Top church court rules per capita strictly voluntary
Upholds synod PJC decision in Heartland Presbytery case

22.10.2004

by Sharon K. Youngs, Office of the General Assembly
and Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has ruled that a session's failure to pay its per capita apportionment cannot be the sole factor in the presbytery's determination whether that congregation is eligible for requesting financial assistance from the presbytery.

In it's Oct. 18 decision in Johnston, et. al. v. Heartland Presbytery, the commission also ruled that a congregation's failure to pay its per capita apportionment and mission pledge could not be the determinative factor in a presbytery's refusal to grant assistance to that congregation.

At the same time, the GAPJC determined that "a congregation's effort to pay its full per capita apportionment and to fulfill a mission pledge is clearly relevant as one factor among many others that a presbytery may consider in exercising its stewardship responsibility to allocate limited resources in action upon a congregation's request for assistance."

The case was launched when Heartland Presbytery adopted a policy that made any congregation that was not demonstrating "full participation" in the fiscal and ecclesiastical life of the presbytery ineligible to request certain financial assistance from the presbytery.

Demonstration of full participation was defined as the payment of per capita, making and meeting a mission pledge, and filing annual statistical reports.

The session of First Presbyterian Church of Paola, KS, challenged the presbytery's new policy in a remedial case with the Synod of Mid America's Permanent Judicial Commission, which "vacated and set aside" the policy. The GAPJC upheld the Synod PJC decision.

In its decision, the GAPJC reiterated its earlier opinion that payment of per capita apportionments by sessions and presbyteries "is a high moral obligation, the fulfillment of which visibly demonstrates the covenantal ties that bind us as the one church of Jesus Christ."

The GAPJC also underlined the need and requirement for dialogue between sessions and presbyteries for the sake of "furthering the great ends of the church."

The full decision and order of the GAPJC in this case is available at www.pcusa.org/gapjc.

For more information, contact Sharon K. Youngs, Communications Coordinator, Office of the General Assembly, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396; phone (888) 728-7228, ext. 5750; email syoungs@ctr.pcusa.org.