A group of Ohio congregations in the Cincinnati area delivered another blow to the Presbyterian Church (USA) in what is becoming growing fallout following major changes in ordination standards.

On May 22, three churches of the Presbytery of Cincinnati voted to disaffiliate from the PCUSA in nearly unanimous balloting in response to the recent passage of an Amendment that will allow for the ordination of non-celibate single heterosexuals, those who commit adultery, lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals to positions as deacons, elders and ministers in PCUSA churches.

The presbytery adopted the amendment on May 10 and the 99-72 vote, according to the three churches, was the last straw in what they see as an increasingly treacherous battlefield in a theological culture war.

“When churches within a denomination cease to hold to the same basic beliefs concerning the faith, it no longer makes sense to be joined under one name,” read a statement issued by Russellville Presbyterian Church (Russellville, Ohio), the Church By The Woods (Sharonville, Ohio) and Holtsinger Memorial Presbyterian Church (Cincinnati, Ohio).

“We believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and that people are called to try and live in accordance with the standards set forth in the Bible,” the churches stated, adding, “we reject the pluralism that has crept into mainline denominations such as the PCUSA.”

Russellville Presbyterian Church, like the other two, is a small congregation with a long history. Established in 1817, the church has seen its numbers dwindle from 124 members 10 years ago to 41 today, according to elder Dallas Hurt, who blames the theological drift in the PCUSA for the loss.

“We’ve lost drastically over these issues,” he said. “The people that we’ve lost, they were impatient.”

“It’s not that we are leaving Presbyterianism — we’re just trying to re-find its footing,” he added.

Hurt said the Presbytery of Cincinnati had been “conservative on these issues” for the past 25 years as the controversies began simmering within the General Assembly.

“At this point in time, we have lost those votes [in the presbytery]. We’ve lost the General Assembly,” he said, adding “there is no common ground left.”

The churches now believe, according to their recent statement, that the presbytery is a “frequent proponent of liberal theological change within the PCUSA.”

A request for comment by the Presbytery of Cincinnati had not been returned at this posting.

Holtsinger Memorial Presbyterian Church’s experience mirrors that of Russellville. The small congregation was founded in 1907. The 38-member church is described by lay pastor Bill Lewis as “country-style.”

“We just find ourselves in a position where our historical Christian beliefs are no longer consistent with the way the denomination is going,” Lewis said. “We just decided it’s not the right place for us anymore. The important thing is — we didn’t change; the denomination changed,” he added.