Michael Gryboski, Main Line Church Editor Friday, October 18, 2024iStock/D:532811041
An Alabama church has filed a complaint against a local group of the United Methodist Church, seeking a court order allowing it to take possession of historic property.
Selma’s Church Street Methodist Church, which reportedly has about 350 members and is the city’s oldest church, filed a complaint Monday in Dallas County Circuit Court against the UMC Alabama-West Florida Conference. did.
James McNeil, an attorney with Hobbs & Hayne PC in Selma and a member of Church Street UMC, filed the complaint on behalf of the congregation.
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In an interview with The Christian Post, McNeil explained that the congregation wants a court order confirming they own the campus before receiving a disqualification vote.
“The church trustees initiated this process, and I have been commissioned by them and the members of the church to prepare a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment regarding who has ultimate control over church property.” he said.
According to the UMC Book of Discipline, all church property within the denomination “is held in trust for the benefit of the entire denomination, and ownership and use of church property is subject to discipline.”
“Except as provided by the Code, trusts are and remain irrevocable. Property may be released from the trust, transferred out of trust, and transferred to creditors only to the extent authorized by the Code.” or to the interests of other third parties,” the provision continued.
But McNeil disputed the claim that the UMC and its conference have “ultimate control over the property,” arguing that state law’s “neutrality doctrine” is authoritative.
“The trust provisions used by the Methodist Church do not comply with Alabama law regarding the creation of trusts,” McNeil said. The main issue here is that establishing a valid trust relating to real estate requires a written document signed by all parties. ”
Mr. McNeil asserted that “no such document exists to create a trust in connection with the real estate,” and that “full ownership of the real estate should be free and free from any trust claims by the United Methodist Church.” It is,” he added.
The Christian Post reached out to the UMC Alabama-West Florida Conference for this story. A spokesperson emailed the following short statement from the community group. Praying for everyone involved. ”
For decades, the UMC has been embroiled in a polarizing debate over whether to change its rules to exclude the blessing of same-sex marriages and the ordination of celibate homosexuals.
At a special session of the General Conference in 2019, participants voted to approve a temporary measure that would create a process for churches that wish to secede from the denomination over the controversy.
By the time that provision expired late last year, more than 7,500 congregations had left UMC, and thousands more had chosen to join the theologically conservative Global Methodist Church.
Earlier this year, the UMC General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to eliminate rules banning gay marriage and the ordination of openly gay people, as well as bans on funding LGBT advocacy groups.
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