CHURCH APPEALS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18551, 10 November 1934, Page 2

CHURCH APPEALS

NEW PROCEDURE SOUGHT . ..r. -tti ... \ PALMERSTON N. DISPUTE I ) N ' DUNEDIN,"ii.is day. Am overture to the Presbyterian General Assembly from the Wanganui Presbytery asked that clause 373 of the book of order be amended to give direct representation of a congregation hr an appeal to the assembly, and that provision be made for the first hearing of the case by a judicial committee which shall hear all parties and examine all documents. ' Mr. W. B. Tennent, speaking in support, said the matter really arose out of a special meeting of the assembly in December last in relation to a dispute in St. Andrew’s Church, Palmerston North. This .probably*-! was tlie firtt case In which, such an appeal had been heard, and he held that ' the system laid down in the book of order had failed: He did not desire to reverse tlie decision of the December meeting, but did wish to amend the regulations so an to give the congregation involved adequate' representation before the assent bly. Too much reliance was laid’ on how a case was presented, and too little on thi» facts. The Rev. John Paterson spoke from the point of view of the Presbytery of Wanganui, urging that po minister in, such a case as that of Palmerston North should be made the prosecutor of a brother minister, He said that in in-, volved! cases a judicial committee of the assembly should investigate all the documents before the meeting of the assembly. It was decided to remit the matter to the assembly’s judicial committee, to report to the next assembly.