A petition authored by a group of ethnic-minority pastors in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) went viral this week after accusing the nation’s largest conservative Presbyterian denomination of spiritual abuse, sidelining women, and “demonizing” gay people, among other concerns.
Titled “A Call to Prayer & Lament,” the petition begins, “We write as ethnic minority pastors and leaders within the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) with hearts full of gratitude and grief.” A knowledgeable PCA source confirmed the document’s authenticity to The Christian Post.
Allegations of a “schismatic culture”
While expressing appreciation for the PCA’s influence on their faith and ministries, the authors list four major “laments”: the fostering of “a schismatic culture,” marginalizing “minority and female leaders,” replacing “confessional generosity” with “theological rigidity,” and allowing “denominational burden” to hinder mission efforts.
The petition describes what it sees as a “deepening culture of suspicion, gracelessness, self-righteousness, and relational dysfunction,” manifested through “racial microaggressions,” “unnecessary theological gatekeeping,” and a “pervasive mistrust” that harms gospel ministry and community life. It also notes that some within the PCA describe the environment as emotionally or spiritually abusive, particularly toward leaders from minority backgrounds.
Without citing specific examples, the petition further claims that the PCA’s public posture—through words or “legislative actions”—has “demonized” LGBT people, immigrants, secular progressives, and other groups, allegedly undermining ministry “in our cities.” The authors say they long for a church “where those wrestling with complex identities and callings find safety, truth, and grace.”
Concerns about online “slander” and internal division
The petition also expresses alarm that “faithful leaders in good standing are subjected to unchecked slander and baseless innuendo on social media,” which it says has begun to function as an “unofficial court” within the denomination.
Initial signatories included 12 PCA pastors, among them the Rev. Duke Kwon of GraceDC Meridian Hill in Washington, D.C., and the Rev. Irwyn Ince, a former coordinator of the PCA’s Mission to North America (MNA). Ince, who was involved earlier this year with controversial ethnic-based “affinity groups,” resigned from the MNA after a viral clip showed him giving a formal blessing to a pastor who announced his conversion to Roman Catholicism.
The petition originally allowed the public to sign without verifying identities, but that feature was suspended Tuesday after a wave of prank submissions using names such as “Adoll Fitler,” “Ima Victum,” “Judas Iscariot,” and more vulgar entries. “Due to incessant spam, we had to temporarily suspend submissions,” organizers wrote. “Please continue to join us in prayer.”
The PCA’s Administrative Committee, which had no involvement with the petition, did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
Strong pushback from within the denomination
Some PCA leaders and commentators quickly distanced themselves from the petition. The Rev. Zachary Groff of Antioch Presbyterian Church in Woodruff, South Carolina, wrote on X that the document “does NOT represent any PCA entity, church, presbytery, agency, or institution,” calling that “a good thing.”
Reactions on social media were mixed. Some praised the petition as necessary; others criticized it as evidence of growing “wokeness” within the PCA.
William Wolfe, executive director of the Center for Baptist Leadership, called the document “an embarrassingly lowbrow Leftist frame,” arguing that it reflects a liberal faction within the PCA. He added that terms like “lament” have been “hijacked by the Woke in the American church.”
In an apparent reference to Tim Keller’s 2010 “big tent” vision for the PCA, the Rev. Sean McGowan of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee wrote, “The tent is too big.”
Religion writer Zoe Miller—whose husband pastors a PCA church in Idaho—commented wryly, “So glad my whiteness has been lamented in our denomination for the 800th time.” The Rev. George Sayour, a PCA minister in Florida, replied by questioning whether disagreement is permitted from women or ethnic minorities: “Maybe the issue is less around Culture and Color, and more around Philosophy and Theology.”
Formal responses and theological concerns
The Rev. Thomas Rickard, pastor of Seven Springs Presbyterian Church in Virginia and stated clerk of the Westminster Presbytery, published a detailed response on Medium. He argued that if the petition’s claims were accurate—charging the PCA with partiality, gracelessness, and hostility toward neighbors—the denomination would indeed be “in grave danger.” But, he wrote, the letter appears to take isolated experiences and “extend them to the denomination as a whole,” without citing actions by the General Assembly or church courts. Rickard maintained that the Westminster Standards require truth, evidence, and due process in public accusations, and he defended the PCA’s complementarian stance on male-only ordination as grounded in Scripture, not “male-dominance.”
The Rev. Matt Kennedy, an Anglican pastor in New York, criticized the petition’s apparent acceptance of sexual identity categories rooted in queer theory. He argued that its authors are “minutes away from becoming openly affirming,” claiming they have “jettisoned Genesis” and adopted a secular framework for human identity. Kennedy also accused the petition’s authors of portraying themselves as victims while expressing “contempt and malice” toward those who reject left-leaning ideology.
