The 219th General Assembly, which met in July 2010 in Minneapolis, approved an overture by San Francisco Presbytery that lifted up the policy as an example for other presbyteries to consider.

Having just experienced the first application of its “gracious dismissal” policy, San Francisco Presbytery has approved a six-month suspension of its use to allow time for “review and amendment.”

Plans to dismiss Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, Calif., one of the largest congregations in the presbytery, were approved at the same meeting. Under the presbytery’s 18-month-old policy, Danville was granted dismissal, through a 167-41 vote, from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to join the smaller Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

The dismissal is now in the midst of a 90-day waiting period, and could still be challenged through remedial action, stay or appeal in the PCUSA’s courts. The departure price for the 2,000-member congregation is approximately $321,000 – a fraction of what some congregations in other presbyteries have had to pay in either settlement or litigation fees.

The dismissal took less than a year to process and avoided civil court, which is all too often a result of dismissal talks when property ownership is on the line.

Danville’s pastor, the Rev. Scott Farmer, was a member of the committee that created the dismissal policy. If the plan for Danville goes forward as agreed to, Farmer will be dismissed to the EPC along with his congregation.

Change of heart?
San Francisco Stated Clerk Kathy Runyeon was only able to comment on the action that was proposed and approved at presbytery. Questions regarding background and the rationale for such an action were forwarded to the chairman of dismissal committee, who was unavailable for comment.

The San Francisco policy was approved by voice vote, with only a few no’s verbalized, in September 2009. The policy includes strong wording regarding the PCUSA’s so-called “trust clause,” including statements that it will not be used as a weapon or as a way to shackle churches to the PCUSA. Details of the policy include engagement to prevent the split and, if there’s no other option, an exit strategy by which descending per-capita payments would be made over a 5-year period.

The 219th General Assembly, which met in July 2010 in Minneapolis, approved an overture by San Francisco Presbytery that lifted up the policy as an example for other presbyteries to consider. Having seen one of the presbytery’s largest congregations easily departing under the policy, the presbyters in San Francisco are having a change of heart and are now revisiting their own nearly-unanimously approved dismissal policy.