If true, this could unleash a rush for the doors. There has been a invitation by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to take in fleeing PCUSA churches and the machinery is being set up (or has been set up) to do that. While a much smaller body, the EPC is orthodox in its beliefs. The main theological issue is what happens to women pastors if they leave the PCUSA. The EPC is the only other presbyterian denomination that recognizes women pastors. The other presbyterian bodies, such as the Presbyterian Church in America, take the position based on Paul’s letters that women cannot be pastors.
There are a number of churches considering leaving, it is primarily the property question holding them back. However, there is also a countervailing argument that given time, the orthodox will take PCUSA back over again. A lot of the evangelical churches in PCUSA have been growing rapidly, while the liberal congregations have been shrinking. However, like ECUSA, the liberal segments are firmly in control of national power.
Article VII, upon reading, says “The corporation has no members.”
That may be seen different than saying the denomination has no members.
Tricky stuff. Everybody’s looking for something…
The best way out is still the most gracious:
Either 1) go, and leave the keys,
or 2) “Go. It’s all yours.”
Here is the success story of one rapidly growing evangelical PCUSA church:
How one stagnant congregation
tripled in two years
By Carol Heffernan
Special to The Layman
Volume 40, Number 2
Posted July 30, 2007
——————————————————————————–
SALINAS, Calif. – Salinas isn’t where you’d expect to find a thriving, seeker-friendly Presbyterian church. After all, it’s an agricultural city with little population growth and plenty of poverty. Not exactly the friendliest environment for an evangelical church – or so you’d think.
The purpose statement at First Presbyterian Church is simple: To save the unsaved. And it’s happening.
Among new members, a whopping 64 percent come by conversion. What’s more, upwards of 2,000 adults turn out to worship each Sunday, tripling the size of the congregation in only two years. Among them, more than 30 percent are Hispanic, and the number of African Americans is surging – a considerable turnaround from the handful of minorities dotting the pews in prior years.
Senior Pastor Dr. Mike Ladra is candid about the explosion of growth under his leadership, saying: “If it could happen here, it could happen anywhere.â€
Ladra is quick to acknowledge the liberal slide within the Presbyterian Church (USA), the resistance to non-traditional worship, the uphill battles weighing down so many conservative pastors. Still, that hasn’t hindered the church’s vision – or Ladra’s strategies for realizing that vision.
“We deal with the hot potato issues of today – moral relativism, evolution, salvation by Christ as opposed to religious pluralism,†he says. “Pastors of influence need to speak up about these issues and give spiritual leadership. It’s risky because we’re a seeker church and many people coming have not yet developed Biblical thinking. Still, we don’t cheapen the Gospel or avoid controversial topics.â€
Besides the impressive numbers and the passion emanating from the staff, deacons and elders, how has this church resisted the downward denominational pull only to emerge as an evangelistic powerhouse?
Strategies for growth
According to Ladra, while the church always has been conservative, it always hasn’t thrived. When he came on board nearly two decades ago, Ladra knew growing a self-satisfied congregation with a “country club†status wouldn’t be easy. He also knew some members opposed change, to the point of resisting Sunday visitors.
So, he introduced a few simple ideas; nothing too drastic – at least, not right away.
Strategies to overcome congregational and denominational obstacles worked on Ladra’s mind like a distraction. There was the matter of image. The church was widely known as a rich, white church. Not good in an area that’s 55 percent Hispanic. There were issues of space. Houses hemmed in the sanctuary, and the 20-spot parking lot forced families to park many blocks away.
Then there was the hurdle preventing some from even entering the sanctuary. Christians account for a mere four percent of Monterey County’s population – and even those looking to attend a church seemed to shy away, citing the denomination’s “bad reputation.â€
Still, Ladra saw things differently. Not through the lens of defeat, but rather through the conviction that this was a place where Jesus could meet felt needs here and now. Ladra’s approach? “Preach messages in a user-friendly language that offer Biblical solutions to real-life problems. People will come and the church will grow.â€
Sunday after Sunday, new believers were invited to share their testimonies with the congregation. “We want to be grace-filled,†Ladra says. “We want newcomers to think, ‘If that person was accepted, I can find hope here, too.’â€
Sunday after Sunday, Ladra took great care in choosing sermon topics and titles in hopes of answering life’s toughest questions: “Why Do Christians Think They Know How Everyone Should Live?†“Why Forgive When You Have a Right to be Mad?†“If God is Good, Why Doesn’t He Stop Evil?â€
And people started coming.
