xclose menu

Pastor's Note | Saturday, July 19th

On July 20th we will have special "All Together Now" worship services. This is in conjunction with having Rev. Dr. Dana Allin, the Synod Executive of ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, in our pulpit and with having a between-service brunch.

Why?

We are recognizing that we are "all together" in a transition from affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA) to affiliation with ECO. We will hear from Dana that this transition is not the end goal, but it is a new beginning.

It is the beginning of a new denominational identity, new priorities for the ministries of Good Shepherd, a new emphasis on communicating the gospel particularly through planting new churches, and new relationships with other churches with whom we will engage in common ministries. We can look forward with enthusiasm to the future God has for GSPC!

Having said that, we need to be patient and prayerful. As was cited last week, on June 7th the Presbytery of Los Ranchos voted to dismiss Good Shepherd from the PC(USA) to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. A complaint has been filed that challenges this decision. The Synod Permanent Judicial Commission (Synod PJC) then filed a "Stay of Enforcement" of the original dismissal decision. The Synod PJC now has the responsibility of hearing the cases against the Presbytery related to all the churches that have been dismissed. This could take several months to a year.

The good news is that there is the possibility of mediation. This would mean that the complainants and the churches seeking dismissal might be able to reach an agreement through mediation that would result in the complaints being withdrawn.

Let's be people of patience, grace, and prayer as we move toward re-affiliation and the future God has for us.

Pastor Jim

Leave a Comment

Comments for this post have been disabled.