First Presbyterian Church of Aurora Officially Shifts Denominational Affiliation
Posted Thursday, May 13, 2010 by First Presbyterian Church
Contact Information: John Ross at (630) 879-8828, Daybreak Communications, Inc.
Organization's URL: http://www.firstpresaurora.org

• Aurora church now a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church

Aurora, Ill., May 13, 2010 (The Religion Wire™) — Tuesday’s dismissal vote (58-48) in Rockford by the Blackhawk Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA) was the culmination of a 13-month journey for Aurora’s First Presbyterian Church. The 152 year-old church with its some 700 members began this process a year ago this last April with a congregational meeting which has now resulted in the church being affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Working with a special commission of the Blackhawk Presbytery, FPC reached an amicable agreement of separation from the mainline Presbyterian denomination with a dismissal payment of $140,000 and other long-term provisions. Eighty-five thousand dollars ($85,000) of the fee will be contributed by the presbytery to the Wayside Cross Ministries (Aurora) Building Fund. Fifty-five thousand dollars ($55,000) of the settlement will be used by the presbytery for reimbursement of all expenses related to the dismissal process and the residue to be distributed to the presbytery’s Mission Strategies and Resources Board to support currently approved presbytery missions.

“We are thrilled to have this process behind us so that we can concentrate all our resources on engaging our city with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” notes the Rev. Jeff Moore, senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. “We are pleased that we were able to forge an amicable agreement with the Presbytery and that our relationship with them came to a cordial conclusion. We’re truly looking forward to our new relationship with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and our future as we continue to serve the Aurora area community.”

FPC is located at 325 E. Downer Place and at www.firstpresaurora.org.

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PDF of news release