AME Zion church dedicates former United Methodist building
Aug. 16, 2007
NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.
A UMNS Report By J. Richard Peck*
A discontinued United Methodist church building has been formally dedicated as the new home for an African Methodist Episcopal Zion congregation, ending a painful, six-year legal journey for United Methodists in Alaska regarding the property.
The property of the discontinued St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Fairbanks, Alaska, was formally dedicated Aug. 12 by St. James Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
The joyful dedication celebration contrasted with bitter beginnings when a few members of St. Paul's Church took The United Methodist Church through several Alaska courtrooms in an effort to obtain ownership of the property, valued at more than $400,000.
Legal battles began in 2002 after the missionary conference voted 60-1 to close the 60-member church. Litigation was concluded in October 2006, when the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the 1984 founders of the congregation had "agreed to worship and conduct business in accordance with The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church." The court ruled that despite the fact that the property deeds made no mention of the Alaska Missionary Conference, founders knew the Discipline included a clause that declares all church properties are held in trust for the denomination.
Members of St. James Temple worshipped in the brown-stained wood building during the last two years of litigation. During that time, the AME Zion congregation paid $30,000 in rent. That amount was applied to the $150,000 purchase price when the building was sold to the AME Zion congregation March 30.
'A high moment'
Bishop Roy A. Holmes of the Western Episcopal District presided over the Alaska AME Zion Annual Conference session in Fairbanks and the dedication of Saint James Temple.
Bishop Edward W. Paup, who presides over the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference and the Alaska Missionary Conference, delivered the sermon. "This is a high moment in the Wesleyan family," Paup told the 70 participants at the Sunday service.
Paup told United Methodist News Service that the missionary conference became aware of the building needs of St. James Temple while in the litigation process.
"Our commitment to a close relationship with our pan-Methodist sisters and brothers led to the decision to make the church facility available to them on a rental basis until final decision was made by the courts," Paup said. "When the property was awarded to the annual conference, we offered St. James the opportunity to buy the church facility. We celebrate with them the dedication of this church building as the sacred space for the St. James congregation."
The Rev. Rachel Lieder Simeon, superintendent of the missionary conference and assistant to the bishop, served as a liturgist at the dedication of the St. James Temple.
"After such a long and arduous process, it is a significant moment of grace and reconciliation to be able to offer the former St. Paul Church building in Fairbanks for ministry under the AME Zion denomination," Simeon said. "Their stewardship of the building during much of the legal process was a gift to the conference and the denomination."
"God has blessed St. James Temple with a statutory warranty deed that brings ownership of the Farmer's Loop property into the AME Zion Church," said the Rev. Charles Brown, pastor of the 78-member St. James Temple. "We have truly been blessed. St. James is now settling into the reality of property ownership with all of its demands after having rented worship space for 24 years. We have had a marvelous experience and look forward to many more years of blessings and ministry at this site."
Pan-Methodist cooperation
The dedication service was held during the Aug. 9-12 sessions of the AME Zion Annual Conference, a regional body that includes Alaska.
The Rev. Larry Pickens, top staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, called the property sale "a significant statement about pan-Methodist ecumenical cooperation." He said the New York-based agency "applauds the Alaska Missionary Annual Conference for the ecumenical spirit that it models from top to bottom. This is a feel-good story for the ecumenical movement."
Georgina Dapcevich, a member of the Christian Unity Commission from Sitka, Alaska, represented the agency at the dedication service. "The spirit of God was evident in the music and the testimonies offered by the participants," she said.
Lonnie D. Brooks, a member of the Christian Unity commission and president of the board of trustees in the missionary conference, was unable to attend the service, but he told United Methodist News Service the sale of the building to the AMEZ church is "a landmark moment in the history of our two churches and in The United Methodist Church's fulfillment of its promise at the General Conference of 2000 to live out its repentance for acts of racism that led to the separation of our two churches in the 19th century."
* Peck is a retired clergy member of New York Annual Conference who has written for UM News Service about legal cases related to the Fairbanks church for the past six years.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
********************
United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
----------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this group, go to UMCom.org, log in to your account, click on the My Resources link and select the Leave option on the list(s) from which you wish to unsubscribe. If you have problems or questions, please write to websupport@umcom.org.
Powered by United Methodist Communications http://www.UMCom.org