Beaver-Butler Presbytery has dismissed Portersville Presbyterian Church from the Presbyterian Church (USA) into the more theologically conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

This is the second church that Beaver-Butler has so dismissed. However, the financial terms of the earlier dismissal of Chippewa United Presbyterian Church in Beaver Falls were appealed to a church court, so Chippewa remains in the presbytery pending a decision. There were 87 churches in the presbytery prior to Tuesday night's presbytery meeting.

The 176-member Portersville congregation had voted 115-3 to leave. This is part of a movement by some conservative Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations to avoid property litigation by seeking dismissal into a sister Presbyterian denomination. Pittsburgh Presbytery has dismissed three churches, while Washington Presbytery is in civil litigation with one that voted to leave without permission. The Portersville Church, with assets appraised at $423,000 agreed to pay the presbytery a tithe of that, $42,300.

There was no debate, and in a voice vote of more than 100 commissioners, there were just a few dissenters. Afterward negotiators for the congregation and the presbytery praised each other's efforts and wished each other well.

The Rev. William Jamieson, a retired pastor who served on the presbytery commission, said "There is still one body, one church, one faith, one Lord Jesus Christ, the savior of us all. Bless this church and bless this presbytery."

Far more time was spent in heated debate over a proposed declaration of the presbytery's opposition to several actions that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) took this summer. The denomination gutted a ban on gay ordination, created a fund to pay for property litigation and encouraged Presbyterians to share in worship with Jews and Muslims.

The lengthy declaration by the Revs. Pat McElroy of Park Presbyterian Church, Zelienople, and Albert Stuart of Highland Presbyterian Church, Slippery Rock, said that the presbytery "cannot abide by" the ordination rulings and that they "have no further force or effect in our presbytery because they are constitutionally, biblically, judicially and tactically unsustainable."

"We will not accept discipline that, like many of the [General Assembly] actions, rests on human institution instead of God's word," it said. Twelve congregations have endorsed it.

Several pastors expressed concern that the resolution not to participate in common worship with Jews and Muslims could result in church charges if they conducted an interfaith wedding or participated in a 9/11 memorial service.

The Rev. Stephen Polley, a retired executive presbyter of Beaver-Butler, said he believed the resolution not to abide by church discipline was a violation of ordination vows.

"This is completely out of order. I find its tone one of arrogance, and really no humility," he said.

Phil Henkel, an elder from Summit Presbyterian Church, Butler, said that action was needed to keep churches such as his in the presbytery.

"About the only thing keeping us in is this document," he said of the declaration.

After long debate the presbytery voted 57-45 to send the declaration to a task force for reworking.