wfn.org | Church property rights hinge on adhering to doctrine

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 3, 2003   News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7  E-mail:newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL{520}

A UMNS Report
By J. Rick Peck*

Do the property rights of a local congregation ever supersede the rights of
the denomination?
A centuries-old clause in the 2000 United Methodist Book of Discipline
stating that all local church property is held in trust for the denomination
may not be applicable if the doctrinal standards of John Wesley, the
denomination's founder, are not followed.
That is the opinion of the Rev. Thomas C. Oden, a professor at United
Methodist-related Drew University School of Theology, Madison, N.J., and his
theory is being tested by churches in Kansas, California and Alaska.  Three
congregations in those states are attempting to leave the denomination and
take their property with them.
According to Oden, the Henry Anson Buttz professor of theology at Drew,
doctrinal faithfulness as well as organizational structures must be
considered when property issues are raised.  While he acknowledged that the
trust clause embedded in all United Methodist property deeds is unmistakably
clear, he believes the denomination's doctrinal standards are equally clear.
Those standards, Oden said, are found in the 1968 Plan of Union between the
Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church and include The
Articles of Religion, John Wesley's Forty-four Sermons on Several Occasions
and Wesley's Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament.
"The Constitution (1808), Plan of Union (1968), and current Discipline (2000)
require property deeds to be accountable to United Methodist established
doctrinal standards," he wrote in "The Trust Clause Governing Use of Property
in the UMC," an essay noting that a restrictive rule forbids the denomination
from changing the Articles of Religion. 
"If a bishop or conference can be shown to be unfaithful to the doctrinal and
disciplinary standards required in the trust clause," Oden wrote, "they can
indeed be required to show cause that they have legitimate access to local
church property."
In Oden's opinion, church members who believe the denomination has not abided
by the doctrinal standards should not view the trust clause as an obstacle,
but rather as a legal instrument to call the conference to account.
Asked for reactions to his essay, Oden told United Methodist News Service,
"Faithful United Methodist lay persons are, with few exceptions, elated to
learn the historical facts that show clearly that the annual conference must
be accountable to the doctrinal standards of the Discipline, and that
'faithfulness to the connection' for 200 years has meant faithfulness to the
teachings of John Wesley, which require following the doctrinal standards he
established to limit the conference's powers."
"Oden is talking nonsense," the Rev. Thomas H. Dahl, chancellor for the
Alaska Missionary Conference, told the news service. "The trust clause is not
written to protect doctrinal purity.  The trust clause is written to protect
the United Methodist connection from raids on denominational property. There
are no doctrinal standards anywhere in the trust clause, expressed or
implied."
He believes U.S. civil courts are not constitutionally qualified and have no
jurisdiction to make judgments about doctrinal fidelity. 
The Rev. Philip Wogaman, who recently testified in a New Zealand court on the
trust clause (see UMNS #520), said churches could be in for some awkward
experiences if they are required to put into practice everything John Wesley
wrote about. He noted that the denomination would immediately have to
discontinue ordaining women.
According to Oden, Wogaman's concern is unwarranted. "In fact," he responded,
"the conferences are bound only to follow what they have solemnly agreed to
in the Constitution--that they must be accountable to Wesley's doctrinal
standards as a limitation on the powers of the conference."
Members of Gove United Methodist Church in northwest Kansas are attempting to
use the Oden argument in their effort to retain the church property and
disassociate with the denomination.
The 125-member congregation voted May 9 to disassociate from the denomination
because it had allegedly violated doctrinal standards by "allowing and
condoning the following: same-sex unions, homosexual ordination, Sophia
worship, goddess worship, Wicca worship, pagan practices,
anti-trinitarianism, opposition to the virgin birth, and the deity of
Christ."
The conference filed a lawsuit June 5 to protect the property for members
remaining in the United Methodist Church. A temporary restraining order froze
the assets and ensured that the building could be used for United Methodist
worship. That order has allowed Sandra Jellison-Knock, a laywoman, to lead
worship services in Gove Church for 17 remaining members.
 Meanwhile, Paul Woodall, a former licensed local pastor who has been
dismissed by the conference, is leading the breakaway congregation that now
meets in a nearby Baptist church. A hearing date on the lawsuit has not been
set.

In Fresno, Calif., a split between members of a local church and the
denomination also led to a court battle over who owns Saint Luke's United
Methodist Church. The Fresno County Superior Court ruled that, because of the
trust clause, the California-Nevada Annual Conference holds title to the
property.
 
However, some 600 former members of the congregation appealed the decision
and continue to worship in the building as a community church while awaiting
the decision of an appeals court.

Members of a Fairbanks, Alaska congregation are engaged in similar effort to
retain their church property. To date, the Judicial Council has ruled that
the Alaska Missionary Conference had the right to close the 60-member church,
but civil courts have yet to rule on the disposition of the property. Last
October, a superior court judge in Juneau refused a motion to evict members
of the former St. Paul United Methodist Church from its sanctuary and
parsonage.

The 15 people still worshiping in the building have removed "United
Methodist" from its name, but the court action does not determine who owns
the church building, valued at $322,000, nor the parsonage, valued at
$196,000.

"The decision to close the 18-year-old church was a difficult one," said the
Rev. Rachel Lieder Simeon, the superintendent responsible for St. Paul. "The
church was discontinued because after an 18-month assessment of the internal
workings of the church, it became clear that the core leadership was
unwilling to be subject to the authority of the denomination. They would not
take directions from the pastor, the superintendent or the bishop."

# # #
*Peck is a free-lance writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

 
 

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org