Presbytery appeals Carrollton decision
By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman, January 15, 2010
Claiming that it is “defending the Book of Order and the presbytery’s constitutional rights,” the Presbytery of South Louisiana (PSL) has filed an appeal against a 19th Judicial District Court decision that affirms the property rights of the Carrollton Presbyterian Church in New Orleans.
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PSL has incurred staggering expenses, estimated to approach $300,000, in its losing bid to seize the congregation’s property. In the process, it has been found in contempt of court, failed in its Louisiana Supreme Court bid to keep its communications with synod and General Assembly lawyers under wraps, and is now facing sanctions charges.
In the wake of this string of losses and escalating expenses, PSL officials are now seeking to oil troubled waters among their supporting churches. The Rev. Lesley Paine, a minister at large who serves as moderator of the presbytery’s Standing Administrative Commission, dispatched a letter to PSL’s 62 churches, explaining PSL’s decision to proceed with further litigation.
Who started it?
Paine argued that Carrollton, not PSL, “started this case” when it sought from the court a declaratory judgment that Carrollton owned its property free of any presbytery control. Her letter did not mention the fact that Carrollton sought a civil court declaration only after it had tried for six months to get PSL officials to meet to discuss Carrollton’s property matters.
Carrollton’s intention is to sell its property to a neighboring Christian school. The deal seems a win/win for both the school and the congregation. The Christian school has an excellent reputation and, especially in the wake of Katrina’s destruction of many schools, it needs additional space to reach more New Orleans’ children. Carrollton owns a building that exceeds the small congregation’s needs and whose maintenance costs strain its budget. In an agreement that each party believes serves its best interest, Carrollton has proposed to sell its building in return for a provision that the congregation could continue to worship in its sanctuary.
Everyone is happy, except the presbytery, which has intervened to block the sale.
Carrollton says the presbytery’s interference was unwarranted, based on the fact that Carrollton, as did many formerly “southern” churches following their denomination’s merger with the “northern stream” of the Presbyterian Church (USA), timely voted to utilize a Book of Order exemption that assured it of the unfettered right to dispose of its property without presbytery permission.
Unfounded allegations
Paine’s letter to PSL’s churches stated repeatedly that the Carrollton congregation was attempting to divest itself of its assets and then “dissolve” its membership in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Carrollton’s attorney, Lloyd L. Lunceford, flatly denied that allegation in a Layman Online telephone interview:
“At no time did the session or congregation of Carrollton ever vote to ask PSL to dissolve it, and neither has the session or the congregation ever expressed any intention to dissolve the church. This has been stated under oath in sworn testimony.”
“In fact,” Lunceford continued, “Carrollton has also sworn under oath that it has been its intent following the sale of its property to its neighbor that the congregation will continue to meet for worship in the sanctuary with the new owner’s permission and that Carrollton’s intent has been to continue to be a PCUSA church indefinitely, so long as it remains a viable congregation.”
Did members of the Carrollton congregation ever discuss the possibility of dissolving? “Over the period of the last 20 years, of course they did,” said Lunceford, who added that Carrollton’s members also discussed other possibilities, such as “revival” during that period. He insists, however, that those informal discussions never reached the level of a vote by the session or the congregation.
Lunceford said that the subject of Carrollton’s dissolution also came up in out-of-court settlement discussions, but that it was PSL, not Carrollton, that proposed Carrollton’s dissolution as part of a settlement package. During those discussions, Carrollton’s attorneys made a counter offer that included PSL’s dissolution language, but only if the PSL would not interfere with the property sale. No agreement was reached, and the discussions were terminated.
A ‘red herring’ strategy
Lunceford says that it is “irresponsible” for PSL officials to continue stating that Carrollton intended to dissolve in the face of Carrollton’s sworn testimony to the contrary.
“The PSL’s emphasis on the supposed dissolving of Carrollton is a red herring,” said Lunceford, “and it is legally irrelevant to any determining issue in the lawsuit. It is another example of the public relations effort by PSL leadership.”
Lunceford believes that PSL may be in trouble with its churches over its huge and thus far unsuccessful litigation costs. Lunceford said, “The PSL’s statements are an exercise in public relations damage control. Their length is indicative of the heat that PSL leadership must be feeling from its rank and file in the wake of recent press reports and blogs that have noted that the court has granted summary judgment against PSL, has held the PSL in contempt of court, has ordered the production of previously withheld documents, and is now considering levying substantial sanctions against the PSL. Apparently, the PSL leadership felt it needed to do something to avoid a mutiny by its members on the floor of presbytery at its next meeting. It appears that the answer to their dilemma is to issue a press release.”
Claiming higher ground
In an apparent attempt to claim higher ground, Paine’s letter portrayed the 62-church PSL as a victim of the 20-member Carrollton church’s aggression. “Unfortunately,” she said, “this has been costly to all involved, but we have had little choice but to defend our Presbyterian Church (USA) constitution and ourselves. We are only interested in preserving our ability to perform our ecclesial functions under our Book of Order. It’s not just a question about Carrollton and its property … We humbly submit that Carrollton’s chosen path – and now this ruling – violates the Book of Order and ignores the connectional nature of our denomination.”
Lunceford says such statements “are a work of fiction … littered with half truths, key omissions, and legal arguments that the court has already roundly rejected.” He says the PSL leadership seems to be “placing its hopes on its member churches being ignorant of the facts and the law, and instead, accepting like sheep the PSL statements at face value.”
Claiming ‘higher ground’ support
Paine’s letter assured the presbytery that it would not have to bear the cost of further litigation alone. “Overtures to the Synod of the Sun for assistance have been met with assurances that it will financially support this effort going forward,” she said.
A letter from the Synod of the Sun has in fact been dispatched to executives, moderators, stated clerks and council members of its eleven presbyteries asking each of them “to prayerfully and intensely search for ways to share the incarnation of being the Body of Christ to and with each other.” Translated into ordinary language, the synod’s request is that each presbytery anti up “a minimum gift of $3,000.00” to help PSL underwrite its legal expenses.
If each presbytery agrees to pay the minimum requested amount – and this is by no means certain, since some of those presbyteries are experiencing financial strains of their own – the synod’s contribution to PSL would be $33,000.00, a drop in the bucket when considering the cost of carrying this case through the appellate process.
So, despite Paine’s assurance that the synod will financially support PSL’s appeal, PSL’s congregations, most of which number between 50 and 100 members (one congregation has only three), face the distinct possibility that they could be left holding the bag if that appeal costs more than the synod is willing to pay.
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