7 August 1973 A.D. PCA Advisory Convention
Archivist. “August
7: The Advisory Convention (August 7-9, 1973).”
This Day in Presbyterian History. 7
Aug 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/08/august-7-3/.
Accessed 7 Aug 2014.
August 7: The Advisory Convention (August 7-9, 1973)
Let Everything Be Done Decently and In Order.
When some 260 churches decided to leave the Presbyterian
Church in the U.S. (aka, Southern Presbyterian Church), to form the
Presbyterian Church in America, that move was not simply formed on a whim or at
a moment’s notice. For nearly thirty years, beginning in 1942, efforts by
theological conservatives were unrelenting in trying to turn the mother Church
back to unswerving orthodoxy.
At last, with the PCUS about to merge with the UPCUSA, it
was clear that the time had come to leave. Committees were formed and plans
were laid for the establishment of the new denomination. A “Convocation of
Sessions” gathered in May of 1973, and this convention in turn authorized the
meeting of an “Advisory Convention,” whose purpose was to finalize plans for
the meeting of the first General Assembly.
The following letter, under the signature of founding
father W. Jack Williamson, explains the process and the thinking behind these
plans.
June
15, 1973
Beloved,
We
salute you in the precious Name of Jesus Christ and invite you to attend the
Advisory Convention for the Continuing Presbyterian Church, Asheville, N. C.,
August 7-9, 1973.
The
Advisory Convention was called by a Convocation of Sessions, assembled in
Atlanta, on May 19, 1973. The brethren there officially represented over 260
local congregations and more than 70,000 Southern Presbyterians. In an adopted
statement, entitled “The Reaffirmations of 1973,” the Convocation committed
itself to the rebirth and continuation of a Presbyterian Church, true to the
Scriptures, to the Reformed Faith, and obedient to the Great Commission of
Jesus Christ.
The
Advisory Convention is expected to call for a General Assembly which will
formally organize a reborn Presbyterian Church.
It
now is clear that a large number of Christians in our Southland sincerely
believe that God has called them to form such a continuing church in 1973. They
believe that there is an irreconcilable separation between those who hold
different idealogies within the Presbyterian Church in the United States. They
are convinced that unless two be agreed they cannot walk together. Because God
has led them to move, they do so with determination and resolve, but with many
tears and profound sorrow for the necessity that is laid upon them.
We
honor and respect those who, in good conscience differ with us. We pledge our
love as brothers in Christ to all those who know Jesus Christ as Saviour and
Lord, but who in this present situation follow a different course of action. We
thus commit ourselves to continued fellowship with all men of good will and
like conviction of the truth — all for the Glory of God and the unity of the
Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We
enclose an information sheet concerning credentials and registration procedures
for the Advisory Convention. If you desire to walk with us into the reborn
Church, we invite you to be present.
Please
join with us in fervent prayer for the universal Church which consists of all
those throughout the world that profess the true religion and is the Kingdom of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the house and family of God.
Yours
in His service,
The
Organizing Committee for a Continuing Church
W.
Jack Williamson Chairman, Pro Tem
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