Leaving PC(USA), Joining ECO

Carol sent the following email to our children, her sister Mary Ann, and Aunt Marlene today after the Congregational Meeting:

Dear loved ones who have been praying for our church,
 
We had 43 members present and voting at our congregational meeting today after church and after lunch. The question was whether we wanted to be dismissed from the PCUSA to join the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. The outcome was 42 to leave, 1 to stay, so we will leave.  We had prayed as a church through this process that we would be unified in our decision, and we were, so we are thankful for that. We also are pleased with the outcome, but saddened that we have come to this place. We have been blessed beyond measure in our own lives and in our family as members of FPCMS. Many of those blessings have come through our local church body, which we will still be a part of. Other blessings have come in large part from Presbyterians for Renewal and the Christian Life Conference, which are associated with the PCUSA. In addition, the 3 representatives from Presbytery who have walked with us through this process and have been present at all our Congregational meetings on the subject have been lovely and gracious at all times. So we're sad to break from that history.

We're hopeful, though, that God hasn't given up on our struggling little body of believers, and that He still has good plans for us. Please pray for us as we move toward the official beak with the PCUSA in mid-June and beyond that to the beginnings of a new denomination. We would pray that this change will offer us new opportunities and a new vision to follow Christ in his plans and mission for our church.