After years of steady growth, one problem – a good problem – loomed large. the church had run out of space.
Attendance on Sundays doubled, then tripled. Two hundred people, four hundred, six hundred. A new service started in the church gymnasium. A 100-acre property became available in the lush hills outside of Salinas – an easy escape from the gang violence erupting all over the city.
But the church chose not to purchase it, acknowledging that Hispanics and those with lower incomes may not feel welcome in the wealthy areas inhabiting those hills.
While the congregation waited and prayed, another property presented itself. A big building with a big parking lot. A former carpet store only a block from the current sanctuary. As Ladra wryly notes, “God opened up the ugliest building in town.â€
Driving down Main Street, you may not even notice it. Tucked between a gas station and Chinese restaurant, across the street from a bingo hall and bowling alley, the church’s new 1,500-seat sanctuary has been another impetus for growth.
Within two months of opening its doors in November 2004, the $12-million auditorium reached 80 percent capacity. But Ladra isn’t focused on the numbers.
“It’s not growth for growth’s sake,†he says. “The engine behind our desire is that we believe Jesus is the only Savior and we want everyone to know Him. It’s our job to make room for people to worship and know the Lord.â€
From the pulpit, Ladra continually addresses the difference between religion and a personal relationship with Jesus. He speaks on the Biblical view of eternity, including what Jesus taught about hell. And with a mostly lower-middle-class congregation, Ladra has been stunned by the response to his sermons on tithing.
The $7.6 million raised during the first building campaign puts the church in the top one percent among all churches nationwide. As Ladra explains: “It’s just a lot of people giving out of gratitude to Jesus. Motivating people to give when they’re not changing is tough. But when you see your family changing, you can’t help but give back.â€
The church is intentional about developing programs to meet the needs of their target audiences, strategically adding staff to run those programs. Men’s small group Bible studies meet all over the city. Hundreds of women attend Bible studies, weekend seminars and retreats. The services are translated into Spanish, and bilingual staff head up the children’s ministries. There are weekly programs for youth and teens, single adults and senior citizens, those with addictions and those with special needs.
All this, yet Ladra makes a point of saying that, “There are no stars on our staff. Just ordinary people with a passion for saving the unsaved.â€
Carol Heffernan is a freelance writer in Salinas, Calif.
And here’s another one (from 2006, the church has been in its new location for about a year):
Growing church blessed with greener pasture
First Presbyterian will move to Koolau Golf Club, as foretold
By Stewart Yerton syerton@starbulletin.com
After a five-year search in which church leaders examined more than 500 potential sites, the burgeoning, 1,200-member First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu has secured its promised land.
The church closed a deal yesterday to acquire the Koolau Golf Club in Kaneohe from a Hong Kong investor for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives First Presbyterian a 110,000-square-foot clubhouse and 365 parking spaces.
It also makes First Presbyterian the only church in Hawaii with its own 18-hole championship golf course.
For First Presbyterian the motivating force was not a desire to be able to hit the links after worship services, but simply to have growing room, said Ron Mathieu, First Presbyterian’s executive director. The church had only 83 parking spaces and had resorted to shuttling people to services from the Roosevelt High School parking lot, which the church rented on Sundays.
The general public accustomed to playing golf at the course will not see many changes, Mathieu said. Although the entire clubhouse will be dedicated to church services and classes on Sundays, golf course operations will not change. The course will continue to be managed by its current operator, American Golf Corp., Mathieu said.
Likewise, Honey’s at Koolau restaurant will remain open to the public. Moreover, he said, the golf club will be open for the general public to use except on Sundays. And the club’s banquet division, Koolau Catering Inc., will remain intact for people having weddings and other special events at the club.
Nonetheless, Mathieu said, the church does envision reaching out to other denominations and nonprofit groups to offer the facilities for conferences and other events at more affordable rates than those typically offered by hotels.
“We look forward to sharing this facility with a lot of other churches, not just our own,” Mathieu said.
As he sees it, the move is nothing short of providential.
