The Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church has been an important part of the community for more than a century. Founded in 1897, the congregation has worshiped in a series of buildings until settling at its current campus at 16970 De Witt Ave. in 1968.
During this time, it has been affiliated with a number of national Presbyterian denominations. Since 1983 it has been part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a body of about 1.8 million members in 10,000 congregations that was formed through the merger of two earlier Presbyterian denominations dating from a Civil War split.
Presbyterians date from the 16th century Reformation; beliefs are based heavily on the teachings of Protestant theologian John Calvin. “Polity” (church governance) is extremely democratic, with each level of authority (session, presbytery, synod, general assembly) making decisions through elected representatives.
Since the 1950s, the PC (USA)—like other Protestant mainline denominations (United Methodist, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, United Church of Christ)—has become increasingly broad in theological perspective, with some churches becoming more progressive or liberal in doctrine while others have remained more theologically conservative. This has caused some internal friction and membership decline for the denomination as a whole.
Recognizing that some congregations were uncomfortable with the national church’s theological diversity, in 2008 the General Assembly, legislative arm of the national church, asked each presbytery (regional governing body) to establish a “dismissal policy.” While some other denominations have waged expensive legal battles to settle issues of ownership of local church property, the goal of this initiative was to establish methods for congregations to disaffiliate amicably from the PC (USA).
In 2012, the Morgan Hill church began a “denominational discernment process” to see if another Presbyterian denomination would be a better for their beliefs. According to a letter from Pastor Mark Inouye, they explored such concerns as:
• Authority of Scripture: While the MHPC has repeatedly affirmed the belief that the Bible alone is the Word of God and sole authority for faith and life, a variety of views are held and allowed by leaders of the national church.
• Theological Drift: There are no defined tenets or beliefs affirmed by PC (USA). Surveys have shown less than half of clergy affirm that Jesus Christ alone is Lord and the Way to Salvation.
• Ethical Compromise: The PC (USA) has changed ordination standards to affirm non-Biblical lifestyles.
• Denominational Direction: The national church has become less welcoming to members opposed to progressive views.
After extensive study, the Morgan Hill congregation decided by a vote of 91 percent to pursue affiliation with a new denomination, the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO), which was formed in 2012 and has a current membership of 40,000 distributed through 127 congregations.
At a congregational meeting in April, the vote was 97 percent in favor of leaving PC (USA). Since the local property is held in trust by the national church, negotiations have resulted in an agreement to pay a monetary settlement in exchange for title to the Morgan Hill campus in order to provide for their previous denomination’s ongoing mission. The process of separating the Morgan Hill Church from the San Jose Presbytery should be complete within 90 days.
According to Gwenn Tyler, a leader of the Morgan Hill congregation who has been involved in this process, members of the congregation will now be able to focus on advancing the Gospel of Jesus without being distracted by political issues. However, she feels that local residents can still work in partnership with the San Jose Presbytery on the important social issues on which they agree.
Pastor Inouye says there is a side of him saddened by the need for this switch.
“I’ve been a pastor in the PC (USA) for over 25 years, and so yes there is some sadness,” he says. “That said, I couldn’t be more excited about what God has for this church in our new denominational home and look forward to the coming years as opening new doors of ministry for our church.”
For more information, visit mhpc.org or call (408) 779-2820.
