Reflections on "Five in One" Genesis 49: 1-28; Galatians 3: 26-29

I preached this sermon as part of our Bicentennial celebration.  The history buffs probably enjoyed it; others might have found it a bit dry.  Having others participate in the vignettes certainly helped the sermon.  

The challenge in preparation was taking all the historical information provided and culling it down to a manageable amount.  Also, to try and find the "gospel" in the historical data.  I attempted to point out some recurring themes in our history that might speak to us today.

At the end of the sermon are an abundance of references if anyone wants to read more about these splits and reunions in the history of the Presbyterian denominations in the United States and in the particular case of First Presbyterian Church, Troy, OH.

As I worked with this sermon, I realized how much growing up in a Texas congregation that was a union congregation (both Northern and Southern branches) in a union Synod mattered.  It also became clear when I moved to Troy that the Northern-Southern split that impacted church life in the South and Southwest (For different classes in seminary, I actually wrote a paper on why the churches did not reunite immediately following the Civil War and another paper on why some Northern Presbyterian churches were in the South and thrived, while others areas in the South either had no Northern churches or the churches did very poorly in the South).  It became clear in FPC, Troy's history that the split had little impact on the church. Of course, the Old School/New School split that figured prominently in Troy's history meant little to the churches in Texas that were started after that split.  A reminder that our context does impact our worldview.

“Five in One” January 13, 2013; FPC, Troy Bicentennial Sunday; Genesis 49: 1-28; Galatians 3: 26-29

Introduction: Almost as soon as God creates, humans begin dividing themselves.

For example, sin divides Cain and Abel.

but there are some positives about division.

Israel segregated from the rest of the world. We hear from Genesis how Israel was divided into twelve tribes

a. Give identity.

b. Allow for specific tasks.

In response to the coming of Christ, we are called to be one.

We live in that tension – called to be one; continually being separated.

We look around the world and see divisions – nations; ethnicities; self-selected groups.

We see it within the Christian church; we see it within our own Presbyterian denomination (look at the insert in the worship folder to see how many times we have been divided and then united); as we study our history during the Bicentennial, we see it in our own church.

First Presbyterian Church, Troy, OH has been part of five different denominations.

Move 1: Presbyterian Church, USA

when those fifteen pioneering spirits met to organize First Presbyterian Church, they had multiple options within the Christian tradition, and within the Presbyterian tradition as well.

Let's listen as Alexander Telford, one of the founding members and driving force behind the creation of First Presbyterian Church, and an unnamed townsperson discuss the formation of First Presbyterian Church, Troy, OH

Random Man: Mr. Telford, might I ask a question of you. I heard at the store this morning that you are going to be starting a church.

Alex Telford: Yes we are. God has called us to start a Presbyterian church here. In fact, yesterday, on Sept. 13, 1813, Rev. John Thompson moderated a meeting at which we formed First Presbyterian Church of Miami Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America.

Random: A Presbyterian Church? Why I didn't think you were Presbyterian. Or that Rev. Thompson was Presbyterian anymore. I thought you worshipped with those New Light churches that Rev. Thompson started a few years ago.

Alex Telford: Do you know Rev. John Thompson?

Random: I've never met him, but I've heard him preach a time or two over in Springfield. The Spirit really moves him, and I mean moves!

Alex: I find little humor in a man being filled with the Spirit while preaching.

Random: I heard the Presbyterians kicked him out of their church.

Alex: And I find little humor with those spiritless ministers at the Synod of Kentucky who could not see beyond their Calvinist doctrine of predestination to see how the Spirit can move people to have faith when they hear the Word preached.

Random: You sound like one of those camp revivalists.

Alex: Not quite, but I do believe that the Presbyterian Church does not give enough credence to the New Light movement. I agree with the Calvinists that about predestination, but I also think we need to consider the role of free will. To some of those Calvinists, that makes me sound like an Arminian. But if you have been to a camp-meeting revival, you know that the Spirit does work on people when God's Word is preached.

Random: So why did you start a Presbyterian Church?

Alex: Well, I do think a church needs some structure; I do believe that the Calvinist theology provides a strong foundation; and I believe that having elders lead the church is important. Not to mention, my family heritage in Scotland was with the Presbyterian Church.

Random: Maybe I'll come out to worship with you one Sunday.

Alex: We'd love to have you join us.

Thus, we begin our journey as a congregation as part of the Presbyterian Church, USA

Move 2: Old School/New school

that would not last very long, roughly 25 years. By 1838, there was dissension in the pews. The groups were labeled Old School and New School.

Did they divide over theology? Yes, at stake was what it meant to be the church and who could serve as the church's pastor.

But, it was more than just theology.

New School group generally had people who had been in the United States longer.

Old School group generally had people who were more recent immigrants. Telford would be an example – just a generation removed from Scotland and the strong Presbyterian influence there.

From a socio-economic perspective, New School had more of the business people, who catered to the transients traveling through this area, and thus were more secularized.

Old School had more landowners, who were insulated from the secular world.

