Structure & Governance
If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably already noticed that we care more about being a Christian church than a Presbyterian church.
But there are some cool things about being Presbyterian. One is the way our church is organized. (It’s the same form of government that the framers of the Constitution modeled the United States government after.)
Here’s how Presbyterians “do church”:
THE SESSION
This is our “governing body.” Session consists of members who are called Elders (even though they’re not always old.) The Elders are members with a passion for particular areas of ministry elected from the congregation.
At Forest Hill, we’ve sorted those passions into 7 different areas of ministry: Worship, Education, Deacons, Trustees, Stewardship, Justice, and Leadership Development. Every year the congregation elects 7 new Elders, one to each ministry, who serve for 3 years. So at any given time, every ministry has 3 Elders, each serving a staggered 3-year term. (And you thought there’d be no math!)
How It Works
Session has 20 members: 19 Elders plus a Clerk of Session to keep track of what’s happening. They meet once a month to laugh and pray and try to discern God’s will for the church. It’s a lot of fun, but the pastors are the Moderators and sometimes they make everybody calm down and get back to work.
The current Elders, listed by the year their term expires, are:
Board ~ ~ ~ 2013 Class ~ ~~ 2012 Class ~ ~ ~ 2011 Class
Worship: Jeanette Nemcek Melody Obery Kurt Haas
Education: Barry Hartz Laurie Logan Mark Chupp
Justice: Ron Register Laura Steiner Dick Obermanns
Stewardship: Dale Dannefer Clayton Minder Brett Himes
Trustees: Chessie Bleick Chuck Smith James Roosa
Vocation: Laurie Muller-Girard Joanne Shaner Peg Weissbrod
Deacon Elder Representative: Robyn Mervine
The current Clerk of Session is Elder Barbara Hansen.
Reality Check: So does that mean that the Session has the final decision?
Well…..yes, but always with input from the people in the pews whom they “represent.” And of course, since Forest Hill is part of the Presbyterian Church USA, we get all kinds of helpful rules, er, advice from the suits downtown our Presbytery.
Presby-WHAT?
Every Presbyterian church is part of a local Presbytery. Ours is the Presbytery of the Western Reserve. The Presbytery pays about 6 people to keep track of and provide support for all the different Presbyterian churches in Northeast Ohio. Every other month representatives from each church get together to worship and talk about official Presbyterian stuff. Presbyteries are the ones that actually ordain Presbyterian ministers.
OTHER GOVERNING GROUPS
Each Presbytery is part of a larger organization called a Synod, which supports a whole bunch of Presbyteries. (Our Synod is the Synod of the Covenant and you can learn all about it here.) All of the Synods report to and are ruled by one big national church office called the General Assembly.
The General Assembly is our national organization. It sets priorities for the church’s mission under Christ, develops overall mission objectives and strategies to guide church life, provides programming to help with the overall balance and diversity within the mission of the church, and runs national and international ministries of witness, service, growth, and development.
Reality Check: So if I decided to join Forest Hill, would this “General Assembly” tell me what I have to believe?
That’s one of the nice things about being Presbyterian. No one tells you to believe in a bunch of complicated rules and doctrines. In fact, the word “Presbyterian” really refers more to how our church is organized and governed than about what we believe.
To be a member of a Presbyterian church, as with most other Protestant denominations, you just have to commit to trying to follow the teachings and authority of Jesus Christ.
Even if you’re not sure about Jesus, you’re still welcome here. Many of the people in our pews are here not because they’re sure of their faith but because they want to learn more about what faith is and what it means to follow Christ.
THEN WHAT MAKES SOMEBODY A “PRESBYTERIAN”?
Besides the Jesus thing? Hmm. One big thing is that every member is considered a minister of the church. In the Bible, this is called the “priesthood of all believers.”
Some in this priesthood are called to be ordained Pastors, others are called to be ruling Elders and Deacons, and others are called to particular areas of service according to their gifts and passions.
This system works well for us, but we don’t believe that our church is the “One True Church” or even that our system of church government is the only one authorized by the New Testament.
It’s not a perfect system - after all, it is run by people. But when we make a mistake, we keep working to fix it. For several decades, many of us thought the General Assembly erred by prohibiting local churches from ordaining gays and lesbians, but finally . . .
News Flash regarding the GLBT Community and Ordination!
On May 10, 2011, a majority of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s 173 presbyteries ratified an amendment to the church’s constitution to allow ordaining bodies – local church sessions for elders and deacons and presbyteries for ministers – more flexibility in determining individual candidates’ fitness for ordained office. What has changed is that persons in a same-gender relationship can be considered for ordination. The new wording states:
Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life. The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all the requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation. Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.
Henry Sloane Coffin
Forest Hill and the Presbytery of the Western Reserve have been advocating for this change for almost 3 decades. We think the famous Presbyterian, Henry Sloane Coffin, a self-described “liberal evangelical” born in 1877, would agree. In 1925, Coffin asked “whether we have any right to call ourselves a Christian Church, if we exclude from its ministry any whom Christ manifestly does not exclude from the gift of His Holy Spirit.”
So now, if you’re gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgendered, nothing and no one can keep you from being a member of a Presbyterian church or from serving God as you feel called to serve–whether that’s teaching Sunday School, leading a small group book discussion, or facilitating a prayer group. All members of the GLBT community have always been and will continue to be welcome at Forest Hill.