Signal Mountain Church votes
to leave PC(USA)

At a congregational meeting on Sunday, January 28, the Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church of the Presbytery of East Tennessee voted to leave the PC(USA). The 2,000 member church is requesting dismissal to the Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church.

The vote included proxies and was 1,172 to 10 in favor of dismissal. The move for dismissal will now go to the Presbytery of East Tennessee.

Synod Executive Terry Newland clarifies, "When a church votes to leave the denomination, they are voting to ask Presbytery to dismiss them."

The Presbytery has begun a process in response to the vote. An administrative review committee of the presbytery has begun to meet to review the Signal Mountain request and will be working with the church until they come to the end of the process. Part of this process is determining what will become of the church property.

If the Presbytery is unsuccessful in bringing the church back into the denomination, the property title reverts back to the PC(USA). Executive Presbyter Steve Benz commented, "The presbytery could elect to allow the church to leave with its property." All of that is in the constitution of the denomination.

If the Signal Mountain church is dismissed to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church the pastors of the church will remain PC(USA) ministers. The pastor is Bill Dudley. Associate pastors include Tim Filston, Chris Robinson and Owen Stepp.

Members of the session unanimously agreed to the recommendation to seek dismissal. The recommendation of the session comes as a result of differences in "theological and biblical perspective" with the denomination.