 Confessing Church accused of 'contumacy' for not recanting its confession By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, February 21, 2002 ORLANDO, Fla. – Prosecutors in a church court trial have accused the session of a Florida congregation of "contumacy" because it has not recanted a Confessing Church resolution that, they say, is unconstitutional and divisive and violates its members' and officers' freedom of conscience.
Appeal is expected The presbytery court met in executive session after the trial, but had not publicly reported its decision as of Feb. 21. Court observers said that, regardless of the court's ruling, the case is likely to be appealed first to a synod court and finally to the highest court in the denomination – the Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly. After a previous hearing, the court sent the Sebastian session a letter "requesting" – the exact word used in the commission's letter – that it recant key provisions of its Confessing Church resolution, which is identical or similar to resolutions adopted by 1,219 congregations in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The Sebastian session, contending that its resolution is firmly rooted in Scripture and The Book of Confessions, did not comply with the request. Contumacy charge Alan Pickering, a Florida minister who was a member of the prosecuting team, interpreted the court's request as a mandate. "On 27 October, this court issued a finding and order to the Presbyterian Church of Sebastian," Pickering said. "That finding and order has not been complied with. The term for that is contumacy. I urge you to recognize the contumacy that exists in this lack of action by the Sebastian session." One of the central issues in the case is whether the Sebastian session had the authority to adopt a Confessing Church resolution. Norman F. Blessing, a Sebastian elder who brought the action against the session, contended in his complaint and on the witness stand that the session had no such authority. "Normally, elders don't get into issues of this magnitude," Blessing testified. He said the essential work of sessions was church finances and scheduling events and that elders don't have "the authority to deal with spiritual issues." Ruling could affect all The trial precedes by only four days the National Confessing Church Celebration on Feb. 24-26. During their meeting in Atlanta, hundreds of ministers and elders will proclaim their Biblical and Reformed unity in their assertions that Jesus Christ alone is Savior and Lord, that Scripture is the church's highest authority and that God's standards of holiness should not be compromised by changes in culture.
Warning against schism Christy Wilson III, an Orlando attorney who represented the Sebastian session, took note of that possibility in his final argument, warning that a ruling against Sebastian could cause a schism in the PCUSA. Noting that the Confessing Church Movement is comprised of 10.8 percent of the congregations in the PCUSA, nearly 16 percent of the members and represents nearly 25 percent of the denomination's contributions, Wilson said: "In handling this matter, the Permanent Judicial Commission [of the Presbytery of Central Florida] must exercise care that it does not deliberately undermine a spiritual stronghold in the denomination. Untoward actions by this commission could drive a vibrant, enthusiastic and financially committed community from the Church. This would be a grievous mistake." "For spiritually serious Christians who are looking for a spiritual 'safe harbor,' the Confessing Church Movement is one of the few viable choices," said Wilson, an eighth-generation Presbyterian who is an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Orlando, also a Confessing Church. |
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