“In order to uphold our ordination vows, before God, our Father, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, and the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth, and to adhere to the Holy Scripture with utmost honesty and integrity and therefore obey God over the ungodly whims of hierarchal human manipulations, this new presbytery is being constituted on this day, Monday, 19 August, in the year of our Lord Christ Jesus 2024.”

On August 19, 2024, five ministers in good standing of Second Presbytery, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, gathered in Greenwood, SC, along with elder representatives from three former ARP churches to constitute Veritas Presbytery, an independent unaffiliated presbytery. These founding ministers, Tony Locke, John Paul Marr, Peter Waid, Mark Wright, and Seth Yi, took a page out of the ARP Church history books in following the pattern of the Associate Presbytery of Scotland which was organized at Gairney Bridge, near Kinross, on Dec. 6, 1733. Ebenezer Erskine, James Fisher, William Wilson, and Alexander Moncreiff seceded from the Church of Scotland and therefore were sometimes called “Seceders.”
The roots of Veritas Presbytery stem from a properly called Second Presbytery meeting on August 13, 2024, in Due West, SC. The stated purpose of the meeting as notified by the Stated Clerk, David Griffin, was to “provide for open response and any actions related to the dissolution of Second Presbytery for congregations and ministers.” During that meeting, the following motion was approved (25 Yes, 19 No) by Second Presbytery, “That Second Presbytery grant dismissal or transfer to any minister or congregation who requests so in writing to the Stated Clerk of Second Presbytery prior to September 1, per FoG 9.65 and 10.3.E, K.” (Minutes pg. 1) This motion enabled congregations to be dismissed from Second Presbytery and ministers to be transferred into their respective Presbyteries with the authority of Second Presbytery.
On August 18, 2024, the Newberry, Troy, and Unity congregations at their properly called congregational meeting voted to be dismissed from Second Presbytery. From the three congregations, there was only one dissenting vote, and five abstentions. That evening, an email was sent by the respective clerks of session to Mr. Griffin notifying him of their congregation’s vote to be dismissed. The next day, a hardcopy letter of the same notice was delivered to Mr. Griffin.
Prior to the constitutional assembly on August 19, all five of the founding ministers had secured a letter of good standing from Mr. Griffin. A service of worship was conducted in which hymns were sung, Scripture read, as well as the Westminster Confession of Faith 20.1-4, prayers offered, and a sermon preached on 1 Peter 5:1-4. Several items of business related to the constitution of Veritas Presbytery were accompanied. The following declaration was proclaimed:
“In order to uphold our ordination vows, before God, our Father, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, and the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth, and to adhere to the Holy Scripture with utmost honesty and integrity and therefore obey God over the ungodly whims of hierarchal human manipulations, this new presbytery is being constituted on this day, Monday, 19 August, in the year of our Lord Christ Jesus 2024.”
Included in the business was the reception of the Newberry, Unity, and Troy congregations into Veritas Presbytery. Elders from these congregations presented their transfer paperwork in accordance with the actions they took at their congregational meetings.
That afternoon, August 19, the newly elected Moderator, John Paul Marr, notified Mr. Griffin in writing of the five ministers’ transfer and reception into Veritas Presbytery via email and a certified letter. However, Mr. Griffin replied in an email of his unwillingness to remove these transferred ministers from the roll of Second Presbytery. He concluded by stating, “If you are not properly transferred to another ecclesiastical body by September 1, you will no longer be considered ordained.”
Similarly, Mr. Griffin sent the following email to the clerks of session of the newly received congregations. [email]
“I am writing to let you know that I received your communication regarding your congregation’s vote to leave Second Presbytery and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian denomination. However, be advised that a Complaint has been filed against Second Presbytery’s actions, accusing Second Presbytery of violating the Standards of the ARP Church. As such, I would advise you to refrain from any legal action until such time that the appropriate church court can act upon this Complaint. There may be legal ramifications given the constitutionality of your actions, based not on the action of Second Presbytery, but instead on the Standards of the ARP Church. As such, I cannot remove your congregation from the roll until such time that this matter is adjudicated.”
There has been no additional communication from Mr. Griffin or anyone else from General Synod regarding the Complaint (see Minutes above) that was filed against Second Presbytery which was dissolved on September 1.
Since its constitution, Veritas Presbytery has met on two other occasions. At those meetings, two more ministers in good standing from Second Presbytery, Jonathan Cook and Stacey Cox, were received into membership. Other ministers and elders have attended as guests where they have been allowed to ask questions about Veritas Presbytery.
