RICHMOND, June 26 - A disciplinary case has been filed against the Rev. Susan Andrews, moderator of the 215th General Assembly (2003), by an evangelical activist who has accused more than 20 other Presbyterians of being unfit for ministry.

Virginia lawyer Paul Rolf Jensen gave Andrews a copy of a press release about his allegations during a break in Saturday's plenary session of the 216th General Assembly.

It was Andrews' last day as moderator.

Andrews said Jensen also urged her to resign. She said she doesn't know whether he meant she should resign as moderator or as pastor of Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, MD.

National Capital Presbytery has not yet formally received the case, according to the Rev. Wilson Gunn, the presbytery's general executive.

In his document, which he distributed to the media Saturday, Jensen accuses Andrews of willfully and deliberately violating her ordination vows by participating in the installation of a gay associate pastor at Bradley Hills and by condoning his service in the church.

The constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) prohibits the ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians.

Andrews has openly affirmed the ministries of gay and lesbian Presbyterians. She stepped down as a board member of the Covenant Network - an organization that is working to remove the prohibition from the Book of Order - when she was elected moderator.

Jensen also alleges that Andrews failed to meet her obligation as moderator by not upholding a standing rule of the General Assembly that requires a moderator to "present, strengthen and encourage the church, its people and its work."

Gunn, the presbytery general executive, said National Capital Presbytery takes all such allegations seriously. If the presbytery receives the case from Jensen, he said, "We will put together an investigating committee and it will proceed to do its work confidentially. It won't be done in the public sphere."

Disciplinary cases within the PC(USA) are confidential unless an investigating committee determines that there is enough evidence to warrant the filing of formal charges. Even in that case, information is shared discreetly with sessions and committees on ministry.

The outcome of a case is made public only if the accused is found guilty of the charges.

Jensen has routinely shared all his accusations with the media.

In this case, he has taken the unusual step of asking National Capital Presbytery to recuse itself from the case and to defer original jurisdiction to the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic. He said the members of the presbytery's Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) have "some personal knowledge relevant to the disposition of this matter."

Jensen filed charges earlier against the Rev. Eric Scott Winnette, the associate pastor of Bradley Hills Presbyterian, but a presbytery investigating committee dismissed the case and its PJC denied an appeal.

Winnette spoke about his homosexuality during a "speak out" session at an earlier General Assembly. Jensen filed similar accusations against several other speakers.

Before releasing a formal statement (See "Moderator response"), Andrews said in an interview that Jensen made factual errors in his release. She said she will cooperate fully with any judicial process the presbytery or synod undertakes.

The Rev. Cliff Kirkpatrick, the Assembly's stated clerk, issued a statement in which he said that the Book of Order makes clear that the purposes of church discipline are "restoration and renewal and that such cases are to be handled with great sensitivity to all parties concerned." (See "Stated clerk issues statement.")

The Office of the General Assembly (OGA) described the process for investigating an allegation this way: When a presbytery's stated clerk receives an accusation, the presbytery names an investigating committee of three to five members, which interviews the plaintiff and defendant, gathers evidence and determines whether there is enough evidence to warrant the filing of formal charges. If the panel decides there is sufficient evidence, the case moves to trial.

The Rev. Mark Tammen, a spokesperson for the OGA, said there is no precedent for a presbytery recusal from a disciplinary case.

Efforts to reach Jensen yesterday were unsuccessful.

215th GA Moderator's response

Today I received from Mr. Paul Rolf Jensen a copy of a press release indicating that he is filing a disciplinary accusation against me, charging that my support of the associate pastor who serves with me on the pastoral staff at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church amounts to misconduct.

The facts of the case on which Mr. Jensen is basing his accusations are matters of public record in National Capital Presbytery, where my membership resides. He has included several factual errors that I am confident will be found to be false upon further investigation.

I am saddened that Mr. Jensen has felt it necessary to deal at the General Assembly level with what is really a presbytery issue. I hope and pray that this will not distract commissioners and advisory delegates from the real issues and important business before this Assembly.

I will cooperate fully with any judicial process initiated by National Capital Presbytery because I want to honor our denomination's constitution - as I promised to do in my ordination vows.

I am deeply grateful to my colleague, the Rev. Scott Winnette, who together with the session of Bradley Hills Church has served that congregation with faithfulness and dedication during my year as moderator.

Stated clerk issues statement

The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly was saddened to learn that Mr. Paul Rolf Jensen had chosen the occasion of the farewell report to and recognition by the 216th General Assembly today of the Rev. Susan R. Andrews, Moderator of the 215th (2003) General Assembly, to issue a press release regarding the Moderator's participation in the installation and subsequent support of her associate pastor.

The Book of Order is clear that the purposes of church discipline are restoration and renewal, and that such cases are to be handled with great sensitivity to all parties concerned.

The process for handing allegations against ministers is clear in our Rules of Discipline:

D-10.0102a An accusation is received by the stated clerk of a presbytery from a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

D-10.0103 Once received by the stated clerk of a presbytery, the clerk invokes whatever process the presbytery has provided to create an investigating committee. The stated clerk then forwards the accusation to the investigating committee.

D-10.0201 The investigating committee is to be made up of three to five persons (elders and ministers) who will investigate the allegations.

The Office of the Stated Clerk has published a judicial process manual, written in conjunction with the Association of Stated Clerks, which provides detailed advice and assistance in carrying out this process.