Diocese says it will take legal action over church property

[struggle4progress]

01/19/2007
By MATT REED / Associated Press

Episcopalian leaders took another step toward taking control of the property of breakaway conservative churches Thursday, with diocese officials saying it will take legal action to secure and protect property worth tens of millions of dollars.

Eleven churches, including Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church, have voted since late last year to part ways with The Episcopal Church, citing disagreements with the American denomination's liberal views on homosexuality.

The diocese and departing members from Truro Church and The Falls Church — the two most prominent and largest Episcopal parishes — agreed in December to delay legal action over church property for 30 days. That agreement expired Wednesday.

On Thursday, Bishop Peter Lee and the Executive Board of the Diocese of Virginia unanimously declared their intent to recover or protect diocesan property ...

http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8MO1BB00.html

[kwassa]

1. The battle has begun.

The irony of these conservative southern whites, who have nothing to do with black people in their daily lives, turning to Nigeria as their source of legitimacy.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_81289_ENG_HTM.htm

Virginia leadership declares church property 'abandoned'
Bishop says 'spiritual abandonment' of Episcopalians 'perhaps the greatest offense'

By Mary Frances Schjonberg
Thursday, January 18, 2007

excerpt:

(Bishop Peter) Lee, in a letter to the diocese, also released January 18, wrote that when the majority of the congregations' membership agreed to leave, "they left remaining Episcopal congregations in those places without vestries, without clergy and without their churches, whether the remaining congregations numbered one or 100 souls."

"The spiritual abandonment of their Episcopal brothers and sisters of the past, the present and the future, is perhaps the greatest offense for which there is no redress under our tradition," he wrote.

Lee outlined the efforts of Episcopalians in Heathsville, Herndon and Falls Church to re-group, writing that "there is life springing from these dry bones."

The bishop also described steps he and diocesan leadership took to accommodate those members who disagreed with decisions of the Episcopal Church. Those efforts included, Lee wrote, diocesan money for church planting, access to diocesan medical and dental insurance programs, many meetings that attempted "to find common ground on matters of theology," rejection of efforts to deny the congregations a vote at diocesan convention despite their refusal to fund the diocese's budget, and three invitations to retired Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey to conduct confirmations "when my episcopal presence was either specifically refused or would have been a source of tension for the membership."

"I endured being told that the parents of confirmands would not want me to lay hands on their children at confirmation and I have received other personal attacks including death wishes in letters, reports and public statements," he wrote.

[MistressOverdone]

3. In my city

there have been quite a few of these splits, but in all cases the dissenting people left the building. I know of one parish in the north, where the entire parish went to the Anglicans, and they will eventually have a huge lawsuit. It is on the "mainline" in PA and is an old church worth a lot of money, on the historical register, Tiffany windows, etc.

In my town, the congregations that left are all doing very well, very healthy financially, lots of members, kids, new members, while the ghost churches with the buildings (I am a member of one) struggle to keep on the lights. We have, indeed, been abandoned by our brothers and sisters in Christ. Well, at least we know and trust the ones that have left. I see it as a necessary weeding out. But it is painful.

[kwassa]

4. What city are you in?

You're not in the Pittsburgh diocese, are you? I say that because Bishop Duncan is one of the ringleaders of the dissidents in ECUSA. The "mainline" sounds like Philadelphia, though.

Where are the people that have left the churches now meeting?

The only hopeful sign is that one a national level the number of total dissidents is a small percentage of the total Episcopal church. Many of the Virginia churches that left are quite small. Up to this point, I thought of Bishop Lee as being a conservative, but them I am in the wildly liberal Washington diocese with Bishop Chane.

[MistressOverdone]

9. I live in the deep south

and the church I'm referring to in PA is Rosemont's Good Shepherd. I happened to go to hs with their "rector" (now a bishop in one of the Anglican branches. He was actually deposed by his Bish..think the name was Bennigan or something? But his church stayed with him. That will be in the courts a long time.

