 'We felt like we were forced to this point' Judge schedules court hearing in Corinth church's property case By Patrick Jean Staff Writer The Layman Online Wednesday, February 14, 2007 The long-simmering dispute between St. Andrew Presbytery in northern Mississippi and a member church has boiled over into civil court. First Presbyterian Church in Corinth filed suit Feb. 5 against the presbytery, seeking a declaratory judgment that it owns its property without interference by the presbytery or the Presbyterian Church (USA). Alcorn County Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Gardner III issued a temporary restraining order the same day and scheduled a hearing Feb. 15 on whether to grant a preliminary injunction. Walker W. "Bill" Jones III, a Jackson attorney who represents the church, said the lawsuit was initiated to prevent the presbytery from taking action at its Feb. 6 stated meeting against the 470-member congregation. "We felt like we were forced to this point," he said. The docket for the presbytery's meeting included a report from the Committee on Ministry that it "has directed the Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk to begin the necessary legal proceedings to determine the presbytery's legal rights, and specifically to seek a declaratory judgment as to whether the courts in the State of Mississippi will recognize and uphold our constitution's trust clause." First Presbyterian's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Don Elliott, said the presbytery authorized its lawyer to respond and appointed its Presbytery Council and the Rev. Dr. Gregory A. Goodwiller, its executive presbyter and stated clerk, as its representatives in legal proceedings. Goodwiller did not return calls from The Layman Online seeking comment. Months in the making On July 9, 2006, the session of First Presbyterian told the congregation that the church "cannot stay in the PCUSA as it stands now." Twenty-two days later, the session called for a six-month "season of prayer and discernment" to determine whether it would remain in the PCUSA. On Nov. 28, the session recommended to the congregation that "we go in the direction of leaving the PCUSA in 12 to 18 months or less and moving to a new place in another Presbyterian and Reformed denomination." The session shared the resolution with the Committee on Ministry of St. Andrew Presbytery on Jan. 23. The following day, the committee sent a letter to Elliott, First Presbyterian's pastor of 21 years. The letter, signed by committee Moderator Frank Chiles, informed Elliott of the committee's pending report at the Feb. 6 presbytery meeting and warned him that "actively advocating for a congregation's withdrawal from the PCUSA is not an approved work." In addition to seeking ownership of its property, the church in its lawsuit seeks "injunctive relief" to keep the presbytery from "taking any action against First Presbyterian's officers." Elliott said his church is "not desirous to go to the mat over this. We simply believe the Lord is leading us in a new direction." That new direction includes the New Wineskins Association of Churches. Elliott attended the group's Winter Convocation in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 8-9 and found his church is "in a very unique position with the churches and what they're doing." What's unique, he said, is that the presbytery first pursued legal proceedings against a member church. In other cases – Elliott cited Central Presbyterian in Huntsville, Ala., and Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian in Tulsa, Okla., among others – the church sued the presbytery. Before the church filed its lawsuit, Goodwiller told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that he did not want First Presbyterian to leave. "We are continuing to have dialogue with them," he told the newspaper. Dialogue is one thing, Jones said, but threatening legal action is another. "There was clearly perceived, imminent, irreparable harm and injury looming on the horizon," he said, and the lawsuit was filed to head that off. "The church was either going to be the plaintiff or the defendant in a lawsuit," said Everett E. White, another Jackson attorney representing First Presbyterian. "It all happened very quickly." Book of Order taken to task Clause G-8.0201 of the PCUSA's Book of Order states that, "All property held by or for a particular church … is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (USA)." The lawsuit argues that this clause is unconstitutional and not enforceable under state law. It also argues that the clause does not apply to First Presbyterian's property because the church never adopted the clause. The lawsuit also argues that:
The lawsuit cites two legal precedents for applying neutral principles:
But Goodwiller told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that courts "have routinely upheld" the clause that local church property is held in trust for the denomination. "We're confident they'll uphold this," he said. Goodwiller told the newspaper that the presbytery is seeking to protect the First Presbyterian property for those in the congregation who wish to remain in the PCUSA. "The presbytery has a responsibility for anyone who remains loyal to the denomination," he said. Elliott said his church is looking at the church property ownership lawsuits involving Mississippi Presbytery and two member churches, First Presbyterian in Vicksburg and J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian in McComb, with "special interest" to see how state law will be applied. "We trust God to take it from here," he said. Patrick Jean is a staff writer for The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at pjean@layman.org. |
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