Country Church Fed Up With UMC, Tries to Leave

[Jerome]

http://thesouthern.com/church-dispu...age_a77cf2f8-821e-5fb6-9cf2-a0c41bf8f60f.html

A state Methodist association is alleging that one of its member churches is trespassing on the church property and has asked a judge to make the congregation relinquish the main building and other property.

Members of the church decided to drop "Methodist" from the church name and move away from the Methodist church, which one member said seems to have "slid way, way to the left" of Biblical beliefs.

"We just simply believe that we need to be attending a church that believes the Bible," said Larry Badgley, who is head of the trustee board.

Badgley said the church has about 50 to 60 people, who are "simple, country people."

They've so far rebuffed the denomination's attempt to appoint a replacement for their beloved pastor:

The Rev. Alan Milligan, appointed by the United Methodist Church as Ohio Chapel's new pastor, . . . .went to the church on a Sunday morning to lead services. The first Sunday, Milligan was reportedly met at the church's door by members of the congregation who told him the building was locked and he would not be allowed to enter.

The next Sunday, a Pulaski County deputy sheriff reportedly met Milligan outside the church, telling him he was an uninvited guest and that no uninvited guests would be allowed on the property.

 

[padredurand]

I spent 13 years with the UMC. The church government is much different than most Baptists would be accustom to. The local church building is not owned by the congregation. All real property acquired by the local church belongs to the Annual Conference and is deeded as such. There are a few churches existing before the 1968 merger with the EUB that did not deed their property to the annual conference. They are the exception and not the rule.

Congregations are free to do anything they want. They just can't stay in the building. It is not theirs even if they raised the money and built it themselves.

¶ 2501. Requirement of the Trust Clause for All Property-1. All properties of United Methodist local churches and other United Methodist agencies and institutions are held, in trust, for the benefit of the entire denomination, and ownership and usage of church property is subject to the Discipline. This trust requirement is an essential element of the historic polity of The United Methodist Church or its predecessor denominations or communions and has been a part of the Discipline since 1797. It reflects the connectional structure of the Church by ensuring that the property will be used solely for purposes consonant with the mission of the entire denomination as set forth in the Discipline. The trust requirement is thus a fundamental expression of United Methodism whereby local churches and other agencies and institutions within the denomination are both held accountable to and benefit from their connection with the entire worldwide Church.
In consonance with the legal definition and self-understanding of The United Methodist Church (see ¶ 141), and with particular reference to its lack of capacity to hold title to property, The United Methodist Church is organized as a connectional structure, and titles to all real and personal, tangible and intangible property held at jurisdictional, annual, or district conference levels, or by a local church or charge, or by an agency or institution of the Church, shall be held in trust for The United Methodist Church and subject to the provisions of its Discipline. Titles are not held by The United Methodist Church (see ¶ 807.1) or by the General Conference of The United Methodist Church, but instead by the incorporated conferences, agencies, or organizations of the denomination, or in the case of unincorporated bodies of the denomination, by boards of trustees established for the purpose of holding and administering real and personal, tangible and intangible property.

2. The trust is and always has been irrevocable, except as provided in the Discipline. Property can be released from the trust, transferred free of trust or subordinated to the interests of creditors and other third parties only to the extent authority is given by the Discipline.

3. Local churches and other United Methodist agencies and institutions may acquire, hold, maintain, improve, and sell property for purposes consistent with the mission of the Church, unless restricted or prevented by the Discipline.

 

[Thousand Hills]

Good for them, I hope the congregation succeeds in what they want to accomplish and sends a signal to the UMC.