October 1, 2026, Murfreesboro Presbytery met with Liberty Cumberland Presbyterian Church in McMinnville, Tennessee. Rev. Greg Bowen served as moderator and Rev. Jonathan Watson as vice moderator.
Candidates Caroline Farmer Liles and Kent Hesselbein were examined and licensed by presbytery. Licentiates Riley Young and LeighAnn Morgan were examined and approved for ordination, Young pending completion of his educational requirements. Young’s ordination is scheduled for January 3, 2027, at Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, with Revs. Isaac Gray, Larry Green and Andy Rogers, and Elder Luke Judkins serving on the ordination commission. Morgan’s ordination is scheduled for January 10, 2027, at Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church, with Revs. Blake Stephens, Michael Clark and Amber Clark, and Elders Tina Thurman and Lynda Fernander serving on the commission. Presbytery also approved pastoral relationships between Morgan and Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church and between Young and Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, both contingent upon their ordination.
At the request of the congregation, the Board of Missions recommended the closure of Belvidere Cumberland Presbyterian Church, effective October 18, 2026. Presbytery authorized its trustees to dispose of the church property.
Presbytery approved a $3,000 grant to Sewanee Cumberland Presbyterian Church for campus ministry at the University of the South. Proceeds from the sale of McMinnville Cumberland Presbyterian Church were allocated as follows: $25,000 for earthquake relief in the Synod of the Nations through the Missions Ministry Team, $100,000 for reserve funds, and $132,500 for new church development. Presbytery also allocated the $424 meeting offering to the Committee on Ministry and approved forgiving the loan to Crystal Springs Camp.
Following the death of Rev. James McGill, presbytery approved sending a floral arrangement for his funeral and continuing payment of his stipend to his spouse through the end of 2026. Presbytery also voted to extend the deadline established in an earlier Board of Ministry motion to May 1, 2027, contingent upon the Permanent Judiciary Committee upholding the board’s appeal.
