The letter said that the PCUSA has made changes in several areas that reflected a “significant turning away from the traditional confessions of our faith and from the historically orthodox understanding of the authority and interpretation of Scripture outlined in the brief ‘Statement of Faith’ that was unanimously adopted by session in 2011 and 2012.”

First Presbyterian Church (FPC) of Houston, Texas has scheduled a congregational meeting for Jan. 27 to decide if it will enter into the reconciliation and dismissal process with New Covenant Presbytery.

The motion that will be presented to the congregation was approved unanimously by its session at its Jan. 8 meeting. In a letter to the congregation, the session said, “The meeting is NOT being called in order to vote on whether we should remain affiliated with the PCUSA – but only to determine whether you believe it would be beneficial to go through the discernment process.”

“We can assure you that the decision to bring this motion before the congregation of FPC was not entered into lightly. Your session has been in prayer and conversation on this issue for over two years. … As a session we are united in believing that this is the right time – and that the presbytery’s procedure is the right process – to allow us to invite the rest our membership into this important conversation,” it read.

The letter said that the PCUSA has made changes in several areas that reflected a “significant turning away from the traditional confessions of our faith and from the historically orthodox understanding of the authority and interpretation of Scripture outlined in the brief ‘Statement of Faith’ that was unanimously adopted by session in 2011 and 2012.”

The statement of faith outlines the session’s beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the authority and interpretation of Scripture, sin, salvation, sanctification and God’s redemptive purpose.

The letter continued by stating that the session “has come to believe that these changes have become a distraction to FPC’s ability to pursue our mission to ‘carry the Gospel to Houston and the world’ and are making it more and more difficult to remain in fellowship and common mission with those whose core theological beliefs are so different from those historically held by First Presbyterian.”

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