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PJC to one Confessing Church:
"rescind" |
| The Permanent Judicial Commission of
Central Florida Presbytery has ordered the Session of First Presbyterian
Church of Sebastian to rescind their "Confessing Church"
statement
[2-28-02]
This action has been widely and passionately reported on PresbyWeb
and The Layman Online.
Presbyterian News
Service has more recently published a report. [3-8-02]
The latest report on the Layman's web site is
headlined, "Presbytery
court declares Confessing Churches illegal." That seems a bit
extreme, but clearly the presbytery PJC went quite far in ordering the
Session to rescind its statement, and to make that action known through
their newsletter. Further, the letter states that only the nine
ordination questions set forth in the Book of Order can be prerequisites
for ordination.
This is the text of a letter sent by the
Permanent Judicial Commission of the Central Florida Presbytery to the
Session of First Presbyterian Church in Sebastian, Florida.
February 20, 2002
Mindy Serafin, Clerk of Session
First Presbyterian Church of Sebastian
P.O. Box 781689
Sebastian, Fl. 32978-1689
RE: Norman F. Blessing vs Sebastian Session
Dear Session,
The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Central
Florida Presbytery voted unanimously to sustain the complaints of Norman
F. Blessing versus the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of
Sebastian (U.S.A.) as found in the Response of Norman F. Blessing,
Elder, to the Amended Answer of the Session of First Presbyterian Church
of Sebastian (U.S.A.) dated January 30, 2002, except for the order #3 on
page 17 not to exclude any duly elected member of session from session
meeting and from access to session minutes.
The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Central
Florida Presbytery orders the Session of the First Presbyterian Church
of Sebastian to rescind their confession of May 22, 2001, which is in
conflict with the Book of Order G-18.0201 and G-14.0207b.
Further, this order shall be published in the next
issue of their newsletter The Presbyterian Post. The statement that
ordination and/or installation as officers requires affirmative answers
to only the nine questions set forth in G-14.0207,
along with the questions, shall be printed in this same newsletter. A
copy of such issue shall be forwarded to the Moderator of the P.J.C.,
Dr. Dale L. Heaton, 1865 Friars Court, Titusville, FL 32796 within 30
days.
The Session of First Presbyterian Church of Sebastian
is enjoined from requiring any person to affirm said
"confession" as a prerequisite for their ordination and/or
installation as officers, and that no one will be required to affirm
said "confession" as a prerequisite to employment in any
ministry position. This requirement could result in discrimination
against non-ordained employees in ministry positions.
(was signed)
Dale L. Heaton, Moderator
Permanent Judicial Commission |
Norma Blunk Coon, Clerk
Permanent Judicial Commission |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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