Congregation votes 72-25 to leave PCUSA The Layman Online Tuesday, November 7, 2006 The congregation of Windsor Presbyterian Church in Des Moines, Iowa, voted 72-25 on Nov. 5 to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) and reorganize as a congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The session had previously requested that the Presbytery of Des Moines allow it to leave the denomination with its property. But the members of a presbytery administrative commission left little hope for that possibility. In an Oct. 22 letter to the presbytery, the seven commission members said they had identified 35 to 40 percent of the members who "may wish to remain within the Presbyterian Church (USA)." They proposed that the presbytery: 1. Declare a schism exists among the members at Windsor Presbyterian Church and empower the commission to determine the "true church" within the Presbyterian Church (USA) pursuant to Book of Order section G-8.061. 2. In the event resignations from the Windsor Presbyterian Church Session make it impossible for the Session to function, that the Commission be authorized to assume "original jurisdiction …" G-8.061, which is part of the chapter on property, says, "The relationship to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) of a particular church can be severed only by constitutional action on the part of the presbytery. (G-11.0103i) If there is a schism within the membership of a particular church and the presbytery is unable to effect a reconciliation or a division into separate churches within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the presbytery shall determine if one of the factions is entitled to the property because it is identified by the presbytery as the true church within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This determination does not depend upon which faction received the majority vote within the particular church at the time of the schism." A member of the Windsor church said the majority of the congregation is willing to leave the PCUSA without its property. Windsor was one of the first congregations in denomination to take steps toward leaving the PCUSA. The Windsor session met on June 25 – three days after the 2006 General Assembly adjourned – to respond to the commissioners' approval of an authoritative interpretation that allows presbyteries and sessions to decide that the constitutional "fidelity/chastity" clause does not prohibit ordaining practicing homosexuals and adulterers. On June 26, the session notified the presbytery of its action and sent a letter to members of the congregation that was signed by Terry Amann, the pastor, and elder Hal DeGood, acting clerk. "After a lengthy and careful discussion, we have concluded that our only option is to leave the PCUSA and become a non-denominational community church in Windsor Heights," they said. The letter said a congregational meeting would be held to vote on the session's proposal and that the presbytery would be alerted on June 27. After getting its notification, the presbytery appointed its administrative commission and scheduled a called meeting of the presbytery on August 19. Amann and DeGood acknowledged that the presbytery "has authority over the local church, so we will be allowing them to do their work, decently and in order. It is our desire to leave the denomination quietly, with forgiveness in our hearts, and with our church property." Windsor Presbyterian had 524 members in 1995, but a church split thinned the ranks to a low of 170 by 2003 – two years before Amann became the pastor. It has been growing slowly since under Amann's evangelical leadership.

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