Proponents of the plan believe new options may help expand the beleaguered denomination, which has lost several churches over the past decade due to growing theological rifts. “It’s a chance for us to be creative,” Commissioner Miriam Dolin said. “It’s a chance for us to charge other people to be creative as a church moving forward,” she added.

The Mid Council Commission of the Presbyterian Church (USA) approved an experimental plan on Thursday that would create non-geographic presbyteries and allow churches to be dismissed to other presbyteries under certain conditions. (Editor’s Note: ‘Mid-Council’ refers to the work of Synods and Presbyteries in the church governance.)

In the process of drafting a final report to the PCUSA General Assembly in June, the MCC recommended by a 15-5 vote to allow congregations to create “covenant communities of congregations responsive to the Spirit, consistent with our theological tradition and commitments, and adapting our unique church identity in diverse contexts.”

The MCC proposes the denomination, working through the General Assembly and through the votes of current presbyteries, amend the PCUSA constitution to allow the formation of “provisional, non-geographic presbyteries for particular missional purposes,” if 10 or more congregations and 10 or more teaching elders make a petition with the concurrence of the existing presbyteries.

Under what the MCC called a “season of reflective experimentation,” the provisional presbyteries would retain most of the rights and powers of current presbyteries. However, the provisionals would have no authority to “dissolve, dismiss or divide congregations.” Also the new presbyteries could not approve the sale, mortgage, lease or transfer of real property of its congregations without the consent of the presbytery of origin.

The MCC’s experimental plan would also change the constitution by approving the temporary dismissal of congregations to another presbytery within the synod or to “another geographically contiguous synod.”

However, the dismissal would be subject to the following conditions:

· The congregation must continue to affiliate with the “presbytery of origin” but will not have a vote except in cases related to its property or concerning any dismissal issues.
· As with the other provision, the congregation can’t sell or lease its real property without consent of the presbytery of origin.
· Per capita or mission funds may be divided according to a covenant between the presbytery of origin and the new presbytery.

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