The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has published their decisions on recently heard cases.
In my initial assessment I see no surprises in these two unanimous decisions regarding ordination standards:
219-08 – Bierschwale and others v. Presbytery of Twin Cities: (Capetz case) In my initial reading the important polity opinion rendered is that G-6.0106b and previous decisions like Bush v. Pittsburgh apply to the ordination process. This case had to do with the restoration and validation of ministry, not ordination and call. In that process there were no problems. The sustained complaint was that the Synod PJC closed its proceedings.
219-11 – Naegeli and others v. Presbytery of San Francisco: (Larges case) This is a much more complex decision with several points being sustained in part and not sustained in part. Bottom line for polity is that the question of when to declare an exception has been declared to be at the time of examination for ordination. Practical result is that Ms. Larges has been cleared to be examined at the meeting next week on Nov. 10. However, while not “instructing” the presbytery in this matter the GAPJC did emphasize the responsibility of determining if a declared exception is “a serious departure from essentials of Reformed faith and polity, and if it determines that she has, it must then decide whether the departure infringes on the rights and views of others or obstructs the constitutional governance of the church.” The GAPJC appears to have left open the possibility of another case following the presbytery’s decision at that meeting.
Now, I’ll take some time and read every detail before commenting further.
I particularly liked the warning in the Larges case about allowing time for appeal after hearing a scruple rather than proceeding directly to ordination. I have to wonder what somebody was planning that caused them to put that in the decision.
I noticed that too, Mark. I had to do some digging around, but I wonder if it goes back to the Katie Morrison case (2002-2003?), where Redwoods Presbytery approved her ordination, a stay was requested from the Synod PJC and denied, and the ordination went forward. At that point, the GAPJC ruled, the only way to contest the ordination was through a disciplinary case, not a remedial one, which was what was filed. To hazard a guess, I suspect the GAPJC would like one of these remedial cases to work their way through the system so they can rule on the merits and not the technicalities of the law. I would guess that we’ll see in the next few months if I’m anywhere near right or not.