GracePoint Presbyterian Church

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about Third Presbyterian, Dubuque, Iowa. For other institutions please see, see Third Presbyterian Church.

GracePoint Presbyterian Church, formerly known as Third Presbyterian Church, is a Presbyterian church located within the city of Dubuque, Iowa. Located at 3100 Windsor Avenue in Dubuque, it is part of the north end of the city. Prior to June 1, 2006 the church was part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), but on June 1 the church officially dropped its affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and became part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Worship is a unique blend of contemporary and tradtional styles. Sunday School, Youth Groups, Small Groups, Alpha Classes and Precept Classes available. Pastor: Rev. Christopher B. English.

[edit] History

For a number of years, members of the church were opposed to the general direction the larger Presbyterian Church (USA) was taking, especially in regards to interpretation of the Bible, and the general political direction the denomination was taking. Recently Third Presbyterian had withheld per capita assessments that would have been paid to the General Assembly, and told officials in the denomination that they could not continue as part Presbyterian Church (USA).

On May 16, 2006 the John Knox Presbytery - the Richland, Wisconsin based presbytery for Dubuque - approved Third Presbyterian's leaving by a vote of 54-7. Third Presbyterian had announced that it would turn over its records to the denomination, which will store the records at the University of Dubuque. They also removed all references to the Presbyterian Church (USA) from their sign and other communications.

Third Presbyterian became the first church in Iowa to become part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Based out of Livonia, Michigan, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is considered to be a more conservative denomination, and is a sister denomination to the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In January of 2008 Third Presbyterian announced that the name of the church was being changed to GracePoint. As part of the transfer from the PCUSA to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church the congregation agreed to change the name of their church within two years of the move.