Williamson's validation backed by group that he disagrees with By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, January 15, 2004 Most of the letters supporting the continued validation of Parker T. Williamson's ministry with the Presbyterian Lay Committee have come from Presbyterians who agree with his support of orthodox Reformed theology – but not all. One exception is a letter dated Jan. 14 that was sent to the Presbytery of Western North Carolina by the Baltimore branch of That All May Freely Serve, one of a cluster of Presbyterian groups that seek to overturn the "fidelity/chastity" ordination standard in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in some cases promote defiance of that requirement. That All May Freely Serve faxed The Layman Online a copy of its letter that went to William "Bill" Taber III, the executive officer and stated clerk of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. Signed by Robert Jackson, the moderator of That All May Freely Serve in Baltimore, the letter called on the presbytery to validate Williamson's ministry "because we believe that the present disagreements in the Presbyterian Church (USA) must be resolved in the arena of ideas and not in the direct conflicts and attacks on individuals." The rationale for the That All May Freely Serve letter was different from what Williamson and the leaders of the Lay Committee have said in defense of his continued validation as the chief executive officer of the Lay Committee and editor in chief of its publications. That All May Freely Serve argued that the church should not exclude officers who hold different views and that the presbytery should validate their ministries even if those views conflict with the constitution. "We strongly believe that the PCUSA is a church in which all should be able to freely serve; and we believe that right needs to include Rev. Williamson, even though he might advocate excluding others from ministry because of their theological beliefs or sexual orientation," Jackson wrote. "We speak from direct experience," Jackson said. "The Rev. Donald E. Stroud's ministry with That All May Freely Serve: Baltimore is validated by the Presbytery of Baltimore. His validation was virtually unanimously approved, even though the position he advocates is strongly opposed by some in the Presbytery. Both those who agree and disagree with the positions Rev. Stroud advocates were able to agree that the disagreements should not fall on his back as an individual. The Presbytery of Baltimore is a diverse presbytery, with a range of views on the issue of called service by those who are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgender. However different some of those views are from those of That All May Freely Serve: Baltimore, the Presbytery recognized that the validation of Rev. Stroud's ministry was not the mechanism by which to work out those differences." Stroud has publicly stated that he is a homosexual and that he will not abide by the constitution's "fidelity/chastity" requirement. The Presbytery of Baltimore voted to reject a disciplinary complaint that sought to bring Stroud to trial for allegedly renouncing the jurisdiction of the PCUSA by openly defying the constitution. The Presbyterian Lay Committee and Williamson have repeatedly urged the denomination's leaders to enforce the constitution in all respects. "While I should be grateful for any supporting vote," Williamson said, "I must say That All May Freely Serve's stated rationale is perplexing. If I understand their position, it reflects, almost verbatim, statements made by the Covenant Network's Barbara Wheeler and Moderator Susan Andrews. The support for validating my ministry – arguing that individuals should not be responsible for their actions – expresses the very pluralism that I oppose." He said he believes there is an acceptable spectrum for disagreement among Christians, "but there are also boundaries established by Scripture, and, as confessional Christians, we have committed ourselves to live within them." Williamson has not been accused of violating the constitution. The Committee on Ministry said its vote against validating his ministry was based on the "character and conduct" of the Presbyterian Lay Committee – without specific reference to what that meant. However, some members of the committee have objected to the Lay Committee's Declaration of Conscience, which called on Presbyterians to "prayerfully consider" redirecting their gifts away from the denomination or designating them only for denominational ministries that are grounded in Scripture and focused on Christ. Williamson and the members of the Presbyterian Lay Committee board argue that the Declaration of Conscience does not violate the constitution. Despite court rulings to the contrary, in a January 2002 letter to presbyteries and synods, Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick said church officers who advocate nonpayment of per-capita requests could be found in violation of their ordination vows. "Such actions are unconstitutional, and I urge that they stop. It is a violation of our ordination vows to promote schism or the defiance of constitutionally sanctioned governing body directives," Kirkpatrick said. Since that letter, and with the denomination facing increasing financial problems, several presbytery executives have attempted to punish sessions that do not pay their annual per-capita apportionments. But church courts have repeatedly declared that the payment of per capita, while being a "high moral obligation," is voluntary and that sessions can neither be compelled to make those payments nor punished for failure to do so. That principle was most recently affirmed in July 2003 by the decision of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission in Minihan v. the Presbytery of Scioto Valley. Also in his January 2002 letter, Kirkpatrick made reference to officers who were defying the constitution's "fidelity/chastity" ordination standard. "No session or presbytery has the right to ordain anyone who is unwilling to live by the 'fidelity and chastity' standard, and I encourage you to faithfully uphold this provision in your governing body," he said in language that was far less threatening. Futhermore, he added, "I am well aware that there is considerable debate about the wisdom of this provision in our Constitution." In July 2003, Kirkpatrick issued a new statement on per capita – Advisory Opinions: Note 9 – in which he did not repeat his threat of disciplinary action that could lead to defrocking ministers who advocate nonpayment. As stated clerk of the PCUSA, Kirkpatrick is the denomination's chief constitutional officer. He is required to "preserve and defend" the denomination's constitution. Kirkpatrick's office has had a connection to the Presbytery of Western North Carolina's consideration of Williamson's validation. According to Taber, Mark Tammen, who is Kirkpatrick's director of constitutional services, served as an adviser to the presbytery's Committee on Validation Ministries. That committee was the first in the presbytery to recommend that the presbytery not validate Williamson's ministry with the Presbyterian Lay Committee. In the That All May Freely Serve letter, Jackson asked that his organization's support of Williamson's validation "be communicated to the Presbytery of Western North Carolina by whatever means is appropriate in your presbytery." Whether that will happen is unknown. On Wednesday, the presbytery's Coordinating Council voted not to include in the presbytery's meeting packet a letter of support for Williamson from Presbyterians For Renewal, an evangelical group that made a similar request. The council did grant corresponding member status to Mrs. Peggy Hedden of Columbus, Ohio, the chairman of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, and Robert L. Howard, the immediate past chairman of the Lay Committee. But the council's recommendation to give Hedden and Howard voice at the presbytery was intended to ensure that the Lay Committee, as it requested, was given equal opportunity and time on the agenda to contest the recommendations of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry.

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