From, The Layman, Volume 41, Number 2
People leaving is biggest struggle facing PCUSA
Posted Monday, Apr 14, 2008
Article updated May 2, 2011
Perhaps the biggest struggle facing the Presbyterian Church (USA) today is “people not wanting to stay in it,” one of the newest members of the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee says.
“I may have a simplified view of it,” said Leslee Washer, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel living in Whitefish, Mont. Referring to liberal interpretations in such areas as Christology, Biblical inerrancy and constitutional faithfulness that have been splintering the denomination, she said, “The Bible is a timeless tool for us to use, so I guess I don’t see trying to interpret it to fit our ways. There is one way – the Bible and Jesus Christ.
“That’s what I’ve been taught,” the U.S. Air Force Academy graduate said, “what the Bible says and what I believe.”
A member of First Presbyterian Church in Whitefish, Washer is involved in church activities as a member of the Bible study group, praise team, choir and bell choir, as well as serving as the church’s treasurer and financial chair.
“My family was very involved in the church,” she said, “and our life as I was growing up revolved around that.”
In addition to her family, she said another influence on the growth of her faith was her Sunday school teacher. “Even though we didn’t have a very big class,” she said, the teacher “was there every Sunday – especially through the middle school and high school years.” That involvement, Washer said, had a major impact on the development of her faith.
“I believe God is actively working in our daily lives, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and that the Holy Spirit is alive and well within my heart,” she said.
“I believe in the Apostles’ Creed,” Washer said. “I believe Scripture is the written Word of God. And I believe that every person – no matter how they have lived their life – is worthy of forgiveness and can be saved.”
Washer is the daughter of Dr. John and Jane Forsberg. Her father is a longtime member of the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, first being elected as a board member in 1974.
“Over the years,” she said of her father, “he has watched me grow in the church and my beliefs mature. I look forward to the opportunity to continue his legacy on the Presbyterian Lay Committee.”
As a member of the military, Washer and her family moved many times during her career, which made attending a Presbyterian church difficult at times. “My family and I have served as members of many church families – Presbyterian, non-denominational and Methodist – as we moved with the Air Force,” she said.
When she was at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Washer said she “went to chapel there. They had Protestant, Catholic and Jewish services, so I attended the Protestant service.”
After graduation from the academy, where she earned a bachelor of science degree, Washer then received a master’s degree from the University of Dayton. While stationed in Dayton, Ohio, she and her family attended Fairmont Presbyterian Church. Then she was transferred to Colorado Springs again, where they attended Sunrise United Methodist Church.
“In the military,” she said, “you traveled a lot, so you were not always able to be associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
After her retirement, she said her family moved to Whitefish and joined First Presbyterian Church. In the years since, Washer said, she has been getting back into being more involved in the church and community, where she serves as a substitute teacher at the high school and as a member of the school’s Booster Club.
She and her husband, Christopher, have two children: Rebecca, 23 and Jacob, 19.