It is in no way intended as anything but concern that the church is capitulating to the culture and is misrepresenting the message of Scripture.”, He added, “We definitely will see another wave, a sizable wave, of conservative folks leaving,” but said he and others were staying because “this conversation is dreadfully important to be a part of.”. Why don't more Christians act like Christ? As you may know, this past summer the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) decided to allow the ordination of gay clergy. They’re against gay people being ordained as ministers, and so started their own sub-denomination where that would be prohibited. If I felt some trepidation over the internal communication that was necessitated by the discernment process, you can imagine the anguish that I felt about how the local media was going to communicate our activity to the community. So I’ll change to Don M going forward]. Yesterday a new Presbyterian denomination was born: the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians—or, for short, ECO. Even so, in the months that followed, I had a number of somewhat strained conversations with acquaintances in the community who had painted me and our church with a fairly broad brush of homophobia. However, it is only the faithful denominations that might consider this option. The court’s ruling was announced during the EPC’s 35th General Assembly meeting.

Their day of choosing between faithfulness to the Word, and feelings of attachment to their congregation, has arrived. Some of the potential departures have been low on drama, particularly in presbyteries with gracious separation policies. Plenty of moderates and conservatives, however, have chosen to stay within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), one of the nation’s historic mainline Protestant denominations, which has its headquarters in Louisville, Ky. The PC(USA) reported that in 2012, the denomination dismissed 110 congregations to other denominations, compared to 21 in 2011. Related Post: Our [Presbyterian] Church: “Sign This Anti-Gay Statement, or Leave”, (UPDATE: A commenter to this post wrote: “As a PCUSA pastor I can tell you a big reason why ECO was formed was because the pastors in the anti-gay lobby receive very generous pension and medical benefits from the PCUSA that they are afraid to leave behind should they follow their conscience to disaffiliate from the denomination. ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States.As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity.It was established in 2012 by former congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA).Dissatisfaction with the declining membership of the PC(USA) along with … What is even more notable is that now that we are in a denomination that has taken a more clear and consistent stance on sexuality issues, I haven’t mentioned homosexuality from the pulpit once. But most members didn’t know she voted that way; and besides, it was still no big deal, they may have reasoned, because same-sex marriage wasn’t legal in Texas. And that’s fair enough. Mark Hawke, a minister at First Presbyterian Church in Olathe, Kansas, said “the underlying issue is how you interpret scripture.”. Over the past 20 years as a pastor, I’ve cringed every time I had to clarify for the congregation some confusing message about sexuality coming from our denomination that they may have heard or read about in the media. Upon hearing the news, the EPC took time from its busy schedule to allow Former GA Moderator Bill Dudley to pray for the church and in the nation in light of the news. And in many of these announcements I had to mention the issue of homosexuality. He also has taught as an Adjunct Professor at both Regent College in British Columbia and Fuller Theological Seminary in California, where he received his Ph.D. Eric is married to Liz Jacobsen, an elementary school teacher who brings her extensive theater background as well as her love for children to the classroom. The new denomination, which calls itself the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO) was established last month in Orlando as a “new Reformed body” to which disgruntled member churches of the PCUSA might be dismissed. Currently, the church takes the stance that homosexuality is a sin, but maintains a concern for homosexual believers. Additionally, a brief admonition against homosexuality in the context of a worship service can be extremely discouraging to someone who is struggling with same-sex attraction. It is based upon the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and is clearly stated in the doctrinal standards of the PCA.”.

As a church, we continue to rest our faith in the sovereign God and the authority of His Holy Word. It means there’s hope for them yet. The Supreme Court of the United States has issued a 5-4 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

I guess that we will see more cafeteria Presbyterians. It follows a majority vote by the 173 presbyteries (district governing bodies) on Tuesday to change the body’s constitution in order to allow openly gay people in same-sex relationships to be ordained as ministers, elders and deacons. That said, though, I’m heartened by the leaders of ECO being so weak about proclaiming their true nature and purpose. While I felt it was important enough to prevent our members being misinformed about this vitally important topic, I was keenly aware of how this message would sound to various people who were in our worship services when the announcement was made. The Presbyterian Church (USA) have voted to change the definition of marriage from "one man and one woman" to "two people, traditionally a man and a woman," thus clearing the way for clergy to perform same-sex marriages. Bill Dudley prays for the church and the nation after hearing the news of the court ruling at the EPC’s assembly. So, you know: cat’s out of the bag. The tax exempt status of a congregation. Same Gender Marriage after Supreme Court: Misrepresentation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), http://www.curmudgeons-progress.com/christianity/church-and-civil-marriage-no-longer-mix/, “What does this mean for marriage in the state in which I live?”, “What does this mean for clergy performing marriage ceremonies? Discussions are being held with other denominations that “maintain the orthodox Christian faith,” and that as information becomes available it will be shared with ECO presbyteries. Never have so many words been used to say so little.]. Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is in keeping with that work.”, Another PCUSA leader, the Rev. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Editing by Michelle Nichols and Daniel Trotta. The last thing I want is for our congregation to be known in the community as “the church that hates gay people.” For a church in a city that was recently voted “The Gayist City in America,” such a reputation could have a negative impact on our mission. ECO will allow churches to commit exclusively to the new denomination, as well as affiliate with ECO without dropping its membership in the Presbyterian Church. He said “We are not yet sure of the ramifications of the Supreme Court decision,” for ECO. I think we can, and I think that as we do, the gospel will flourish! All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Let us be people who live the model of Jesus by being welcoming and transforming for all people, in all aspects of our lives.

ECO honchos! Mankind created “gender” out of an inability to live within the fences that God in his love set up for our overall good. Of these two, the Session is looking more closely at ECO, because ECO’s theological beliefs are closer to those of most RGAPC church members, and because ECO fully supports the ordination of women. … The Supreme Court recognized that religious individuals and institutions may continue to teach and practice sincerely held religious beliefs, “What does this mean for congregations? Though it’s not like anyone doesn’t know why they were formed.

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