CREC and Saint Peter Presbyterian Church

March 14, 2006

RE: Saint Peter Presbyterian Church in Bristol, TN

Statement From:
Pastor Randy Booth, CREC Council Moderator

On Saturday, March 4, 2006, the congregation of St. Peter, Bristol, TN, voted to request that a Commission of five pastors or elders, from separate CREC congregations, be constituted to provide pastoral guidance for the immediate needs of the St. Peter congregation. This Commission is not judicial in nature, but rather pastoral. The CREC respects the judicial bounds of the RPCGA and intends to operate within those boundaries. The RPCGA has deposed the former session of St. Peter from office and has also released both the St. Peter congregation and her former session from RPCGA membership without censure. The RPCGA is aware that St. Peter has approached the CREC for pastoral counsel and care.

The RPCGA has not precluded the possibility that some or all of the St. Peter session might be reinstated to office in the future, provided they go through the normal credentialing process. That is not to say that reinstatement is a forgone conclusion, only that the judgment of the RPCGA does not necessarily call for their permanent exclusion from office. Ultimately, these decisions will be made by the congregation of St. Peter and any ecclesiastical body to which they might join themselves.

Some of these matters have been treated in an anti-ecclesiastical way via web sites on the worldwide web. There is definitely false and misleading information that is being advanced at some of these sites, including false information pertaining to the nature and make-up of the CREC Commission. Self-appointed arbiters of justice do not contribute to a godly resolution of anything and we hereby call upon them to recuse themselves from such public discourse, to immediately remove any material related to these matters from the web, and to pray for all those affected by these matters. It is the desire of the CREC to work to honor Christ and His Church.

Laurence Windham’s Fund-Raising Letter

On March 2, 2006, deposed minister Laurence Windham emailed this fund-raising letter to a number of friends and supporters. Please notice that he requested that donors send him money via Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, which was a member of the CREC.

Dear Friends,

As you may have heard, the elders of St Peter Presbyterian Church have been deposed from the ministry, without censure, by our former denomination. This action was done without a trial, called witnesses, cross-examination, or opportunity for a defense. The result has plunged our beloved sacred community into the quagmire of congregationalism. The elders have been maligned and slandered incessantly by the cowardly in the lawless realm of the internet. The ensuing gossip and fallacious commentary, even by some misguided good people, have added to the confusion.

We hold out hope that we will soon be exonerated by godly men in another denomination. Even now, plans are going forward that will bring our plight before the entire Reformed world for evaluation. This will be most welcome by the entire deposed session of St Peter. In this interim, I am appealing to you for financial support for my family. The situation has left the church, the session and the Highlands Study Center’s viability in question. Each of us who labor in this part of the kingdom is hopeful that things will be back to normal in a few months.

But in the short term, in the spirit of Antioch helping out Jerusalem, any support you could send this way would help us give our attention to rebuilding the walls and preparing ourselves for the regathering of the sheep.

Send all contributions for the Windham family to:

Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 30315
Knoxville, TN 37930

Thanks for your timely consideration,

Laurence