“This is kind of an out-of-box thing,” he said, “but the reality is it was a phenomenal opportunity for us.”
The problem for First Presbyterian was that it needed more space and could not find anything suitable for less than $25 million to $40 million, which was a lot more than the church figured it could raise, even if it sold its building in Makiki.
According to the story that has become part of church lore, church leaders decided to explore the possibility of moving to the course after a member had a dream in which the Rev. Dan Chun was preaching at the golf course, which is located at the foot of the lush, plunging Koolau mountains.
Having exhausted virtually all other options and looked at hundreds of properties, church leaders went to talk to the owners of the golf course, who expressed a willingness to sell. Mathieu acknowledged that some longtime members had expressed concerns about relocating the church to the other side of the island. But other members have described the move as one of destiny.
“We believe, like Abraham, that we’re being led to a new home,” longtime church member Lee Alden Johnson Chapman said during a Nov. 27 service, according to a recording of the service posted on the church’s Web site. “We’ve been blessed in this home with much growth and enrichment, and we believe that if the move is God’s will, that we’ll also be blessed with growth in our new location.”
Although Mathieu declined to say how much First Presbyterian paid for the course, Chun previously had told the congregation that the asking price was about $20.5 million.
As part of the deal, First Presbyterian has sold its existing church at the corner of Nehoa and Keeaumoku streets to Catholic Charities Hawaii. Although Mathieu did not disclose terms, Chun previously has said the church had an offer of about $15.6 million for the site. Combined with $8 million raised through a capital campaign, that would be enough to buy the golf course and have money left over for renovations.
First Presbyterian’s last service in its current location will be Aug. 20. Although the church plans to hold services at the new location the weekend after that, Mathieu said it likely would take a few weeks to get up and running. A grand opening at the new location is scheduled for January, he said.
I think the reason that the lawyers in Torrance believe this has a chance to fly is that the law doesn’t really recognize an entity called “denomination.” For legal purposes, denominations are in some form or another corporations, and therefore if the corporation has no members, it can’t hold on to any property that belongs to those members. Or something like that.
If the PCUSA (as a denomination, not a corporation) has no members, then its local congregations cannot belong to a presbytery or synod. Therefore, they are not presbyterian. Ergo, they do not exist. Under the Law of the Excluded Middle, a presbyterian church without a presbytery is a contradiction in terms, like an episcopal church without a bishop or someone who is half-pregnant. On this theory, these alleged presbyterian congregations are figments of somebody’s imagination like the PCUSA itself. Talk about grasping at straws!
I think there are two questions here, similar to ECUSA. The first is whether the national denomination can claim the property. The second would be whether the presbytery can claim the property.
The “no members” argument seems only to address question 1. There would still be the question about what the presbytery would do. Like ECUSA dioceses, the presbyteries run the gamut from “reasserter” to “reassesser,” and would probably view congregations wanting to leave differently based on their outlook.
The “no members” argument is a silly diversion. It has as much chance of being taken seriously as an ice cube has of surviving in a hot tub.
The Torrance First Presbyterian Church case has special circumstances. The congregation called a pastor who was under discipline by the presbytery where he had been serving at the time of the call. That pastor declared his independence from the PCUSA; the Torrance congregation divided over whether to confirm the call. The majority prevailed, and the pastor was called, clearly in contravention of PCUSA rules. The local presbytery-appointed “administrative commission” intervened, as is the norm when the congregation is split, and presbytery/denominational rules are violated. The judge ruled that the minority was the rightful congregation, and THAT congregation owned the property.
However, if these complicating factors weren’t present, the judge likely would have ruled in favor of the presbytery on the property issue anyway, on “hierarchical” grounds. The L.A. area county courts seem titlted in that direction.
California appeals courts are divided. We’ve seen recently a district appeals court in the southern half of the state reverse lower court rulings that, under a “neutral principles” approach, awarded the property to departing TEC congregations. Earlier, an appeals court in the northern half of the state, overturned a lower court’s decision that awarded a departing United Methodist congregation’s property to the regional UM conference. The appeals court rejected the concept that a denomination could lay claim to a local church’s property by merely stating its claim through a trust clause. The court said that a congregation has the right, under corporate law, to revoke any such trust, which this UM congregation had done. The state supreme court declined to hear the denomination’s appeal of that decision.
