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Church to keep property

Stow Presbyterian severs its ties to denomination

By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Thursday, May 15, 2008

The regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and representatives of the Stow Presbyterian Church have reached an agreement that allows the local congregation to keep the church property.

The pact comes after 18 months of discussions between the Stow church and the Eastminster Presbytery, according to the Rev. Dan Schomer, who leads the Mineral Ridge-based presbytery, which includes 55 churches in Summit, Portage, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

''The action to dissolve the congregation effectively severs the ties of the church to the denomination and permits it to continue its ministry as an independent congregation,'' Schomer said in a prepared statement.


As part of the deal, the presbytery agreed not to pursue legal action for property rights to the church facility based on the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that states the property is held in trust for the denomination.

The Stow Church promised to provide a gift of $40,000 in direct support of mission projects of the presbytery over five years.

The Rev. David Weyrick, pastor of Stow Presbyterian Church, said his congregation is pleased with the resolution.

''The important thing is that we have handled everything with integrity as fellow believers,'' Weyrick said. ''We don't have a problem with Eastminster Presbytery and I give them kudos for the mission work that it is doing. We are a mission-oriented church and we want to support mission efforts, like the food pantry at First Presbyterian Church [in Akron].''

The congregation at the Stow church voted in October 2006 to leave the denomination. That decision was based on what the Stow church says was the denomination's failure to uphold the lordship of Jesus Christ and the infallibility of Scripture.

Other points of discord are a decline in world missions and the acceptance of a policy paper on sex-inclusive language for the Holy Trinity.

The Stow church has been operating as an independent congregation and moved into its new $1.2 million, 350-seat sanctuary a few weeks ago.

While the property issue at the Stow church has been resolved, the congregation at Hudson Presbyterian Church is awaiting a court ruling.

In October, a magistrate in Summit County Common Pleas Court ruled that the Hudson Presbyterian Church property on Streetsboro Street belongs to the faction of the congregation that voted (166-61) to leave the denomination. That portion of the congregation has been worshipping at the facility since the Nov. 5, 2006, vote to break away.

Shortly after the vote, the presbytery named the minority wishing to stay with the denomination as the true Hudson Presbyterian Church and organized regular worship and fellowship services for that group.

The minority group ordained a new pastor last month and is worshipping at the historic Church on the Green in Hudson.

The attorney for the presbytery has filed an objection to the magistrate's ruling, saying it contradicts the denomination's constitution. The presbytery contends that the property belongs to the minority group that voted to continue as a PCUSA congregation.

''There are numerous differences between the two disputes,'' Schomer said. The most obvious is that the Stow Church has no loyal faction, while the Hudson Church has a strong core group loyal to the denomination that has formed a vibrant congregation under new pastoral leadership.''

Despite awaiting a decision by the court, the congregation at the church property has affiliated with the New Wineskins Association of Churches.

The New Wineskins is an organization within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a conservative denomination that has voted to accept congregations that are leaving the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. About 50 Presbyterian congregations have voted to leave the denomination since its national assembly in 2006.

The congregations, primarily representing conservative views, cite theological differences as points of contention.

Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.

The regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and representatives of the Stow Presbyterian Church have reached an agreement that allows the local congregation to keep the church property.

Get the full article here.


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