Since September 1, Catawba Presbytery of the ARP Church has unilaterally assumed the role of Second Presbytery in presuming authority over the ministers and congregations of Veritas Presbytery. The State Clerk of Catawba Presbytery, Benjamin Glaser, has circulated the following email and letter to an unknown number of stated clerks of Presbyteries in SC:
Good Morning,
Pray y’all are doing well. This email serves as official correspondence from Catawba Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church to let you know that the following men in the attached letter have demitted office and are no longer to be considered ordained ministers in Christ’s church. Likewise it is the position of Catawba Presbytery and the ARPC that the congregations recognizing themselves as the “Veritas Presbytery” are in fact member churches of Catawba Presbytery and should be treated as such.
If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me. 
Blessings in Christ,Rev. Benjamin Glaser Pastor, Bethany ARP Church Stated Clerk, Catawba Presbytery
[Attached letter]
September 3, 2024
To Whom It May Concern:
Greetings in the name of our common Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This letter is to inform our NAPARC brothers that the following men have demitted their office due to their failure to transfer their credentials by the September 1st date allotted through actions of the 220th ARP General Synod in June of 2024 and are no longer to be considered ordained ministers in Christ’s Church.
Jonathan Cook, Eldredge Kelley, Peter Waid, Craig Weiberdink, Mark Wright, Seth (Soku) Yi
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at you leisure.
Blessings in Christ,Rev. Benjamin Glaser Pastor, Stated Clerk of Catawba PresbyteryJohn Barron, Moderator of Catawba Presbytery
Furthermore, Mr. Glaser mailed the following letter to the sessions of Veritas Presbytery congregations.
Good Morning,
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the pure hope of His gospel grace we greet you in the beauty of His love. Catawba Presbytery in its dedication to serve our common Savior welcomes you to the fellowship which has only been broadened in blessing to now encapsulate all of the State of South Carolina. As we seek to find ways to grow in mutual beneficence I wanted to send this letter as a word of welcome and provide you with contact information if you have need or have any particular questions when it comes to our new bond.
As part of this witness it is our duty to inform you that it is the position of Catawba Presbytery that your pulpit is considered vacant due to the failure of your pastor to follow the proper transfer procedures as provided for in submission to our Form of Government (FOG 9.62A-B, 10.3A, 10.3S). Because he has failed to maintain his ministerial credentials in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church or a recognized denomination it is our understanding that he is now not an ordained minister and therefore unable to fulfill the requirements of his duties, including overseeing the sacraments. While we understand that your congregation voted to join another group, and while we have no desire to hold anyone captive, we must strive to follow the spirit of 1 Corinthians 14:40 and do all things decently and in order in the keeping of the vows we took as officers in Christ’s Church.
We look forward to working with you in order to name an interim moderator and be of help in this time of transition.
Blessings in Christ,Rev. Benjamin Glaser, Stated Clerk of Catawba PresbyteryJohn Barron, Moderator of Catawba Presbytery
Despite the proper steps that these congregations and ministers have taken in accordance with the will of Second Presbytery (at the time of action) and the ARP FoG, the Stated Clerk and Moderator of Catawba Presbytery are refusing to accept these actions and allow these congregations to live in peace. These officers are using their office to “hold captive” these congregations who were dismissed from Second Presbytery and the ARP Church. What sort of brotherly love and charity is this overreach of presumed authority? To what lengths will these men go to keep harassing these Veritas congregations? Are these men acting any differently than the PCUSA, UMC, or the Episcopal Church in trying to rule over these congregations? How is this advancing the work of Christ’s Church?
Veritas Presbytery along with her member congregations are moving forward. They desire nothing more than to focus their time, energy, and resources to advance the Kingdom of Christ. Those who are interested in learning more about Veritas Presbytery can visit https://veritaspresbytery.com or email [email protected] to communicate with our moderator.
Seth Yi is a Minister in Veritas Presbytery and is Paster of Newberry Reformed Presbyterian Church in Newberry, SC.
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As believers, we are reminded afresh of the full forgiveness of our sins through the death and resurrection of Christ. The good news of the gospel never gets old to the heart of a redeemed sinner because we never stop needing grace. We know that never-ending grace is ours because of our Savior’s empty tomb.

Sin is not a popular topic to discuss in our world today. Our culture has virtually banished sin out of its vocabulary. Sin has been re-defined, re-labeled, re-directed, and even revered. People who sin are not sinners because nearly everyone is a victim.
