Why I stopped attending:
  In the 60's the church I grew up in, and my Great Grandfather was one of the founders, had a schism over guitars and colorful banners in church. Half the congregation, including my Aunt and Uncle left. My parents stayed, even though my Mother was not happy about the guitars. I had a great deal of respect for their decision.

In 2014 Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church (LCPC) started discussion for disaffiliation from the main national church, PC USA.
I was opposed to leaving PC USA and thought we ought to get along despite our differences. Two former pastors of LCPC told me "They thought PC USA had a pretty big tent".
I had stayed at LCPC for 30 years despite disagreement with many members who pushed their right wing political views in Bible studies.
The Mens Saturday breakfast spent 3 sessions going over Muslim hate literature at the same time as the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church was running a class on Abrahamic religions to develop a common understanding.
I am an Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower republican, which makes me a socialist in today's republican party, so I am not some bleeding hart liberal.
One third of the members of my Deacon class left after LCPC went to ECO, but I thought I would be doing the same thing LCPC did if I left.
There are many essays, articles and academic studies about things like tribalism, which are driving these splits into sides in politics and religion.
I'd like to figure out how we got along before, but I'm not a psychologist.

See What Paul said about conflict in the Church

On May 19, 2018, Interim pastor, Peter Pendel, gave a sermon on "unity". Wow! I thought now there going to accept me and some others who thought we should be more accepting of people who were OK with PC USA's social policies.

Then on the next sunday he retracted that. He told the Genesis 16 (1-6) story of Abraham's wife Sarai who was barren. She tells Abraham, "Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her."
He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. She gave birth to Ishmael, who became the Father of the Arab peoples .
Genesis 16:12 says, He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.

He then reads Genesis 2 and matthew 19 where it says "A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
In Matthew Jesus goes on to say "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."

Pendel goes on to say that "marriage is between a man and a woman"
and "This is the beginning of the hatred between Arabs and Jews" .

He must be proud of his accomplishment, affirming LCPC's hatred of homosexuals and Muslims in a few short passages; Making it clear that people like me who think we ought to love "all our neighbors" are not welcome.
To hell with unity.

These passages are both about adultery, not homosexuality or the Arab Israeli conflict.
LCPC has had divorced and remarried members of session and you wonder why some people call Christians hypocrites.


last updated 15 June 2018