The people who have left are in various places. One church, the "mother" church of the state, split and had enough money to flat out buy another church and there they are: healthy and thriving. My church dissenters left for an office park and are building. Another group meets in a strip mall, but they are rather small. There is one more church in the process of splitting but they are a very small parish and I think they will probably meet in a house. All of the original churches are very much ghost churches (even though there are lots of folks on the books, the reality is 25-30 a week) and hurting in every way: financially, spiritually (dealing with the hurt and bad feelings), emotionally...you name it.

I guess on the national level it isn't that big a deal, but it is around here. Unless, of course, the Anglican Communion boots the whole lot of us. Then I'll probably just give up and cross the Tiber.

[MistressOverdone]

2. And here we have

THE BOTTOM LINE.

[Goblinmonger]

5. My understanding of case precedence

is that the splitting church will leave. The church was property of the diocese, etc. Just because they are splitting from the main church does not give them the right to take the property even though it is "their" parish. It's a pisser, but property rights are property rights.

[kwassa]

6. There have been some unfavorable rulings in California

A good but disturbing article

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12533

Who owns the steeple?
Religion: Litigation looms over church property as conservative congregations and dioceses consider leaving mainline denominations | Edward E. Plowman

As The Episcopal Church (TEC) finds itself cracking apart, the question on everybody's mind is: "Can departing churches keep their property?"

The answer: It depends. Courts differ in how they handle church property disputes. State corporate laws governing property ownership, deeds, and trusts are far from uniform and may be subject to conflicting interpretations. So, as litigation looms, attorneys on all sides are busy researching case law and assembling briefs.

Many denominations have clauses declaring that property owned by congregations is held in trust for the denomination: A church is free to leave, but not with its property. For many years, most courts routinely deferred to denominational law in property disputes—especially in cases involving "hierarchical" denominations with structured top-down government, including TEC, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (PCUSA), and the United Methodist Church (UMC). All three are strife riven over doctrine and discipline—and ownership of church property.

But times—and the courts—are changing. Because property ownership is in the realm of state corporate law, a few courts years ago began deciding church property disputes according to "neutral principles" while steering clear of doctrinal squabbles. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1979 (Jones v. Wolf) not only approved but also encouraged this approach. TEC hurried to add the Dennis Canon to its constitution, clearly claiming that property owned by churches is held in trust for TEC.

However, a California appeals court in 1981 spelled out a series of neutral principles in deciding The Protestant Episcopal Church v. Barker. It in effect ignored the Dennis law and allowed three departing Episcopal congregations to keep their property while denying another.

Fast forward to 2004: A California appeals court allowed St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Fresno, which had left the UMC, to keep its property. St. Luke's had changed its articles of incorporation, clearly deeding all its property to itself with no mention of a trust. That act, the court ruled unanimously, revoked the UMC trust. In short, trusts are not a dead-end; the party that created a trust can revoke it. The California Supreme Court upheld the decision that same year.

(much more in the article)

[Goblinmonger]

7. I believe there had been wisconsin cases

where the property stayed with the church from which the parish was splitting. Can't remember where or I would google it.

[kwassa]

8. this may end up on a state-by-state basis

from what the article is saying.

We in Maryland did get a conservative rector bounced who was hired illegally by part of the congregation without approval of the Bishop. That went to court, and the conservatives lost.

[Evoman]

10. Do you think that if the church keeps the property, that they would be loath

to sell it to the splintered faction? What I mean is...would the Episcopalians just sell the church, or would they decide to keep the land and the church, and find a new bishop/reverend/followers?

[kwassa]

11. I think they will try to keep the churches ....

which may be problematic if they have no congregations, or can't rebuild the congregations enough to financially support them. For awhile, at least, the churches will be supported by the diocese.

We has a seminarian in our church from the South, became a rector almost immediately by returning to the are to take over a church where the conservative rector there and most of the congregation walked out. This seminarian was a major talent, though, and if anyone could rebuild the church congregation, he could.