The reality, though, is that you can erase sin from a culture, but you can’t erase guilt. There is the sense that all human beings have that we are guilty of doing wrong. We are born into this world having been created in the image of God, and because we live in God’s world as creatures who bear His image, we can never escape the reality of our guilt because of our sin.
What has been so fascinating and so tragic to watch over the past several years is that the more the world has tried to deny the reality of sin, the greater the guilt they feel. We can see the reality of that all around us. Wokeness, social justice, anti-racism, virtue signaling, false religions, vague forms of spirituality, mindfulness, psychology, and more – all attempting to do one thing: erase the guilt we feel over our sins and make us feel like we are good, righteous people. But all of these attempts at self-justification are ultimately futile and useless.
The real tragedy is that they don’t work at the spiritual level. Denying your sins will never erase your sins before a holy and just God. The real problem we have as sinful human beings isn’t that our existential happiness is hindered by sin; it’s that we are destined for an eternity under the wrath of God because of our sin. This is the tragedy of denying your sin; simply wishing it away or pretending your sin is virtue doesn’t deal with the problem of the wrath of God abiding on you. And you know that in your conscience, and you can’t escape it no matter what you do.
It’s into this setting of a world of sinners in need of real forgiveness from God that Mark begins the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Mark tells his readers from the outset that he has good news to share with sinful people about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. He ensures we understand at the outset of his Gospel that Jesus has come into this world to defeat Satan by bringing forgiveness to sinners. The miracles, the healings, the casting out of demons are external signs of a spiritual truth, that Jesus has the authority to do the most important thing for us that we need: to forgive our sins. That’s the good news of the gospel that Mark is writing about.
As this Gospel progresses, we learn in Mark 10:45 exactly how Jesus is going to provide forgiveness for our sins. He will do it in the most degrading manner possible, by giving His life for sinners on a cross. There’s one detail, though, that Jesus includes in Mark 10:34 that will vindicate Jesus’ claim that His sacrifice was accepted by God and brought forgiveness to sinners: He would rise again three days later.
Here, we come face to face with the most crucial fact of all: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Jesus calls for a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. But what He demands, He also fulfills. Unlike the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:3), He practices what He preaches, and He does so perfectly. He calls us to this same righteousness, so that we may be perfect, even as our heavenly Father is perfect.

The gospel of Matthew opens with a statement that lacks a verb, so it is most likely serving as the title of the book: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Here in a nutshell is what this book is all about. It is the story of Jesus Christ. It takes us from the time of His birth in the line of Abraham and David (Matt. 1) to the time when He stands on a mountain in Galilee, with all authority in heaven and on earth given to Him (Matt. 28:16–20). From the beginning to the end, Jesus is presented as the King: first as the promised son of Abraham and David “who has been born king of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2), “a ruler who will shepherd [God’s] people Israel” (Matt. 2:6); and then as the King who has triumphed over sin and death and now commands that disciples be made of all the nations and taught to observe all that He has commanded (Matt. 28:19–20).
The first of the five large teaching collections of Jesus contained in Matthew (Matt. 5–7; 10; 13; 18; 23–25) serves both as a manifesto of His kingdom’s law and as a forceful rejection of the teaching given by the scribes and Pharisees. Because of the prevalent distortions of the law of God that the scribes and Pharisees fostered, it was necessary for Jesus to make clear just how His teaching stands in relation to the Scriptures. He emphatically declares that He has come not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17). Indeed, so far is He from abolishing them that He puts special emphasis on the point with the first of His many “truly” statements (more than thirty are present in Matthew): “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matt. 5:18).
Jesus’ teaching stands in the sharpest contrast to that of the scribes and the Pharisees, and it calls for a righteousness that far exceeds their own (Matt. 5:20). We see this same focus in the final block of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew (Matt. 23–25), a kind of parallel column matching the first that helps us better understand each by comparing it to the other. There, in seven “woes” of condemnation (which contrast to the Beatitudes that began the first block), Jesus again exposes the errors of the scribes and Pharisees, whom He repeatedly calls “hypocrites” and who have laid heavy burdens on the people without lifting a finger to help them (Matt. 23:4).
In Matthew 5:17–48, Jesus takes up six examples of distortions and errors of the law that were taught by the scribes and Pharisees. Each one is introduced by what the people have heard, followed by what Jesus says (Matt. 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). Here Jesus is not taking issue with the Scriptures, with what is written. No, the issue is what the scribes and Pharisees have said. Jesus will show that He stands by what is written (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10; Matt. 11:10; 21:13; Matt. 26:24, 31).