 Presbytery to investigate church undergoing renewal By John H. Adams The Layman Online Monday, June 19, 2000
The vote, taken in secret during an executive session on June 17, was 80-39 to appoint an administrative commission to investigate the church and its pastor, Michael Girolomon. First Presbyterian in Miami (Miami First) is the mother church of Presbyterians in the region, founded in 1896, three months before the city of Miami was chartered. The session is considering how it will respond to the presbytery's decision. It may appeal to the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the South Atlantic to seek a stay of enforcement and begin judicial action against the presbytery. Over a period of 13 months, the presbytery's Committee on Ministry had made accusations based on private conversations with a handful of long-time members at the church. The thrust of the allegations was that Girolomon had not demonstrated compassion for long-time church members because he introduced contemporary worship – even though a traditional service was held each Sunday as well. 60 friends show support About 60 people who have recently joined or begun attending Miami First regularly took a one and one-half hour bus trip from Miami to West Palm Beach to show their support for Girolomon and the congregation's renewal after decades of decline. The 60 represent today's Miami – black, white, Cuban, Central American, South American, mostly young. Many are novices as Christians and as Presbyterians. None of Girolomon's antagonists from the membership of Miami First was on hand for the presbytery meeting. In fact, until Sunday, the day after the presbytery meeting, Girolomon's critics at Miami First stopped attending worship services since a few attended church several weeks ago. Then, some stood and protested loudly during a service to ordain and install officers. Three of Girolomon's critics returned to the service Sunday. Two took notes and one appeared to be sleeping. After the decision by the presbytery, Girolomon's supporters gathered around him and members of the session under the limited shade of palm trees in the courtyard of First Presbyterian Church in West Palm Beach. Girolomon was tearful – and so were many of his supporters. Leaders upset by vote He and members of the session, who say they support Girolomon 100 percent, were clearly upset by the vote. So was Claire Cubbin-Will, a Presbyterian elder and attorney who has represented Girolomon and the session. "The session and I have been severely misrepresented by the Committee on Ministry," Girolomon told the gathering of friends. "Facts were taken out of context. Our motives were impugned. The commissioners seemed confused about who to believe, so they went with the system, supporting the Committee on Ministry. "They said we were evasive, deliberately trying to avoid contact with them, all without evidence. I think if it had been an open meeting, there could have been a different outcome." The Committee on Ministry had issued a number of directives to Girolomon and the session. The one that was most hotly contested was an order that Girolomon go to a secular psychiatrist of the committee's choosing, undergo evaluation and agree to release the psychiatrist from confidentiality laws so the committee could get a psychiatric report. Violation of rights feared Girolomon, the session and Ms. Cubbin-Will all agreed that submitting to that request was a violation of Girolomon's civil rights and could have a damaging effect on Girolomon's career as a pastor. They proposed instead that Girolomon be evaluated by a Christian psychologist who is certified by the courts in Florida to do behavioral testing. At one point, some members of the committee on the ministry found that to be an acceptable alternative, so Girolomon went to the psychologist. He released the psychologist's report – which raised no red flags about his behavior or ministry – to the Committee on Ministry, but that did not satisfy all members of the committee. One of the leaders in pressing the case against Girolomon has been the Rev. Ken Harper, pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in Miami. Harper is the presbytery's liaison for the Committee on Ministry. He was involved in the initial private meetings with discontented members of the congregation. Accusations not disclosed In the past, Harper has declined to disclose the nature of the accusations against Girolomon. He also has rebuffed many requests by the session and Girolomon to have a hearing before the entire congregation so that the session can receive accusations face-to-face and respond in an open forum. The session and Girolomon have said they attempted several times to become reconciled with dissenting members. After the presbytery vote, Harper was one of three presbytery representatives who joined Girolomon and his circle of friends. He told the group, "The greatest tragedy is that this has divided me from my brother Michael," and then moved forward to extend the "hand of fellowship." Girolomon accepted the handshake, and Harper moved away from the group. A few moments later, The Layman Online interviewed Harper. He said he could make no comment about what had happened during the executive session. He was asked whether a section of the resolution to appoint the administrative commission – "to determine whether or not the pastoral relationship should be dissolved" – meant that he would be not be satisfied until Girolomon is ousted from the pastorate. "No comment," said the pastor who moments before had extended the "hand of fellowship." Growth model opposed Harper was interviewed by The Presbyterian Layman for an article that appeared in the March/April issue. During that interview, he complained about Girolomon's model for church growth, which emphasizes evangelism and conversion. Girolomon and the session adopted that model after membership in Miami First, once more than 1,000, dwindled to fewer than 100. Worship attendance had fallen below 60. Under Girolomon's leadership, it has more than doubled in the last year even while the leadership was under pressure from older members and the presbytery. An administrative commission has sweeping powers. The resolution approved by the presbytery spells out some of those powers:
Value of property an issue Some issues have hovered in the wings of this confrontation: the value of the church's property if it were sold to benefit the presbytery; the session's opposition to the nomination of one of Miami First's dissenting members to become moderator of the presbytery; and the explosion of multicultural membership in what was long a primarily white, upper class congregation. Presbytery leaders and the Committee on Ministry members deny that property value has anything to do with what is happening today. But before Girolomon, the congregation tried for years to sell the property, which is in the heart of Miami's financial district. Recently, property adjacent to Miami First went on the market for $30 million. A former presbytery executive predicted shortly after Girolomon became pastor of the church in 1997 that he would be the congregation's last minister – implying that the church would close and the property would be sold. Presbyterian membership in South Florida is also declining rapidly – a loss of more than 2,000 members in the last two years (down to 18,000). A $30-million property sale could keep the presbytery operating in perpetuity even if all Presbyterians vanish from the region. On the matter of the member nominated for moderator of the presbytery, the session sent a letter to presbytery opposing the nomination. That killed the selection. Members of the session thought it was self-defeating to support a moderator who strongly opposed the ministry that the session had approved. Midweek evangelism Miami First aggressively promotes its ministry, including the use of banners, and especially a Wednesday service at noon for downtown employees. That service has been a channel for attracting men and women to the church. Many of those who first came to Miami First through the evangelistic services on Wednesdays were standing beside Girolomon and members of the session Saturday when he announced the presbytery's decision. Dan Hillis, a stock broker, was in that throng. He described himself as a lapsed Lutheran and said his wife is Catholic. Now that they have a child, he said, she wanted the family to become involved in a church. He attended one of Girolomon's Wednesday services. That convinced him, he said, that Girolomon was offering something more than institutional religion. "If they run Michael away and close this church, I'll never enter another church," Hillis said. |
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