Gateway Presbyterian Church - 1111 Dry Hollow Road, The Dalles, OR 97058, Phone: (541)298-8531 Fax: (541)298-4298

Our best days are yet to come

Dear Friend:

Gateway has a bright future. And your church leadership wants to lead us into that future.

With the change of ordination standards in the Presbyterian Church, USA, thousands of churches within our denomination are troubled with the new direction of the PCUSA, and are therefore seeking for where God might be leading us. This is not an easy place to be; yet God is at work in us and will speak to us as we wait and pray and seek and study.

The Session has identified four options for Gateway. These four were at the Congregational Forum last Wednesday night. They are:

Stay with the PCUSA & Cascade Presbytery and faithfully servewith the PCUSA & transfer to a Presbytery that is theologically friendlythe PCUSA and join another Presbyterian denominationthe PCUSA and become an independent church

Gateway’s Session has made a commitment to the congregation regardless of
the action that is taken. As Elders we will glorify God in this process and will not fight over this issue. We will focus on positive faithful action. We will promote fidelity in marriage and invest in marriages. We will promote chastity in singleness and be a church community that embraces single people. We will obey Jesus’ commands to love and serve because we believe in fidelity to Scripture. We will focus on the ministry that God calls GPC to, and not allow this issue to distract us from his call. We will pray.

Over the next several months, the Elders will be researching these four options. We will be interviewing persons related to the four options. We will be making calls, reading denominational websites, traveling to meetings, and attending various events that will clarify for us the pros and cons of each option. We will be listening to you and your concerns about Gateway’s future. And in the coming months, we will report back to the congregation what we have learned.

So pray for your elders. Encourage them. And thank them for their love for Jesus Christ, his church and their love for you.

Pastor Jim