 Presbyteries should validate work of retired pastors, Advisory Opinion says The Layman Online Friday, January 19, 2007 If honorably retired ministers continue to work in some form of ministry, presbyteries have the obligation to review that work and determine whether to validate it, according to Advisory Opinion 20 issued by General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick. The Presbytery of Western North Carolina had requested that Kirkpatrick's office provide counsel on whether it is necessary to validate the ministry of honorably retired ministers. That presbytery previously took action to invalidate the ministry of Rev. Parker T. Williamson on Jan. 31, 2004, but the action was set aside by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission on April 4, 2005, when it upheld a September 2004 ruling by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic that found the presbytery had denied Williamson fundamental fairness and due process. Later in 2005, Williamson honorably retired from active ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and also retired as CEO of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and editor-in-chief of its publications. Williamson currently serves as a consultant to the Presbyterian Lay Committee and is editor emeritus of its publications. Williamson's attorneys, who challenged the Presbytery of Western North Carolina before both the synod and general assembly permanent judicial commissions, questioned the constitutional validity of Kirkpatrick's Opinion. "Advisory Opinion 20 conflicts with the constitutional descriptions of a presbytery's relationship to honorably retired ministers. All of the relevant constitutional references state that honorably retired ministers are in a separate and distinct category from those whose ministries must be validated," Robert Howard and Peggy Hedden said, adding: "Significantly, the constitution does not authorize a presbytery to revoke honorably retired status merely because it declines to validate a retired minister's employment." A minister cannot confer honorable retirement upon himself. That status must be approved by the minister's presbytery – just as the Presbytery of Western North Carolina approved Williamson's honorable retirement. There are approximately 7,000 retired ministers in the PCUSA, and 135 reside in the Presbytery of Western North Carolina, according to denominational statistics. If Advisory Opinion 20 is followed, fundamental fairness presumably would require that every retired minister respond to the same presbytery questionnaire regarding employment or ministry activities during retirement. In his advisory opinion, Kirkpatrick quotes non-constitutional sources as a substantial part of the rationale for his opinion that presbyteries must validate retired ministries who engage in some kind of ministry. The opinion paraphrases a portion of the Standards of Ethical Conduct [II.15, page 37], approved by the 1998 General Assembly, but optional for adoption by presbyteries. In context, the reference cited appears clearly intended to apply to ministers who retired from pulpit ministries to prevent them from undermining the ministry of their successors. The opinion also cites a report on the "Status of Retired Pastors" to the 1948 General Assembly of the former Presbyterian Church (USA), which states: "… the retirement of a minister does not affect in any way [the minister's] status as a minister or deprive [the minister] of any of the functions of [the] office. [The minister] has still the right to preach, to administer the sacraments, to represent the presbytery as a Commissioner in the higher judicatories of the Church, and to exercise other functions of the ministry, to the same extent as in [the minister's] active ministry. … [The minister] is still responsible to the presbytery under whose jurisdiction he [or she] happens to be." The Advisory Opinion states that a presbytery's "… jurisdiction includes the responsibility to consider validation of particular ministries. This is a foundational power/responsibility of a presbytery." It concludes that: "Retired ministers are not required to undertake ministry, but if they choose to do so, that ministry must be validated by the presbytery of membership." The Advisory Opinion suggests that a presbytery's "Committee on Ministry may want to consider adding a paragraph to its Validated Ministry policy (as required under G-11.0403) that refers specifically to the validation of the ministry of honorably retired pastors. Each presbytery will determine for itself just where the line is for such ministry – for example, between volunteering for a week working on a Habitat for Humanity house and being the paid director of Habitat for Humanity in the community, or between serving Meals on Wheels each week and serving as the volunteer manager of the local Meals on Wheels program." But the opinion does not address what, if any, consequences would follow if an honorably retired minister's retirement work is not validated. If a non-retired active member involuntarily is no longer engaged in a ministry that is validated, the minister becomes a member at large, whose status is reviewed each year. If a non-retired active member is voluntarily engaged in a ministry that is not validated, the minister becomes an inactive member of presbytery, without voice or vote at meetings, whose status is reviewed each year. If the minister has not been restored to active membership within three years, the minister is deleted from the rolls of the presbytery. The Book of Order does not make provision for removing an honorably retired minister designation other than removal from office that might be ordered through a disciplinary action (D-12.0104 and 12.0105). Retired ministers are not immune to discipline. But a disciplinary action, which can result in loss of ordained status, requires fundamental fairness and assures the accused of due process, including the right to confront accusers publicly. An administrative process to invalidate a minister simply requires a privately conducted review of the minister and a vote by the presbytery. Advisory Opinion 20 does not cite or discuss any of the specific Book of Order provisions defining the relationship of an honorably retired minister to the presbytery, including:
|
|
Respond to this article |
|
| Home
· Archives
· The
Layman ·
PLC
Publications Presbyterian Lay Committee · Feedback · Links |
|