State supreme court rules against conference in property case Dec. 3, 2004 By Jeneane Jones* SACRAMENTO,
Calif. (UMNS) — The California State Supreme Court has denied a
petition by a United Methodist regional office to review a property
dispute involving a Fresno church. The
court refused to hear the petition from the United Methodist Church’s
California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference in the case of St.
Luke’s, whose congregation broke away from the denomination in 2000. The
conference argued that the denomination’s trust clause barred local
congregations from taking their church property with them in such
situations. Robert
M. Shannon, trial attorney for the California-Nevada Conference, called
the Dec. 1 decision a disappointment. But he said it was only the most
recent development in a process that would make the denomination and its
trust clause – which dates back 250 years to Methodism’s founder, John
Wesley – stronger. “The
Supreme Court was in a position to rule on an important question of law
that affects thousands of local churches within the United Methodist
denomination,” Shannon said. “This case not only impacts the United
Methodist Church but other mainline denominations with similar methods
of holding property. These other denominations could potentially see
their own trust clauses challenged and invalidated using the St. Luke’s
case.” The United Methodist Church’s trust clause declares
that the local church holds its property in trust for the denomination.
The clause has been upheld in U.S. courts throughout the 200-plus
history of the denomination in the United States. St.
Luke’s pastor and members left the denomination after disagreements over
biblical interpretation and the enforcement of the denomination’s law
book, the Book of Discipline. The congregation withheld apportionments —
funds that support the ministry of the wider church — in protest of the
conference’s decision not to discipline pastors for participating in a
same-sex union service. After the break, St. Luke’s members continued to meet on the disputed property. In
August, the California Fifth District Court of Appeal overturned the
trial court decision that a local church could not revoke the trust
clause. The appeals court found that St. Luke’s Church trustees violated
their fiduciary duty to the United Methodist Church in attempting to do
so. At
the time of the August ruling, the Rev. Kevin Smith, pastor of St.
Luke’s, said, “I love the United Methodist Church. But they can’t just
pick and choose which parts of the Discipline they want to adhere to.” Smith
said California’s corporate laws have always been on the side of the
congregation. “California corporate law allows us, as owners of the
property, to change terms of the trust in which we hold the property.” Smith could not be reached for a reaction to the latest court ruling. Bishop Beverly J. Shamana, who leads the California-Nevada Conference, called the state supreme court decision disturbing. “One
of our values is the continuity of ministry from one generation to the
next,” she said in a statement. “We understand that disagreement is a
part of living together. As United Methodists, we also know we are bound
together for the common good of sharing the gospel of Christ that makes
a difference in communities. The secular legal community has overruled
our Book of Discipline with its interpretation of a California
corporation code. This is disconcerting. But it does not stop ministry.
It does not sever the Body of Christ.” *Jones
is communications director for the California-Nevada Annual Conference.
Additional reporting was provided by United Methodist News Service. News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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