PRESBYTERY REVIEW COMMITTEE

SUMMARY OF WORK

1. Working from a common set of specific requirements for EPC Presbytery Minutes reflecting the EPC Constitution, the Rules for Assembly, and certain of the Acts of the Assembly, two members of the Committee read each set of the Minutes from at least 4 of our 16 presbyteries and presented those for concurrence by the entire Committee.

2. The Committee also reviewed the responses from the various presbyteries to those Exceptions cited for their 2024 Minutes to approve the acceptability of those responses.

3.The Committee also reviewed the lists of attendees for all Presbytery Stated Meetings for 2025 to ascertain the level of commitment by all EPC church sessions to our Presbyterian form of government as reflected in their attendance at the meetings of their presbytery.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

46-66 That the 46th General Assembly approve the Exceptions requiring a response as found in the 2025 minutes of 14 of our 16 Presbyteries.

46-67 That the 46th General Assembly approve the responses of the Presbyteries to those Exceptions sent to them by the 45th General Assembly.

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WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

The foundational basis for this annual review is the connectional character of our Presbyterian denomination. As the Book of Government 16-3 states: “ Because all courts of the Church have a mutual connection with one another, the act of each court should be considered representative of the whole Church. Therefore, no one court is separate and distinct from all the other courts. This mutuality and connectivity find expression in the right of review and control in the ascending order of the courts.” Maintaining an accurate consistency between presbyteries ensures that both the legal and historical record of each presbytery is preserved for the reference and understanding of future generations.

Of necessity, this Committee’s task is compressed into the eight weeks between the receipt of certified Minutes for at least three Stated Meetings held by each of our 16 presbyteries during the calendar year 2025 and the publication deadline for the docket of this General Assembly. This review requires that at least two members of the Committee read each set of Minutes submitted by each of the EPC’s 16 presbyteries and then meet online with the Chairman to reach concurrence on any required changes and final approval. This can only be accomplished by having a team of committed Ruling Elders and Teaching Elders with a good understanding of the requirements of the Book of Order, the Rules for Assembly, and the pertinent Acts of the Assembly. It also requires a competent and dedicated support staff from the Office of the General Assembly. Vanessa Mullendore from the Office of the General Assembly supported us again this year.

This year we found that 2 of our 16 presbyteries had no Exceptions. Although a few were new to the demands of the tasks of Presbytery Stated Clerk, all have taken their assignment very seriously and are improving each year.

The Committee continued a recent practice of reporting to the General Assembly the number of churches who apparently did not have any representation at any of the meetings of their presbytery during the year 2025. Although this fraction has been relatively stable since it was reported as 10% in 2021, we found that it has apparently risen to 20% overall, with a variation among the presbyteries from 0% to 34%, for the year 2025.

Click here for the Minutes of the Presbytery Review Committee

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RECOMMENDATIONS (DETAILED)

RECOMMENDATION 46-66

Recommends that the 45th General Assembly approve the following Exceptions requiring a response as found in the 2025 Minutes of 14 of our 16 Presbyteries.

Alleghenies
a. Period of time for term of service not specified-TE Andy Moore, Assistant Pastor, Bellefield EPC. Mtg. 54, Pg. 1308-1309, 11C, G. 10.6.A; Acts of Assembly 02-04.4

Central Carolinas
a. No Disparity Correction action taken. Mtgs. 8/9/10, B 19-2A.4b, Acts of Assembly -05-08
b. No area of responsibility specified for TE Tim Carey. Mtg. 8, pg. 17, 30-31, G. 10-5, Acts of Assembly 02-04
c. Membership of the Presbytery’s Ministerial Committee unreported. G. 21-2

Central South
a. No definite term of Service listed for Commissioned Pastor Kirk. Mtg. 124, pg. 1158, 124.09 5. G. 9-11A
b. No primary areas of responsibilities listed for TE Franklin as Associate Pastor. Mtg. Called, pg. 1183, 5. G. 10-5

Coastal Mid-Atlantic
a. No review of Session records reported. Mtgs, 8,9,10. G. 19-4A7. Acts of Assembly 07-08
b. TE King’s position on Westminster not recorded. Mtg. 10, pg. 4-5, 1.16. G. 12-4
c. Dates of installation and installation commissions for TEs Schmemmerhorn and Brooks not in minutes. Mtg. 8, pg. 5-6, 1.15.01-7. G. 13-1A. G. 21-1C.2.b
d. It was unclear whether TEs Schmemmerhorn and Brooks both declared exceptions to Westminster, or if only one did. Mtg. 8, pg. 5, 1.14.04. G. 12-4

East
a. No definite period of time for a term of service for Assistant Pastor Kim. Mtg. 133, pg. 1584, 133-13E. G. 10-6
b. The period of service many Out of Bound TEs are expired. They need to be renewed if they are still serving. Mtg. 133, pg. 1587, 133-13J, Mtg. 134, pg. 1634, 134-26H, Mtg. 135, pg. 1662, 135-22F. G. 10-8 B.2a.
c. Ministerial committee TE to RE members ratio must be within 1 of each other. It has 5 TE and 3 RE. Mtg.135, pg. 1654, 135-14.G. 21- 2

