Presbyterian Church (USA)

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or PC(USA) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It is part of the Reformed family of Protestantism, descending from the branch of the Protestant Reformation begun by John Calvin. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S. and was established by the 1983 merger of the former Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, and the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.

The unified body currently has approximately 2.3 million members, 11,100 congregations, and 14,000 ordained ministers. Denominational offices are located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is a member of the National Council of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Constitution

The Constitution of PC(USA) is composed of two portions: Part I, the Book of Confessions and Part II, the Book of Order. The Book of Confessions outlines the beliefs of the PC(USA) by giving the creeds to which the Church adheres.

Complementing that is the Book of Order which describes the organization and functioning of the Church at all levels. The Book of Order is divided into three sections-Form of Government, The Directory For Worship, and The Rules of Discipline.

The session also oversees the work of the deacons, a congregational-level group whose duty is "to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress both within and beyond the community of faith."

In some churches, the responsibilities of the deacons are taken care of by the session, so there is no board of deacons in the church. In some states, churches are legally incorporated and members or elders of the church serve as trustees of the corporation. However, “the power and duties of such trustees shall not infringe upon the powers and duties of the Session or of the board of deacons.” The deacons are a ministry board but not a governing body.

 
 
 
Governing bodies

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) has a representative form of government, known as presbyterian polity, with four levels of government and administration, as outlined in the Book of Order. The governing bodies (as they are referred to) are as follows:

1. Session (Congregation)

2. Presbytery

3. Synod

4. General Assembly

At the congregational level, the governing body is called the session. The session is made up of the pastors of the church and all elders elected and installed to active service. Elders are nominated by a nominating committee of the congregation; in addition, nominations from the floor are permissible. Elders are then elected by the congregation. Session meetings are moderated by a called and installed pastor and minutes are recorded by the elected clerk. This body takes care of the guidance and direction of the ministry of the local church, including almost all responsibilities of spiritual and fiduciary leadership. The congregation basically has only the responsibility to vote on: 1) the call of the pastor (subject to presbytery approval); 2) the election of its own officers (elders & deacons); 3) buying, mortgaging, or selling real property. All other matters such as the budget, other personnel matters, programs for spiritual life and mission, are the responsibility of the session.
 
 
Important Internet Resources
  
 
Church Travel Fares - leader in providing travel for church groups.
 
 
The next level is the presbytery formed by all the congregations and ministers in a geographic area together with elders selected (proportional to congregation size) from each of the congregations. A few PC(USA) synods (see below) have a non-geographical presbytery for Korean language Presbyterian congregations. There is one non-geographical presbytery for Native American congregations, the Dakota Presbytery. Only the presbytery (not a congregation, session, synod, or General Assembly) has the responsibility and authority to ordain, install, or remove ministers to and from congregations. Presbytery also acts as a court of appeal from sessions. Members of the congregation generally choose their own pastor with the assistance and support of the presbytery, the presbytery must approve the choice and officially install the pastor in the position. Additionally, the presbytery must consent if the congregation wants to remove their pastor from office. The presbytery has authority over many affairs of its local congregations. Only the presbytery can approve the establishment, dissolution, or merger of congregations. The moderator of the presbytery, as well as a stated clerk, is elected annually. All pastors of congregations in a presbytery are members of the presbytery, not of their own congregation. Additionally, an executive presbyter is often appointed as an administrative staff member to care for the day-to-day duties of the presbytery. A presbytery must elect a moderator and a clerk, but the choice to hire an executive presbyter is optional. Presbyteries must meet at least twice a year, but they have the discretion to meet more often.
  
 
Presbyteries are organized in geographical regions to form a synod. Each synod contains at least three presbyteries, and its membership is to include both Ministers of the Word and Sacrament (that is, pastors) and elders in equal numbers. Although the synod can have various duties, they are primarily responsible for: developing and implementing the mission of the church throughout the region, facilitating communication between presbyteries and the General Assembly, and mediating conflicts between the churches and presbyteries. Synods are required to meet at least biennially, and meetings are moderated with the help of an elected Moderator and Stated Clerk. Some Presbyterians consider the synod to be an intermediate level of government between the presbytery and General Assembly levels. In several regions Presbyterians consider the synod to be an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. The debate over the future of synods has been going on for decades and is reaching a crisis in some regions. A few synods are robust but more and more synods are reducing their function to minimal bureaucratic and judicial work rather than program implementation.

The General Assembly is the highest governing body of the PC(USA). Until 2004, the General Assembly met once a year; it now meets in even-numbered years. It consists of commissioners elected by presbyteries and is evenly divided between pastors and elders. There are many important responsibilities of the General Assembly. Among them, the Book of Order lists these four:

1. to set priorities for the work of the church in keeping with the church's mission under Christ

2. to develop overall objectives for mission and a comprehensive strategy to guide the church at every level of its life

3. to provide the essential program functions that are appropriate for overall balance and diversity within the mission of the church, and

4. to establish and administer national and worldwide ministries of witness, service, growth, and development.

The General Assembly elects a moderator at each assembly who chairs the rest of the sessions. A stated clerk is appointed to serve for a longer term and is responsible for the Office of the General Assembly which conducts the ecclesiastical work of the church. The Office of the General Assembly carries out most of the ecumenical functions and all of the constitutional functions at the Assembly. The General Assembly also elects a General Assembly Council (GAC) consisting of 72 ministers and elders responsible for advising the General Assembly on priorities, programs and strategies and implementing its decisions. The GAC meets three times a year. The General Assembly met annually until the 216th assembly met in Richmond in 2004. Since that time the assembly has begun a pattern of meeting only biennially (in even numbered years).
 
Hotel
 
© Copyright 2008 elmirachurch.org Inc. All rights reserved.