[2-13-04]

Meeting on Tuesday, February 10, the Presbytery of Cincinnati overwhelmingly defeated a motion proposed by the Administrative Commission on Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, that would have created a "provisional status" for congregations such as Mt. Auburn, that make conscientious objection to particular provisions of the Book of Order. Two other recommendations of the Administrative Commission were approved, to promote exchanges and dialogue among congregations in the presbytery, and to declare a moratorium on "legal or procedural challenges to one another in issues related to inclusiveness, with reference to the Book of Order Section G-6.0106b."

Meghan Kaskoun, Co-Chair of More Light Presbyterians at Mt. Auburn provides more details.

Friends,

As follow up to an earlier reporting of recent events in our Presbytery, here is the latest news:

In a called meeting on Tuesday February 10, 2004, the Presbytery of Cincinnati overwhelmingly defeated a motion of the following proposed overture. The full text of this Proposed Overture can be found at http://www.presbyteryofcincinnati.org/ResourceCenter/documents.htm  [Scroll down a bit, and click on "AC 02-01 report" for the document in PDF format]

Administrative Commission 0201

PROPOSED OVERTURE TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

On Adding a New Section G-11.0600 to Create Provisional Status for Congregations

Also discussed and acted upon were the following items contained in a report regarding Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, presented by Administrative Commission. The full report can be viewed at http://www.presbyteryofcincinnati.org/ResourceCenter/documents.htm    [Scroll down a bit, and click on "AC 02-01 report" for the document in PDF format]

Recommendations

The following are the recommendations from Commission 02-01 to the Presbytery of Cincinnati:

1. In the spirit of an overture directed to the General Assembly, create in this Presbytery a provisional status in which to place the Mt Auburn Presbyterian Church (MAPC) as an intentional, consistent, and conscientious objector to certain responsibilities in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) as they are currently understood by the church at large. Such action is to be taken as a consequence of MAPC''s continuing policy and practice contrary to the wider church understanding of the Book of Order and the presbytery''s inability to remedy the situation by other methods of resolution.

The Presbytery would hold a hearing to advise MAPC of the stipulations describing provisional status as well as to explain the reasons for the recommendation to such status. In turn, the members of the congregation will be invited to voice their objections, questions and concerns.

The Presbytery will decide by a vote of two-thirds of those present, to place the congregation in "Provisional Status" for a period of no longer than two years. At the end of those two years, the presbytery may reconsider the congregation's provisional status, vote by two thirds of those present to extend the time of the provisional status, or to suspend the status.

As a congregation placed in "Provisional Status," MAPC would lose voting privileges, but would continue to have voice in presbytery matters. Elders and members of the congregation would not hold office as committee chairs, moderator, vice moderator, or treasurer of the Presbytery. "Provisional Status" would require annual review and oversight by COM or an administrative commission for possible return to regular status. Recommendation to restore the congregation to regular status may follow a decision to comply or a change in the constitution. It would be supported by a vote of two-thirds of those commissioners present at a regularly scheduled Presbytery meeting.

2. Because this "provisional" status does not currently exist in the Book of Order, submit an Overture to the General Assembly as a denomination-wide administrative response to all such instances of non-compliance/delinquency. (See attached document.)

3. Establish and facilitate a Presbytery-wide "Year of Exchange" during which delegations from congregations within our Presbytery would visit one another, share their varying points of view, arrange pulpit exchanges, and form collaborative prayer groups and mission projects. [suggested by both Mt. Auburn's Session and an elder from College Hill at the Hearing held at Kennedy Heights PC, September 23, 2003]

4. Establish a three-year moratorium whereby member churches of the Presbytery voluntarily comply to refrain from legal or procedural challenges to one another in issues related to inclusiveness, with reference to the Book of Order Section G-6.0106b.

Recommendation 3 and 4 passed, recommendation 2 was defeated with the defeat of the Overture and recommendation 1 was eventually retracted by the AC towards the end of the meeting. It should be noted that Mt. Auburn and Madeira-Silverwood representatives stood together in the defeat of this proposed overture, as well as in the passage of recommendations 3 and 4.

Members of Mt. Auburn were in attendance, and were thrilled with the outcome of the evening. We thank you for your prayers and support during this interesting time. We reiterate that we remain an inclusive church, and that any change to our policy of ordination was made to make this policy more constitutional without sacrificing our core values of inclusion for all persons. Our ordination policy can be viewed at our website, http://www.mtauburnpresby.org/who_we_are.html

We will continue to work towards justice and equality for all God's children, regardless of sexuality.

Peace,

Meghan Kaskoun

[1-16-04]

Meghan Kaskoun, Co-Chair of More Light Presbyterians at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, has sent this more detailed report on the Presbytery's response to the Administrative Commission regarding Mt. Auburn.

For background click here.

On Saturday January 10th, the Presbytery of Cincinnati met at its stated meeting, which ran from 9am-3:40p. One of the last items on the docket, scheduled for 2:10p, was the Administrative Commission report regarding Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church and related Overture to the General Assembly regarding a "Provisional Status." Copies of these documents can be found at: http://www.presbyteryofcincinnati.org/ResourceCenter/documents.htm   [Scroll down almost to the bottom of the page.]

At 3:10p, the Administrative Commission was invited to the microphone to present the history of their charge, and they reiterated that the charge was not one of judgment but one of pastoral guidance for Mt. Auburn regarding the Book of Order. Members of the AC were introduced and two members of that commission shared their reservations about the report and overture while clearly stating they joined the unanimous vote of the AC supporting both documents.

After some discussion on the contents, Elder Patricia Brown, chair of the AC, moved the adoption of the overture. Beginning the debate on the floor, Rev. David Lowry (HR) representing the Ecclesiastical Affairs Committee reported their recommendation for unanimous disapproval of the overture by the Presbytery of Cincinnati. Their rationale is listed below:

"Rationale for Unanimous Disapproval:

1. Presbyterian government rests upon four judicatories, their individual rights and duties, and their mutual relationships. The judicatory responsible for the life and ministry of the congregation is the Session. The overture before us is fundamentally flawed. It treats the congregation itself as though it were a judicatory. The congregation is not a policy-making body; it can only respond to the leadership of the Session. The entire thrust of this overture is misdirected.

2. Presbyterian discipline provides all the powers and methods required to resolve issues of disagreement or interpretation. The overture before us is redundant and unnecessary. Administrative commissions and judicial process are designed to address difficult situations with pastoral concern. The aim of this overture is to create an alternative "middle way". However, its unintended and unfortunate effect would be to confuse the process of resolution."

The action of Ecclesiastical Affairs Committee is unusual in two respects. First because recommendations are typically not made, and second because the entire committee was unanimous in its recommendation. At the conclusion of their report, which coincided with the stated end of the meeting, a motion was made to postpone definitely. The meeting was postponed until Tuesday February 10, 2004 at 5:30pm at a place to be determined. The meeting officially adjourned at 4pm.

Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church had over twenty members plus a majority of session in attendance at this meeting. While it was a lesson in patience for those in attendance, we are hopeful. We are an inclusive and dedicated church within PC (USA), and we'll continue to share our struggles and victories with you. Until we can report further after February 10th, we send our thanks for your support and our love.