Let's listen as two women, Isabella Yuart and Mary Ann Telford Orbison discuss the split in the church. Isabella was a founding member and in this split sided with the Old School group. Mary Ann, despite being the daughter of founding member Alexander Telford sided with the Old School, Mary Ann joined the New School side of things. A family split in their church loyalty.

Isabella Yuart: Mary, I can't believe the church is splitting.

Mary Ann Telford Orbison: I don't know. It sorta seems like churches do. I remember when I was younger when my father and Rev. Thompson got in trouble with the Presbyterian Church and they were part of the New Light church for awhile.

Isabella Yuart: I suppose, but it saddens me to think that our local church is parting ways. Look at you, your father, a founding member like me, is going with the Old School congregation and you, his daughter are going with the New School congregation.

Mary: Not all of the founding members are joining with you and my father in the Old School. Some of them coming with the New school.

Isabella: yes, it seems to have divided us in lots of different ways.

Mary: I suppose one good thing is that the Session recognized the importance of having the women involved in the discussion.

Isabella: They knew better than to make that decision with just the men elders on the Session deciding without hearing from all the members of the church, including the women.

Mary: I know. Ever since they announced the meeting six months ago and made such a big deal that the women should be invited, I figured they recognized that the women needed to be part of this decision.

Mary: I just wish the General Assembly had not reacted so drastically to expel those Synods and churches.

Isabella: Maybe when you are older you will see the wisdom of their actions. It is important to uphold the standards for the clergy and how churches are to be organized. If not, no telling what kind of churches would claim to be Presbyterian.

Mary: all I know is that when my father was a young man, he rebelled against the church authorities and thought it was okay for churches to try something new. Now, he's against any change.

Isabella: As I said, maybe when you get to be your father's and my age you'll understand this better. I just wish the church did not have to divide over this issue.

Mary: I guess they are serious about dividing as well. I mean we voted to sell the church so the the Old School and New School groups could start their own churches.

Isabella: That's true. But I was not that surprised. When the committee that was supposed to find a better site for the church returned without a recommendation, I figured it meant that members were worried about the future of the church. There has been a lot of grumbling going on in the church pews the last few years.

Mary: There sure has, particularly since every does not agree on the standards the church should have.

Isabella: It's kind of ironic, though, that everyone seems to be able to work together to separate us.

Mary: I did like how we worked together to create a fair plan. When the building is sold, each group gets the percentage of the money based on the percentage of their members who are in their group.

Isabella: They even included people who come regularly and give, but are not members. We seem to get along better as we divide ourselves than we did when we were trying to be one church.

Mary: Maybe one day we'll be back together as one church.

Isabella: I wouldn't count on it. We'll probably have more splits in the future, not less.

Mary: That's not very hopeful.

Isabella: I guess I shouldn't be so pessimistic, but this I'm just feeling bad about things. This year we should be celebrating the 25^th anniversary of First Presbyterian Church in Troy. Instead, we're spending our time figuring out the best way to divide First Presbyterian Church.

First Presbyterian becomes both Old School, PCUSA and New School, PCUSA, with the Old School congregation eventually residing in a church on Main St. across from the Court House (where our offices were during the building of our new building) and the New School congregation purchasing the plot of lot on which our sanctuary sits and building it.

Move 3: PCUSA Reunited

The Old School/New school split lasted only last thirty-two years, which is not very long as splits go.

In 1870 the Old School and New School factions came together.

Description of the reunion in 1870 "a total surrender of all the great testimonies of the Church for the fundamental doctrines of grace."

The pendulum swung away from theological correctness toward gracious unity.

Although it did not impact this congregation, we might also note that the Presbyterian Church of the Confederate States broke of from the PCUSA during the Civil War, and after the Civil War no reunion took place, so nationally, there was the PCUSA (northern branch) and the PCUS (Southern branch), not to mention a variety of smaller Presbyterian denominations.

Move 4: UPCUSA

As the Presbyterian Church moved through the 20^th century, there were small reunions. The PCUSA absorbed most of the Cumberland Presbyterian churches in 1906 and then in 1920 it absorbed the Welsh Calvinist Methodist Church. Neither of those mergers changed the name of the denomination. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterian_Church_(U.S.A.)

But in 1958, a merger took place with the United Presbyterian Church of North America. It began as a mostly ethnic Scottish denomination, but after some years it grew somewhat more and more ethnically diverse, although universally English-speaking, and was geographically centered in Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, areas of heavy Scottish and Scotch-Irish settlement on the American frontier. Within that territory, a large part of its adherents lived in rural areas, which amplified the denomination's already highly traditionalist worldview. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Presbyterian_Church_of_North_America

Of interest to us locally, the cornerstone seminary of the UPNA was Pittsburgh-Xenia seminary, which grew had roots in Xenia, OH.

Again, theological differences gave way to the desire to be unified.

Thus, FPC, Troy became part of the newly named United Presbyterian Church, USA.

Move 5: Back to PCUSA

One major rift remained – the Northern and Southern branches of the Presbyterian Church.

As early as the turn of the century, some worked for reunion.

But, as the 20^th century dragged on, there seemed to be no consensus for reunion.

