Olympia (Presbytery) states in its policy that is assumes “a congregation seeking withdrawal from the PCUSA will be allowed to take the property, financial and any other assets held in trust for the PCUSA on their behalf, and that there will be a negotiated monetary stipulation.”

A large, Washington-based church became one of the first in March to sever final ties with the Presbyterian Church (USA) due to theological differences.

On March 1, the congregation of Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church (CHPC) of Gig Harbor, Wash. voted unanimously to accept a dismissal agreement with the Presbytery of Olympia allowing the 1,600-member church to keep its property in exchange for $283,908 in four annual payments of $70,977.

“We are excited about the vision that God has set before us,” CHPC session members said in an earlier statement, quoting Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.”

The church’s journey to dismissal began last spring following the passage of Amendment 10A by a majority of PCUSA presbyteries.

The amendment to the denomination’s Book of Order deleted the explicit “fidelity/chastity” requirement from the constitutional ordination standard, and now allows the PCUSA to ordain of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people as deacons, elders and pastors.

Although the amendment’s passage may have been a deciding factor for Chapel Hill, the church had been concerned about the denomination’s direction for a few years.

“In many essential ways, the PCUSA has drifted from its historical theology and Biblical moorings over last 40 years,” Senior Pastor Mark Toone said in a letter.

In May, the session formed the Denominational Concerns Task Force to discern Chapel Hill’s future with the PCUSA.

“We were of one mind that a discernment process was necessary, but we still had various opinions about our denominational future,” Associate Pastor Jeremy Vaccaro said in a recent statement. “The journey has been full of hard questions, honest disagreements and heartfelt discussions.”

After a series of discussions and town-hall meetings, the session voted unanimously in November to seek dismissal from the PCUSA and to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

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