A Statement from the Session of Davis Community Church
January 29, 2023
 
One of the reasons Session called today’s congregational meeting was to, finally, talk about the events of last year in as transparent a way as we are able and allowed to. Certain issues of legality and church polity impose some limitations on those types of disclosures, which has unfortunately both motivated our reasons for waiting, and simultaneously fed the notion that we have been intentionally secretive. On behalf of the entire Session and church leadership, we want to acknowledge that this has been a very challenging time. We have done the best we could. Our work is human, not divine, and to the extent we could have approached this issue better, we apologize that we didn’t.
 
Last spring, our former senior pastor Chris Erdman informed Session and the Presbytery that he was engaging in a romantic relationship with a congregation member, and this disclosure was followed by his resignation nine days later.
 
In regard to both Presbyterian polity and professional ethics, romantic relationships between a pastor and a congregation member are considered a violation of ministerial boundaries. We understand that both Chris' departure and his relationship have evoked conflicting emotions in many of you – and many of us. Our desire to be sensitive to that fact further complicated our determination to communicate these events with full transparency. 
 
These kinds of disclosures and conversations inevitably elicit questions. Because of California labor and privacy laws, there are some questions we can answer, and others we can’t. Please be patient as we continue to attempt to walk that fine line wisely and appropriately. In the meantime, you are welcome to direct questions you may have, today or in the future, to either Pastor Derek (derek@dccpres.org, (530)753-2894) or JoAnn Diel, Clerk of Session at clerk@dccpres.org. You may also contact, Jeri Viera Dahlke, Stated Clerk of the North Central California Presbytery, at statedclerk@nccpresby.org or (916)414-2080, ext. 2.
 
In the meantime, we want to acknowledge the need to heal and the fact that differing opinions on the appropriateness of Chris’ relationship exist among us. We also want to affirm the idea that we can live with different perspectives, while still holding fast and continuing to nurture our relationships with each other and with the larger church community. 
 
Because DCC leadership is committed to the wisdom and healthiness of upholding professional boundaries, we also feel the need to recommit ourselves to the post-departure pastoral ethics Pastor Chris is required to follow, by encouraging all of us to do the same. We realize he has maintained close friendships with some of us, we simply want to underscore the need to refrain from any conversation with him about Davis Community Church, staff or leadership.  Those topics remain outside of the boundaries Pastor Chris is allowed to engage, and we should do our part to uphold those boundaries as well.

We are on a new road now, both with the turning of the new year and the welcoming of new leadership – both Pastor Derek and new Session members – and feel confident we are on a path of healing and the re-claiming of our mission. In short, despite the challenges of last year, we are entering 2023 with excitement about
our future.

In Ministry Together,
DCC's Session