Pennsylvania megachurch votes to leave PCUSA amid LGBT differences

Chiqui Guyjoco Wednesday, June 29, 2016

A Pennsylvania megachurch has voted to break away from the increasingly pro-homosexual Presbyterian Church (USA) amid ensuing legal battles.

The First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem took to Facebook to announce the result of a historic vote that favored its dismissal from the progressive Lehigh Presbytery, a regional body of the PCUSA, to becoming a member of the conservative Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians.

First Presbyterian Church (Hollywood), July 2015 | Creative Commons

At least 76.5 percent or 802 of its 1,048 members voted in favor of the separation.

The megachurch considered the voting outcome as signaling "the next exciting season of our church's future."

"The last weeks have been painful--with the Presbytery attempting to control FPCB--not allowing us to vote to choose our denomination, making claims on our property and even rescinding the contract of our new pastor," read a statement by the megachurch a day before the referendum.

The move to extricate itself from the PCUSA stemmed out from the denomination's pro-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) stance and ensued a legal battle when differences on the congregation's property ownership also came into question.

According to the FPCB's press release early this month, the Ruling Elders of the Session with the consent of Trustees of FPCB "lost faith in the Presbytery and its process" and criticized the Presbytery for not acting befitting of a denominational structure. It also deemed the Presbytery's dismissal process with the straw poll as "sloppy and arbitrary."

Thus on June 10, FPCB filed a complaint in the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas against the Lehigh Presbytery to prevent the denomination from taking ownership of FPCB's properties or from replacing its leadership.

On June 21, the Lehigh Presbytery along with 22 members of the Center Street church sued back in addition to the one it filed two weeks ago to prevent FPCB from separating.

Richard Santee Jr., attorney for the 22 members, said the suits were "to prevent this group of self-styled leaders from taking action that is contrary to the bylaws of the church, as well as PCUSA."

"I'm very close to many members of that church, several of whom are on both sides of the issue," Santee told The Morning Call. "I know very well their pain."