Synod court sets aside presbytery's invalidation of Williamson's ministry By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, September 30, 2004 The Presbytery of Western North Carolina failed to provide Parker T. Williamson with "adequate due process and fundamental fairness" in its process and decision not to validate his ministry, according to a 13-page opinion issued today by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic. "Because we have found denial of fundamental fairness in the process, we order Presbytery to set aside the action at its meeting 31 January 2004 invalidating complainant's ministry and changing complainant's status to member-at-large," the court said. The court also ordered that the "presbytery take no further action with regard to reviewing the status of the validation of complainant's ministry for one year from the date of this decision" and that the "complainant and respondent jointly formulate a plan to implement a Presbytery-wide process of reconciliation concerning this issue." The court added, "This period of time should be used to review and revise the process of review and determination of validated ministries to address the concerns of the SPJC…" The court sustained five of the Lay Committee's "specifications of irregularities" – all by votes of 10-0 with no abstentions. In the other rulings in favor of the complainant, the SPJC concluded that presbytery erred by: "failing to adequately specify the basis for its conclusions and recommendations." "considering and acting upon statements against complainant that were a) false and unsubstantiated and b) were made without sufficient advance notice to complainant …" "by considering statements and activities of the complainant and the PLC that … occurred after the December 9, 2003, decision by the Committee on Ministry but before the January 31, 2004, meeting of the presbytery." The 11 specifications of error that were not sustained generally applied to specific aspects of the proceedings but did not involve the basic issue of fundamental fairness.

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