The church voted to make the jump last week, charting a new course for a congregation that has long been divided by personal and theological conflicts. “I think it’s the right move in light of what’s going on in the larger denomination,” said Pastor Tony Winterowd.

The possibility has been simmering for years, and now it’s official: First Presbyterian Church Hanford [California] has left the national denomination, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., and has joined a separate, more traditional group called the Evangelical Presbyterian Church U.S.A.

The church voted to make the jump last week, charting a new course for a congregation that has long been divided by personal and theological conflicts.

“I think it’s the right move in light of what’s going on in the larger denomination,” said Pastor Tony Winterowd. “The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. has in my opinion gone off the rails theologically, and had jettisoned the authority of Scripture.”

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church U.S.A. affirms traditional Christian beliefs about the authority of scriptural teaching, including teaching about sexual behavior. It’s estimated that about half of the Presbyterians in the Valley have already joined the new group.

The straw that broke the camel’s back for many was a 2011 decision by the national body to reject traditional language saying that clergy must either be in a monogamous marriage between a man or a woman or celibate.

The move was widely seen as opening the door to the ordination of practicing homosexuals and anybody in unmarried sexual relationships.

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