Dear Editor,

The accompanying protest letter [click here]was signed by many members of Central Florida Presbytery, ruled by the presbytery's stated-clerk as in order, and by nearly unanimous presbytery vote it was referred to the Bills and Overtures Committee for possible response.

It protests the findings addressed in the PJC's order to the Sebastian Church.

Unfortunately, at yesterday's presbytery meeting the PJC's decision and order was attached to the full text of the complainant's brief giving the impression, to many, that the allegations filed by the Elder Norman F. Blessing's counsel was part of the PJC's findings.

This confusion has led many, apparently including the Presbyterian News Service, to believe that every allegation and argument made by the complainant's counsel was substantiated through testimony and evidence and judged to be true by the PJC. As a result, allegations that may or may not have been substantiated through the course of the trial are being lifted from the complainant's brief and quoted as coming from the PJC. The Presbyterian New Service, as a result, is "pulling" the story they released yesterday.

Please refer to the two-page letter from Central Florida Presbytery's PJC to
the Session of First Presbyterian Church in Sebastian, Florida dated
February 20, 2002 for the complete text of the PJC's findings.

The brief filed by the complainant's counsel is an important document and
makes a number of very important points. These arguments, including issues
of subscription, may make a much better case for a decision in favor of the
complainant than the few cited by the PJC. The protest addresses the
irregularities and conflicts cited in the PJC's order and not every
allegation made in the complainant's brief.