Were the differences theological – yes. Both branches could point to theological differences such as biblical interpretation and how the church leadership operated.

But it might also be noted that the issue of race relations and states rights vs. the role of the federal government also impacted calls for reunion.

As reunion appeared to be on the horizon, splits took place across the denomination and both the Presbyterian Church of America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church were created.

In 1983, reunion finally took place.

Frances Miles commissioner to the 1983 General Assembly where the two denominations joined together.

Listen to what she might have written in her diary.

Frances Miles: When I was elected to be a commissioner to the General Assembly in 1983, I knew it was the General Assembly when the Southern Presbyterian Church and the Northern Presbyterian Church would be reunited for the first time since the Civil War, but I had no idea how significant a moment that was in the life of the church.

In my church in Troy and in Miami Presbytery, we haven't talked much about the split between the Northern and Southern branches of the Presbyterian Church. I quickly learned, however, that reunion meant a lot to many people.

And it upset lots of others. I was very surprised when someone told me that in Mississippi alone, 126 Presbyterian churches left the Southern Presbyterian Church because they were against reunion. Wow!

But when we did the vote for reunion, it became very emotional After the commissioners from our General Assembly and the General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church voted simultaneously in our different meetings to reunite, we stopped the meeting and went out into the streets of Atlanta and marched together, all the commissioners from both General Assemblies, through downtown Atlanta to City Hall. People marched with arm in arm to show our unity; banners were displayed announcing we were reunited; tears flowed as we marched and sang. At City Hall, the Mayor of Atlanta spoke to us as we celebrated our reunion. I will never forget that day.

As part of our vote to reunite, we also established a committee that was commissioned to write a new confession. It will be really neat one day to have a new confession for the Presbyterian Church and know that I was there when we reunited and asked for a new confession to be written.

I know that the church is still divided in lots of ways around our world, but a few more Presbyterian churches now are showing what it means to be united in Christ.

Back to PCUSA

Move 6: Five denominations. Lots of other Presbyterian groups in the United States.

Division and union.

Theology and the secular shaping the options.

To a large degree, the changes reflect where we fall on the continuum of theological correctness or the desire to be united?

On the one hand, the challenge to the church to stand up for the Truth; On the other hand, who knows the truth completely.

In 1875, five years after the Northern Branch reunited, the southern Branch tried again to gain momentum for uniting with Northern Church. At their General assembly, a minister argued: "If, after all the great sacrifices of confessors and martyrs of past ages, we alone constitute the true church; if this only is the result of the stupendous sacrifice on Calvary and the struggles of apostles and missionaries and reformers in all generations; then may God have mercy on the world and his church." (“Division & Reunion in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.,” R. Milton Winter, the Journal of presbyterian History, http://www.history.pcusa.org/resources/jph/2000/spring/DivisionAndReunionPCUS.html)

An argument for unity over maintaining the true church.

In our time, we find churches leaving our presbytery and other presbyteries over theology, ordination issues, primarily.

Interestingly enough, the churches that have left our Presbytery have joined with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which came into being in 1981 as conservative churches from both the Northern and Southern branches joined together in response to what they believed was the liberal bent of both the Northern and Southern churches.

History repeats itself.

Conclusion: Our history here at FPC reflects the Presbyterian Church's history in the United States, which reflects the humanity f God's creation.

Divide and unite. Never quite satisfied. Never quite living fully into the image of God.

Five denominations; one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who calls us to be one.

Resources for sermon: The background for this sermon was researched by Teri Okrutny from the following sources.

1801 Plan of Union - http://www.opc.org/nh.html?article_id=27

The Schism of 1837 - http://www.americanpresbyterianchurch.org/?page_id=289

Old School-New School Controversy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_School%E2%80%93New_School_Controversy

Old School/New School Archive - http://continuing.wordpress.com/category/presbyterian-church-in-the-u-s-a/old-schoolnew-school-division/

Books:

Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in the Year 1801

Plan of Union begins on PDF page 7

Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 1832-1836

1832 begins on PDF page 8

1833 begins on PDF page 160

1834 begins on PDF page 312

1835 begins on PDF page 490

1836 begins on PDF page 534

Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 1837 – State of the Church information begins on PDF page 24 (document page 430).

Presbyterianism North of the Ohio – book page 9 (PDF page 14) has New Lights info – This is a short book (about 10 pages) with a lot of information about the early 19^th century.

Information about John Thompson and the New Lights in Springdale, Ohio - http://www.springdale.org/History/SPRING2.html

Additional information about the ministers who signed the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery can be found at http://thediscipler.blogspot.com/2005/02/last-will-and-testament.html

The Cane Ridge Web site URL is http://www.caneridge.org/

Springfield Presbytery - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Presbytery

Memoirs of the Miami Valley - http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/3509062.htm

Scroll a little over halfway down the page to the paragraph that begins with “A matter which is entirely germane to the subject of this chapter-the settlement of the Miami valley-is the Great Kentucky revival, and its subsequent camp-meetings…”

Presbyterian Historical Society Denominational History - http://www.history.pcusa.org/history/