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06433 August 25, 2006
Moderator, stated clerk nix 'moratorium' call
Tell New Wineskins they lack authority to suspend Constitution
by Presbyterian News Service
LOUSIVILLE * Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and Moderator Joan Gray responded this week to correspondence they received from the New Wineskins Association of Churches that calls for a moratorium on disciplining churches that seek to leave the denomination.
The New Wineskins approved the call for a moratorium in July, and the association subsequently empowered their moderator, the Rev. Dean Weaver, to send a letter and details of their action to Kirkpatrick and Gray.
The full text of Kirkpatrick and Gray's response, dated Aug. 22:
Dear Mr. Weaver,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Thank you for your recent letter on behalf of the New Wineskins Association of Churches, including the "Action of the 2006 Convocation of Voting Delegates." We appreciate your letting us know the mind of this gathering and sharing your concerns. This is a challenging time in the life of our church, and in reading your letter we are reminded that "If one member [of the body] suffers, all suffer together with it" (I Cor. 12:26a).
Your letter and the attached Action call for us, along with all general presbyters of synods and presbyteries, to declare a moratorium on certain disciplinary and administrative actions against churches and church officers who may be considering leaving our communion. You cite G-1.0301 regarding freedom of conscience and G-1.0307 regarding the ministerial and declarative nature of church power as the basis of this request.
In response we would remind you that:
Moderators and stated clerks of governing bodies, including those of the General Assembly, are bound to uphold the Constitution of the Church and do not have the power unilaterally to set aside any portion of the Form of Government. The 212th General Assembly (2000) made it explicitly clear that even the General Assembly lacks authority to declare a moratorium on upholding the provisions of the Constitution.
Freedom of conscience as it is understood in the Reformed tradition does not permit church officers to act outside the Constitution of the church. Both Elders and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament promise to "be governed by our Church's polity and * abide by its discipline" (G-14.0207e) as they carry out their duties.
On the subject of church power, the Form of Government states that "every Christian Church, or union or association of particular churches, is entitled to declare the terms of admission into its communion,*as well as the whole system of its internal government which Christ hath appointed." (G-1.0302) This includes those matters related to property held in trust for the denomination.
We express our compassion for those brothers and sisters who are in pain following the actions of the 217th General Assembly. However, we cannot comply with your request to set aside portions of the Church's Form of Government. Such action is beyond our powers as moderator and stated clerk of the General Assembly.
While we cannot call for a moratorium on disciplinary and administrative actions taken in accord with our Constitution, we do encourage the whole church to follow the guidance of the 217th General Assembly to "acknowledge our traditional biblical obligation, as set forth in Matthew 18: 15-17, Matthew 5: 23-25, and in the Rules of Discipline of the Book of Order, 'to conciliate, mediate, and adjust differences without strife*prayerfully and deliberately' (D-1.0103) and to institute administrative and judicial proceedings only when other efforts fail to preserve the purposes and purity of the church."
Please know of our genuine and deep commitment to the peace, unity and purity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) that we as a church might be strengthened to carry forward Christ's mission in the world.
In Christ,
Joan Gray Moderator, 217th General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Clifton Kirkpatrick Stated Clerk of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)
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