Religion News Service.
On Sunday, November 15, 2015 at the 175th anniversary event for the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, the Synod of the Northeast will clear the debt of approximately $175,000 as an act of racial reconciliation in response to the ecclesiastical lynching of the Rev. William Robeson in the late 1901. The Rev. William Robeson is the father of Paul Robeson. The Rev. Dr. Harold Delhagen says that: “As a regional community of over 1,100 Presbyterian churches committed to racial justice, this story has compelled us to do justice and not simply talk about it.”
Rev. Robeson was the pastor of Witherspoon Street, which was started by the slaves who used to sit in the balcony at First Presbyterian Church, Princeton (now Nassau Presbyterian Church), after a fire that hit First Church destroyed the balcony where the slaves sat to worship. In 1879 The Rev. Robeson, an African-American and former slave himself, became their pastor. Outspoken in his efforts to end racism and Jim Crow laws in Princeton and beyond, he was deeply beloved by his congregation.
Because of his advocacy, Rev. Robeson was forced out of his position at Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church by white members of the presbytery. This resulted in a significant loss in funding for Witherspoon Street Church and also the destruction of Rev. Robeson’s career. Due to this loss, the manse at the time of the Rev. Robeson, which was bought for $1,000, had to be sold.
Visit the web site of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church
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Forgive me, but I am really offended by the title given to this article by the Synod of the Northeast. This is a story about a minister who ran afoul of his fellow ministers in a presbytery, and ended up being forced out of his pastoral position. That’s it. That’s the story.
This is not a story about somebody getting lynched.
Emmett Till was kidnapped and beaten to death sixty years ago because he had dared to be cheeky toward a white woman in a store. When the funeral home director asked his mother for permission to close his casket because his body had been so badly deformed by the beating that he had endured, she refused to do it. She wanted the world to see what those men had done to her boy. That is what a lynching is.
When Mack Charles Parker was falsely accused of having kidnapped and raped a white woman in 1959, only days before he was to have stood trial on those charges a mob dragged him from the jail cell where he was being held, beat him mercilessly, shot him in the chest, weighed down his body with chains and then threw him into the Pearl River. That is what a lynching is.
And sadly, there were a whole lot more people lynched in this country than just those two. Lynching is a horrible crime against humanity, an act of almost incomprehensible brutality and violence. It is one of the most shameful aspects of our history as Americans, and one for which all of us who are Christians grieve.
But some minister in New Jersey losing this pulpit because he got himself into trouble with the other ministers in his presbytery. That does not even come close to being a lynching.
The Synod of the Northeast should be ashamed of itself. If it wants to feel all warm and fuzzy about how wonderful it is by giving $175,000 to a church to help pay off that church’s debt. Great. Go for it. But it should use the word lynching only where it really and truly applies. To do otherwise is to diminish the unspeakable horror of what a lynching actually is.
This is one among many reason, political, scriptural and otherwise PCUSA will find itself on the ash-heap of church history in the US. The denomination has sold its theological soul to political correctness, progressive ideology and re-imagining scripture and church history. Pentecostal, independent, Catholic and non-mainline denominations are capitalizing on the missteps of this errant denomination and rightfully so. The title of this article is an insult and demeaning of those Presbyterians not of USA denomination who will be painted with the brush of this misguided effort.
I happen to serve in the Presbytery in question. In 2007 when I arrived at the church, we had a structural operating deficit of -80K a year and facing bankruptcy in about 18 months. When I took my concerns to the Presbytery and possible assistance I got a nice hearing, nice thoughts but in essence was told to solve my problems, the last piece of advice I got upon leaving was “make sure you keep up your per capita”. Well OK there.
I went home and did two things. Stopped per capita, and though sacrifice, hard work, planning and the grace of God we not only retired the debt but became cash flow positive in 5 years. To the point we now dedicate 15% of budget to missions that have nothing to to do with the Presbytery or PCUSA.
White liberals in essence do things to make them feel good, and more or less self- reinforce their own sense of moral superiority and entitlement to others. In all other aspects they are practically and theologically worthless.
I looked at this article because I know someone involved, but then came across this comment. All well and good, but from the congregational info for gregory’s church posted on the PCUSA website, it appears that since 2007 in fact membership, attendance, contributions, and contributions per member have decreased substantially. Income does have a boost from investments – presumably from sale of property or endowments from an earlier generation. Is that what you think liberals fail to do…not inheriting from the right resources?
Your comment, Pres, is a dishonest slight-of-hand. Peter Gregory asserted in his comment that his church had done four things: Stopped per capita payments, retired its debt, become cash-flow positive, and increased giving for mission work to 15% of budget. You have not disproved or even challenged a single one of his assertions, but have chosen to attack him on three totally unrelated matters — his church’s membership, attendance and offerings. I do not know anything about that church, but think it entirely possible that Mr. Gregory is being as successful as any minister could hope to be in that church’s particular situation. I do not know about that. But I do know that your attack on him was dishonest and inappropriate.
First rule of dealing with trolls, is never feed them. Though its pathological obsession with me personally is something I have to deal with.
