We affirm that Jesus is the eternal second person of the Trinity who came to earth, God-in-the-flesh, lived a sinless life, died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world and was raised bodily back to life on the third day. An increasing segment in our denomination does not affirm these positions.”

After six months of discussion, including four church-wide forums, a Washington church session is the latest to recommend leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) over theological issues.

On Oct. 13, the Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church’s session announced to the 1,691-member congregation its recommendation that the Gig Harbor-based church seek dismissal from the Presbytery of Olympia and to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). (Editor’s Note: Gig Harbor is located at the southern end of Puget Sound, not far from Tacoma.

“We now believe we have reached a tipping point,” Senior Pastor Mark Toone said during a June church forum. “And speaking personally, I have lost hope that we can bring about the renewal we have worked and prayed so hard for,” he added.

Toone’s remarks came on the heels of the recent passage of Amendment 10A, which deleted ordination standards addressing explicit chastity and fidelity requirements from the PCUSA constitution. The deleted standard required that ordained officers be faithful in marriage between a man and a woman, or chaste in singleness

The amendment’s passage, according to church leaders was one “tipping point” that led to, first, the formation of a Denominational Concerns Task Force in May, and, most recently, to the session’s recommendation to dismiss

“This is not a sudden, knee-jerk reaction,” Toone said. “It is actually the final straw following nearly 20 years of intentional, hard work by [the] church’s leadership for reform and renewal within the PCUSA,” he added.

“Our view of the Bible is that it is the infallible and authoritative final word on matters of life and faith and that when it speaks clearly, it is to be obeyed,” stated a recent document released by task force. “The recent passage of 10A suggests that an increasing number in our denomination do not read the Bible in the same way.”

“The vast majority of your brothers and sisters in Christ in this denomination hold a very high sense of the authority of Scripture. Difference arises in the interpretation and application of Scripture,” Olympia General Presbyter Lynn Longfield told a congregational gathering in July.