Update: McCabe Resigns as Vice-Moderator
07-03-2012
By M. Edwards
Earlier today the Rev. Tara Spuhler McCabe resigned from her position as the vice moderator of the 220th General Assembly.
July 4, 2012--In her comments explaining the rationale for her resignation, she discussed the negative energy and wasteful time that was being spent to discuss her confirmation rather than the “vital business” that needs to be addressed and voted upon during the GA.
McCormick President Frank Yamada stated, “We celebrate Tara's ministry. We are saddened by this turn of events; but we are proud of her, and like Moderator Presa, we continue to stand with her. We are praying for Tara, the Church, and for ourselves.”
July 3, 2012 -- McCormick Alumna Confirmed as GA Vice-Moderator
The Rev. Tara Spuhler McCabe (2000) is the new Vice Moderator for the 200th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Rev. McCabe's appointment by the Rev. Dr. Neal D. Presa, Moderator of the General Assembly, was confirmed by a vote of 388-240.
“Tara is the kind of leader that we need right now in the PC(USA),” remarked McCormick alumnus and former trustee, the Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, pastor and head of staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. “She and Neal Presa represent a hope for the future of our denomination in their ability to work with each other across their differences.”
In June, Presa issued a statement re-confirming his selection of McCabe, after news broke that McCabe had signed the marriage license of two women in Washington, D.C., where it was legal for them to wed. McCabe disclosed what had happened to Presa and was willing to take full responsibility for her actions.
Though Presa expressed his clear disagreement with McCabe over her decision, he strongly affirmed her as his Vice Moderator candidate, saying, “Tara and I want to model for the 220th General Assembly and the Presbyterian Church a more excellent way of being united with our differences.”
The Rev. Dr. Frank Yamada, McCormick’s president, commented: “I am proud of Tara as one of our alums. Tara and Neal represent a leadership team that characterizes faithful Christian discipleship that builds connection through difference.”
McCabe mostly recently served as an associate pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. and is a member of the National Capital Presbytery.
