Word: merriam
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...Stuart Merriam, 38, attended impromptu services in the basement of the church-and his presence drew crowds twice as large as the ones that came to hear the substitute preacher upstairs. But to most of his fellow ministers. Stuart Merriam is a grave ecclesiastical embarrassment, a preacher ill-suited to his call. Last week the Presbytery of New York-an assembly of ministers and elders that governs 62 United Presbyterian churches in the city-decided, by a vote of 79 to 11, to revoke Broadway Presbyterian's call to Merriam. The presbytery also selected a nine-man judicial commission...
Three Issues. The strange case of Dr. Merriam involves a number of separate, if tangled, issues. Among them: > THEOLOGY. A self-styled "evangelical" Presbyterian, Merriam was called to the Broadway church because his theological views coincided with those of his predominantly conservative congregation. In doctrine, he adheres strictly to the teachings of the Westminster Confession of Faith; his interpretations of Bible passages tend to be literal. Merriam argues that he was removed because his orthodox theology did not sit well with liberals in the presbytery who interpret Scripture and the confession more freely than he does. In answer, presbytery spokesmen...
During his first worship service at Broad way Presbyterian, he introduced his Ger man shepherd dog to the congregation from the pulpit - a gesture that delighted children in attendance, but to Merriam's enemies seemed evidence of emotional immaturity. More seriously, they accuse him of lack of judgment. The principal evidence: an incident of last August, when Merriam, on behalf of a self-exiled Iranian scholar, telephoned a State Department official, surreptitiously tape-recorded the conversation, then played the recording -which included some off-the-cuff remarks by the official about Iran's corruption - to a reporter...
...AUTHORITY. Merriam's supporters argue that any presbytery must be wary of removing a preacher once he is called by his congregation, because the very nature of Presbyterianism stresses local control. His critics agree that a call from a church is rarely rescinded, but say that Merriam's unclerical behavior has forced the presby tery to take drastic action...
...Merriam, who is well liked by his congregation, promised to carry his fight to the New York State Synod and to the General Assembly if need be. "I am shocked by the presbytery's action," he said. So, regardless of the merit of the charges, were other clergymen, who worried about the presbytery's behavior in removing a pastor over the objections of his parish. Dr. John Sutherland Bonnell, minister emeritus of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, called the exercise of power "disturbing to ministers and elders of the Presbyterian Church at large...