has finally moved beyond merely tolerating unorthodoxy. The PCUSA now officially embraces it.”
Before the vote on Oct. 16, the session provided the congregation with several position papers, frequently asked questions (FAQs), Scripture passages and other data, as well has holding several forums about the dismissal process and the EPC.
Why dismissal?
The session listed five main reasons for recommending dismissal:
· “The PCUSA no longer clearly communicates why and how Jesus Christ matters to a world that needs to know;
· “Many in PCUSA leadership have rejected the authority of the Bible or have adopted unorthodox interpretations of it;
· “Our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is diminished by our continued membership in the PCUSA;
· “The PCUSA has become incapable of providing meaningful support to our congregation as we seek to be faithful to God’s call;
· “Fremont wishes to remain in fellowship with the worldwide Christian Church, from which the PCUSA is now diverging.”
Session: Not a ‘narrowing’ of faith
Although the vote tilted heavily on the side of dismissal, the process nevertheless proved traumatic for some members.