As we stopped providing numerical data to the denomination years ago I have no idea the numbers referenced. To complete the story it seems to have. In 2014 we stated our 200th anniversary campaign to raise 50K for missions and mission support. To date we have raised over 35K which we have pledged to support programs in Haiti, Liberia, and Habitat. We have taken the per capita withheld and reprogrammed that as well in support of Israel, IDF support in their struggle against Islamic terror. What I am most proud of is our support and seed funding for an evangelical church plant in the local area. I like to think of that as justice, and doing the good work of the church.
This article is frustrating in that it leaves out some pertinent information. What does it mean when it says “Because of his advocacy… he was forced out of his position at Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church by white members of the presbytery.” That’s a pretty broad and simplistic statement. Perhaps it’s entirely accurate, perhaps not. What was he charged with? What theological issues were there, if any? How was he forced out? This article doesn’t “expose” the ecclesiastical “lynching.” It simply asserts it. I’d really like to know.
So in essence you are not a Presbyterian at all, but some kind of ad hoc congregationalist. We have a connectional system. But you are no longer connectional. If you want to leave the denomination go ahead, but leave the congregation behind.
But what if the congregation wants to go with him?
First of all, it appears that Mr. Gregory does not understand the meaning of the word “troll.” Although given the nature and purpose of this webpage – whose purpose is to stir up trouble in churches as a sort of “meta-troll,” maybe even a real troll would be understandable.
For DB: While it is difficult to discern an actual point to Mr. Gregory’s post, he seems to suggest that his treatment by presbytery (“liberals” in his view) was inappropriate, and that only the virtuous self-sufficient like himself (he speaks of things “I” did) can solve problems. To repeat – clearing out a debt by liquidating some assets – nothing wrong with that. My post merely provided some context for his criticism of the presbytery by citing some facts that are publicly available record. The clerk of session provides this data, and it is easy to tell when no submission has been made. Not the case here. It appears that presbytery’s response was also about right, since it seems clear that the congregation had assets available to clear the debt. And in any case, the article cites an action by synod, not the presbytery.
Paul Robeson and William Robeson are well known historical figures and the events cited are well documented, especially in the many works on the life of Paul Robeson. Look it up.
But James, what if the congregation wants to leave the denomination with him if and when he goes?
In this line of posts and on other “Layman” topics, apologists and enablers of the PCUSA will throw around terms, “connectional”. “congregationalists” without much reference of context.
In the general de-evolution of the PCUSA into a post-Christian entity, connectionalism is code for the lowest common denominators, per capita, and property in trust. Or what’s mine is mine, and your’s is mine. I do not think so. If we take connectionalism to the extent the liberals would have it. We collectively are connected to say, the Covenant Network, which by all external evidence is nothing more than a PCUSA supported sex cult for its clergy. Or the IPMN, which has made antisemitism socially acceptable in the PCUSA. I do not think you would fund such groups, aims, or intent in the Book of Order. Nor is there any implied conventional law, ecclesiastical or civil to support or enable such processes.
Congregationalist is used a club against any would dare to resist the group-think and lap-dog support of the ossified, corrupt, comatose denominational matrix. Again, it is a Constitution, not a suicide pack by which we all share some implied obligation to jump into the abyss, all because some desire too. If any do wish to take the great leap into nothingess, that first step is the real killer.
I don’t understand what the actions of people who died a long time ago require their great-great grandchildren to pay large sums of money to the great-great grandchildren of those who may have been injured and make money hungry lawyers rich.
If we really want to do something useful, why not do what the English did to Cromwell. They dug up the bodies of John Bradshaw the court president; Oliver Cromwell; Henry Ireton; and Thomas Pride and the three were hanged for a day at Tyburn and then beheaded. The three bodies were then thrown into a pit close to the gallows, while the heads were placed, with Bradshaw’s in the middle, at the end of Westminster Hall (the symbolism was lost on no one as that was the building where the trial of King Charles I had taken place). Oliver Cromwell’s head was finally buried in 1960. The body of Pride was not ‘punished’, perhaps because it had decayed too much.
Why don’t we do this to get JUSTICE where it is needed? Oh, I know – there is no MONEY in it.
OK Pres, I looked it up, as you suggested. And I hate to tell you this, but the events surrounding the departure of William D. Robeson from the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church are not, as you said, well documented. Far from it.
All of the references that I could find to these events are brief comments (a paragraph or two at most) included in biographies written about Paul Robeson, including one that was written by his son, Paul Robeson, Jr.
Without exception among these sources, the events in question are only vaguely and imprecisely recounted, offer little more than guesses about the forces at work (e.g. the role of Woodrow Wilson in this), and are almost totally lacking in any kind of historical or analytical detail.
In other words, when you said “look it up,” you were just blowing smoke. These “well documented” events are anything but.
It is a Constitution with a proscribed Form of Government – if you cannot live by its form then you should respectfully disengage – to do otherwise it disingenuous my friend.
Peter Gregory – you have no clothes my friend – you should disengage and if congregational members want to move to your new ministry with you, more power to them. Your current position is a conflict of interest and a poor witness to the gospel.
LOREN – if members want to go with him, they can go! However in our form of government only a Presbytery can dismiss a congregation – so that is up to the Presbytery my friend.