Nearly 2,000 conservatives in PCUSA ponder options for mission, separation
The biggest news from a recent gathering of Presbyterians in Minnesota in the aftermath of approval by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to ordain qualified clergy who are openly gay was the unexpectedly large turnout—almost 2,000 clergy and laity who say their denomination has increasingly abandoned scriptural standards.
The tradition-minded evangelicals, said to represent about 850 congregations, were asked by organizers not to make the meeting in Bloomington "a gripe session or a pep rally." Rather, they were urged to consider possible proposals, some hypothetical, for mission-focused units within the PCUSA that reject gay ordination or for stepping out as a new Reformed church body.
"The world does not need another denomination, but continuing on the same path is a dead end and we're not going to do that anymore," said John Crosby, pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church near Minneapolis and an organizer of the August 24–26 gathering.
