WHICH WAY TO WITTENBURG?

The "Call to Confession and Repentance" charges that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is "decaying and dying in the belly of the beast"

Five ministers appeared at the Presbyterian Center at dawn Monday in Louisville, Kentucky, taping a poster-size "Call to Confession and Repentance" on a wall near the entrance and offering prayers for reformation of the church and its national leadership. A second poster bore signatures of nearly 100 Presbyterians who have affirmed the document.

Harkening back to Martin Luther's nailing of his 95 theses to a cathedral door on the eve of All Saints' Day as a protest against corruption in the Roman Catholic Church, one of the protesters, Rev. Rick Wolling of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said, "We're doing the work of Reformation theology (before) Thursday (All Saint's Day)."

The "Call to Confession and Repentance" charges that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is "decaying and dying in the belly of the beast" (Revelation 13:1-8) and is "irretrievably apostate under current management." It continues "talk of renewal is ludicrous" and argues the denomination is "desperate for rebirth through confession and repentance."

The protesters urge Presbyterians to remain within the denomination but to refuse to support any work "antithetical to the will of God."

The focus of the complaint is defiance of the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s constitution. Several congregations have announced they will ignore a constitutional provision forbidding the ordination of sexually active homosexuals. More than 16 allegations have been lodged against openly gay clergy and ministers who support them, but not a single judicial charge has been filed.

On arrival at the center, the men were invited inside for prayer with John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council, and Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick. Before going inside, they spent about 45 minutes outside, praying and reading scripture as employees arrived for work.

Kirkpatrick noted that he has made clear that defiance of the constitution is "inappropriate." He said he regrets the protesters' "sense of alienation," but said he is "glad, since they came, that we had the chance to pray together."

Wolling, the pastor of Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, said: "We're telling folks here in the building that they're not hearing the concerns of people across the church. We feel like we're in a constitutional crisis that has required a prophetic act like this."

Three other protesters also were from southwestern Pennsylvania - Rev. L. Rus Howard and Rev. James C. Yearsley, both of Pittsburgh, and Rev. Paul Roberts of Butler. It was the session of Roberts' church, Summit Presbyterian, which drafted the statement that started the Confessing Church Movement, a network of congregations that want the church to unequivocally profess three beliefs: That Jesus is the only way to salvation; that Scripture is the inspired Word of God; and that Christians are called to holiness, which precludes sexual relationships outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

The document called on Kirkpatrick to make certain all church officers who defy the constitution are removed from office and to press charges against officers and governing bodies that defy the constitution.

Kirkpatrick was also urged to intervene in several presbyteries, including forcing Hudson River Presbytery to pay back the US$110,000 Circleville Presbyterian Church was required to pay for its building when it was dismissed from the PC(USA).

The document also calls for the "immediate removal" of any "unrepentant stated clerk" who doesn't apply the constitution "with consistency and without prejudice" or who "fails to honor the responsibilities of the office."

Arguing that the national leadership will deal with apostasy only if it is pressured financially, the document calls on churches to stop giving per capita dollars to any governing body that "tolerates defiance of our constitution," giving the funds to other ministries. It also calls for churches to refrain from giving undesignated mission money to "any governing body of the denomination."

The protest group has not sought the endorsement of any PC(USA) related group, but Roberts said it believes it has the unofficial support of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and of some leaders of the Presbyterian Coalition. Rev. Brad Long of Presbyterian and Reformed Ministries, International, is among the 100 people who support the document.

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