Florida and the Caribbean
a. No mention that TE Charlie Halleran was dismissed at a Congregational Meeting. Same for TE Bryn MacPhail. Mtg. 104, pg. 11, 104.12.5, Mtg. 106, pg. 8, 106.09. G. 14-1 B
b. A definite period of time for a term of service for Commissioned Pastors not listed for Leonilda Ruiz Perez. Mtg. 104, pg. 12-13, 104.12. G. 9.11 A
c. No definite period of time for a term of service for Stated Supply Pastor TE Paul Pepin. Mtg. 104, pg. 17, 104.19 3. G. 10-7 A.2.a
d. No definite period of time for a term of service for TE Dr. Gregory Perry serving out of Bounds. Mtg. 105, pg. 7-10, 105.9. G. 10-8 B.2.a
e. There is no record in the Minutes listing the members of the Ministerial Committee. Mtgs. 103, 104, 105, 106. G. 21-2 A
f. There is no record of responses to the PRC for Exceptions to the 2024 Minutes. Mtg. 106, pg. 7, 106.06, letter from GA

Great Plains
a. No record of examination of TE Matthew Jaderston and TE Jeff Sparks; positions not specified for TEs Spencer and Jaderston. Mtg. 34, pg. 679-680, 34.05.F, 34.07.I,J. G. 12-2 through 5, G. 13- 1 through 7, G. 19-4B1-7, G. 21-1A.2 and G. 21-1C.2.b.
b. Candidate Julien de Leiris: period of time for a term of service not specified. Mtg. 34, pg. 680, 34.07. G. 10-5, 10-6, Acts of Assembly 02-04
c. Candidate Cody Pritchett’s pastor is advisor. Candidate Timothy Roberts’ pastor is advisor. Mtg. 34, pg. 678-679, 34.05.C, 34.05.D. G. 11-2E, Acts of Assembly 06-08
d. Candidate Collin Grant’s pastor is his advisor. Mtg. 36, pg. 12, 36-14.E. G. 11-2E, Acts of Assembly 06-08

Gulf South
a. No indication that Candidate Mook was examined by the Presbytery. Mtg. 32, pg. 233-234, 32.13. G. 11-2 C
b. No particular area of responsibility listed for Assistant Pastors: TE Fike, TE Ramer, TE Hutson. Mtg. 33, pg. 254, 33.19 2)g), i), Mtg. 34, pg. 279, 34.21 2. G. 10-6, Acts of Assembly 02-04
c. No particular area of responsibility listed for Associate Pastor Walker. Mtg. 34, pg. 279, 34.21 3. G. 10-5, Acts of Assembly 02-04

Mid-America
a. Stated Meeting ending in “Blessing” not Prayer. Mtg. 101, pg. 1582-1583,102, pg. 1583, 102.16. G. 16-1A

Midwest
a. Exam of a TE from another denomination does not list educational credentials or experience and spiritual growth. Mtg. 184, pg. 649, 184-06, 184-06, Mtg. 186, pg. 758, 186-08, G. 12.3B.1&2
b. Exam of a TE from another denomination does not list educational credentials or experience and spiritual growth. Mtg. 184, pg. 653, 184-12, G. 12.3B.1
c. Executive Sessions. Mtgs. 184, 185, 186, pg. 658-659, pg. 692, pg. 757-758, 184-24, 185-20, 186-07-08. Executive Sessions may be used for sensitive discussions but any motions resulting from such discussions must be done in open session so that they can be recorded in the Minutes of the meeting.

Pacific Southwest
a. The minutes did not report the names of all members of the ministerial committee at this meeting nor at the meeting in 2024. Mtg. 22, pg. 347, 22-10. G. 21-2

Rivers and Lakes
a. Page 701 missing. Mtg. 43, pg. 701, missing sections 43.11- 43.18

Southeast
a. There is no provision in the EPD Constitution for maintaining a second (secret?) set of Minutes for any of its courts since all Minutes must be reviewed by the next highest court. Mtg. 124, pg. 394, 126-22, Mtg. 125 pg. 415, 124-24. G.2-4A, Rules for Assembly 9-12B
b. Report not opened with prayer. Mtg. 124, pg. 394, 124-20

West
a. No review of Session minutes. Mtgs, 134, 135, 135. G. 19-4A7, Acts of Assembly 07-08, Rules for Assembly 9-12.G.9
b. Actual count of votes on Descending Overture 44-A not recorded. Mtg. 134, pg. 4, 134.5. G. 19-4C2
c. Roster of the Ministerial Committee not reported in 1st meeting nor at the last meeting of the previous year. Mtg. 134. G. 12-2
d. Ten days notice not documented for called meeting. Mtg. Called 1-2-25, pg. 1, 1-2-25.2. G. 19-5
e. Complete list of attendees not included. Mtg. Called 1-2-25, pg. 1, 1-2-25.2. Acts of Assembly 03-04.4, G. 19-5B
f. An agenda was adopted, but purpose of called meeting not clearly stated. Mtg. Called 1-2-25, pg. 1, 1-2-25.2. G. 7-10, G. 19-5B

RECOMMENDATION 46-67

Recommends that the 46th General Assembly recognize the approval of the responses from the Presbyteries to those Exceptions sent to them by the 45th General Assembly.

Rationale: Those responses were received in a timely fashion from all of those Presbyteries cited at the 45th General Assembly and reviewed by members of the Committee. The presbyteries reviewed include: Alleghenies, Central Carolinas, Central South, Coastal Mid Atlantic, East, Florida and the Caribbean, Great Plains, Gulf South, Mid-America, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, Southeast, and the West.

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Jane Bodden
RE, Presbytery of Florida and the Caribbean

Keith Hopkins
RE, Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest

Janet Goodman
RE, Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest

Jason Steele
TE, Presbytery of the Midwest

Christopher Rhodes
RE, Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest

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MEETING DATES

March 6, 2026: Video Conference
March 19, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
March 24, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
March 26, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
March 31, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
April 2, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
April 7, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
April 9, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
April 14, 2026: (Subcommittee) Video Conference
April 23, 2026: Video Conference

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Bengelink, Chairman
June 2026

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