What You Need to Know About Leaving the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) – ‘Rulebook’
Hello, we’re the litigious law firm of Song Dong Ho. June 26, 2015 was a historic day in American history. It was the day that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, making it legal throughout the U.S. This seemed to bring closure to the issue of same-sex marriage, which had been heating up the legal community and various segments of society since the early 2000s.
But there’s one group of people for whom same-sex marriage is still a hot potato. In the religious world, the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S., has been plagued more than any other by congregations looking to leave the denomination. The PCUSA allowed gay clergy to be ordained in 2011, and then in 2015 allowed same-sex marriage by changing the definition of marriage to “a union between two people” rather than “a union between a man and a woman.” Churches opposed to same-sex marriage within the denomination have tried to voice their opposition through various means, but when that didn’t work, they began to leave the denomination. However, leaving the denomination is not as simple as it sounds, and there is a lot of back-and-forth between churches and denominations that want to leave. Because most churches have never left a denomination before, and the denomination has never had so many churches wanting to leave, there are conflicting opinions about the exact process. Just as you would look at a map if you were lost, or a compass if you were disoriented, so too is the PCUSA’s “Book of Order” an essential resource for leaving the PCUSA.
The Book of Order is the foundational document of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), detailing the church’s ideology and worship practices, as well as its disciplinary laws. It also details the political structure of the PCUSA, which dictates how a congregation wishing to leave the denomination should work with others to accomplish the process. Let’s start with the political structure of the PCUSA as outlined in the Book of Order.
The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) is organized into a hierarchical polity of different councils, which are divided into sessions, presbyteries, synods, and the General Assembly. The first is the Session, which is the most basic council and the council for each local church. In other words, a session exists in every local church. A council of at least 10 such sessions within a given geographic area is called a presbytery. The General Assembly is the next most comprehensive council, consisting of at least three presbyteries, and the General Assembly is the highest council above the General Assembly and the entire PCUSA.
So if a congregation’s session decides to leave the PCUSA, which council and process does it go through? The answer is the presbytery, because the Book of Order gives presbyteries the power to organize, receive, merge, dissolve, and dissolve congregations. (G-3.0301) In addition, presbyteries have the responsibility and authority to coordinate the transfer, division, dissolution, or winding up of congregations. (G-3.0303) On the surface, presbyteries seem to have unlimited power, but one prerequisite must be met before they can exercise this power. It must be in consultation with the members of the congregation. In other words, a presbytery cannot unilaterally dissolve or dismiss a congregation, but must first consult with the members of that congregation.
As you can see, a congregation wishing to disaffiliate from the PCUSA must consult with its presbytery to coordinate the disaffiliation process. However, this process is not always smooth sailing. In the next installment of this series, we will explore one of the most sensitive and contentious issues in the disaffiliation process: church property rights.
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