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An inclusive church in Anaconda, MT |
| Presbytery of Yellowstone refuses to name
administrative commission to persuade Anaconda Presbyterian Church to
modify its Statement of Conscience
[5-24-02]
We have just received this report from the Co-Pastor
of First Presbyterian Church, Anaconda, Montana
On May 21, 2002 the Presbytery of Yellowstone voted down
a recommendation from a special Pastoral Committee of Two to form an
administrative commission that would have attempted to persuade the
Session of First Presbyterian Church, Anaconda, Montana to modify its
current Statement of Conscience on G-6.0106b. At this time, the presbytery
has decided to take no action on the Anaconda Session Statement of
Conscience.
Reverend Paul Peterson
Co-Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Anaconda, Montana
 | Another source reports that a recommendation to have
a special evaluation of Paul Peterson as General Presbyter was also
defeated. He will be evaluated at the regular time with the rest of
the presbytery staff. |
Here is the full text of the Session's Statement
of Conscience
A Statement of Conscience
By the Session of 1st Presbyterian Church
Anaconda, Montana
March 4, 2002
We, the Session of 1st Presbyterian Church of
Anaconda, Montana, after careful study and prayerful reflection,
respectfully inform the Presbytery of Yellowstone that we cannot in good
conscience comply with any interpretation of Book of Order provision
G-6.0106b that restricts the rights of governing bodies to discern the
will of Christ in choosing leaders. Therefore, we declare:
As an expression of our commitment to the
traditional polity and connectionalism of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), and motivated by a desire to remain faithful to our ordination
vows, we find that because our conscience is captive to the Word of God,
as expressed in scripture and our Book of Confessions, we are compelled to
reject any interpretation of G6.0106b that would categorically exclude
persons from ordained service solely because they are in a relationship
other than a civil contract between a man and a woman. It is our intention
to prayerfully and faithfully work within our Constitution in considering
persons for ordained service, as we discern the leading of the Holy
Spirit.
We take this position for the following
reasons:
| The interpretation of G-6.0106b that categorically
excludes persons from ordained service solely because they are in a
relationship other than a civil contract between a man and a woman is
the biblical and confessional stance of one particular group of people
over that of another within our denomination. The imposition of one
interpretation through the exercise of power is contrary to the long
held principle of mutual forbearance toward each other as stated in
G-1.0305. |
| We believe that purporting a particular
interpretation of scripture to the point of enforcement is
intrinsically a confessional matter and therefore must be required to
achieve the approval of two thirds of the presbyteries, along with the
approval of the next ensuing General Assembly, as per G-18.0201. |
| According to G-6.0107, the right of God's people to
elect their officers is inalienable. However, a narrow interpretation
of G-6.0106b restricts the right of congregations and presbyteries to
freely discern the Holy Spirit when choosing leaders. |
| G-6.0106a provides guidance for interpreting
G-6.0106b when discerning those called to the offices of deacon,
elder, and minister of the Word and Sacrament. In particular, we lift
up the instruction to seek people of "strong faith, dedicated
discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord." |
| G-5.0101 states that no person "shall be denied
membership because of race, ethnic origin, worldly condition, or any
other reason not related to profession of faith." G-5.0202 states
that an active member is "entitled to all the rights and
privileges of the church, including the right. . . to vote and hold
office." Categorically denying a group of people the right to
hold office because they do not meet the subjective theological
interpretation of a narrow majority of the presbyteries creates a two
tier system of membership contrary to the historic principles of our
denomination. |
| We affirm the historic preliminary principle of our
denomination "that no Church governing body ought to pretend to
make laws to bind the conscience in virtue of their own
authority." Enforcing a narrow interpretation of G-6.0106b is an
attempt to bind the conscience of churches and presbyteries as they
seek those called by Christ into ministries of the church. |
Our declaration leads us to say:
| In fulfilling the responsibility of examining those
elected as elders and deacons (G-14.0205), we will be guided by the
entire Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We will,
after prayerful discernment, continue to ordain and install those whom
we believe are called and equipped to be elders and deacons in the
Church of Jesus Christ. |
| We will respect the right of the other churches in
our presbytery to choose their leaders. We trust their ability to
discern the Holy Spirit. |
| We ask that the churches of our presbytery trust our
ability to discern the Holy Spirit. |
|
| A
bit more from Yellowstone Presbytery ... and Presbyweb
On May 25 we posted the
above report from the Presbytery of Yellowstone, regarding the
presbytery's finding that the statement
of conscience by the session of First Presbyterian Church of
Anaconda is not in error.
The Rev. John Shuck, pastor of First Presbyterian
Church in Billings, has sent this letter to correct what seems to be a
clear misinterpretation of the story in the
headline on Presbyweb, calling it a "noncompliance
statement." The PresbyWeb editor has not changed the headline, but
here's the letter questioning its accuracy.
Dear Editor,
I wish to call your attention to the posting of the
Witherspoon Society article regarding the recent action of the
Presbytery of Yellowstone. Presbyweb erroneously states that the
session is in "non-compliance."
This is not the case. The session of the First
Presbyterian Church of Anaconda is in full compliance with the PC(USA)
constitution. The statement of conscience with which the presbytery
correctly has found not in error, challenges a particular
interpretation of the constitution. A careful reading of this
statement will show that the session of the First Presbyterian Church
of Anaconda, Montana is fully within the bounds of our constitution.
Sincerely, Rev. John A. Shuck, Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Billings, Montana
Yellowstone Presbytery
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