Judicially, in church property disputes at the present time, California is a crazy, mixed-up state. 🙂
If true, this could unleash a rush for the doors. There has been a invitation by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to take in fleeing PCUSA churches and the machinery is being set up (or has been set up) to do that. While a much smaller body, the EPC is orthodox in its beliefs. The main theological issue is what happens to women pastors if they leave the PCUSA. The EPC is the only other presbyterian denomination that recognizes women pastors. The other presbyterian bodies, such as the Presbyterian Church in America, take the position based on Paul’s letters that women cannot be pastors.
There are a number of churches considering leaving, it is primarily the property question holding them back. However, there is also a countervailing argument that given time, the orthodox will take PCUSA back over again. A lot of the evangelical churches in PCUSA have been growing rapidly, while the liberal congregations have been shrinking. However, like ECUSA, the liberal segments are firmly in control of national power.
Article VII, upon reading, says “The corporation has no members.”
That may be seen different than saying the denomination has no members.
Tricky stuff. Everybody’s looking for something…
The best way out is still the most gracious:
Either 1) go, and leave the keys,
or 2) “Go. It’s all yours.”
RGEaton
Here is the success story of one rapidly growing evangelical PCUSA church:
How one stagnant congregation
tripled in two years
By Carol Heffernan
Special to The Layman
Volume 40, Number 2
Posted July 30, 2007
——————————————————————————–
SALINAS, Calif. – Salinas isn’t where you’d expect to find a thriving, seeker-friendly Presbyterian church. After all, it’s an agricultural city with little population growth and plenty of poverty. Not exactly the friendliest environment for an evangelical church – or so you’d think.
The purpose statement at First Presbyterian Church is simple: To save the unsaved. And it’s happening.
Among new members, a whopping 64 percent come by conversion. What’s more, upwards of 2,000 adults turn out to worship each Sunday, tripling the size of the congregation in only two years. Among them, more than 30 percent are Hispanic, and the number of African Americans is surging – a considerable turnaround from the handful of minorities dotting the pews in prior years.
Senior Pastor Dr. Mike Ladra is candid about the explosion of growth under his leadership, saying: “If it could happen here, it could happen anywhere.â€
Ladra is quick to acknowledge the liberal slide within the Presbyterian Church (USA), the resistance to non-traditional worship, the uphill battles weighing down so many conservative pastors. Still, that hasn’t hindered the church’s vision – or Ladra’s strategies for realizing that vision.
“We deal with the hot potato issues of today – moral relativism, evolution, salvation by Christ as opposed to religious pluralism,†he says. “Pastors of influence need to speak up about these issues and give spiritual leadership. It’s risky because we’re a seeker church and many people coming have not yet developed Biblical thinking. Still, we don’t cheapen the Gospel or avoid controversial topics.â€
Besides the impressive numbers and the passion emanating from the staff, deacons and elders, how has this church resisted the downward denominational pull only to emerge as an evangelistic powerhouse?
Strategies for growth
According to Ladra, while the church always has been conservative, it always hasn’t thrived. When he came on board nearly two decades ago, Ladra knew growing a self-satisfied congregation with a “country club†status wouldn’t be easy. He also knew some members opposed change, to the point of resisting Sunday visitors.
So, he introduced a few simple ideas; nothing too drastic – at least, not right away.
Strategies to overcome congregational and denominational obstacles worked on Ladra’s mind like a distraction. There was the matter of image. The church was widely known as a rich, white church. Not good in an area that’s 55 percent Hispanic. There were issues of space. Houses hemmed in the sanctuary, and the 20-spot parking lot forced families to park many blocks away.
Then there was the hurdle preventing some from even entering the sanctuary. Christians account for a mere four percent of Monterey County’s population – and even those looking to attend a church seemed to shy away, citing the denomination’s “bad reputation.â€
Still, Ladra saw things differently. Not through the lens of defeat, but rather through the conviction that this was a place where Jesus could meet felt needs here and now. Ladra’s approach? “Preach messages in a user-friendly language that offer Biblical solutions to real-life problems. People will come and the church will grow.â€
Sunday after Sunday, new believers were invited to share their testimonies with the congregation. “We want to be grace-filled,†Ladra says. “We want newcomers to think, ‘If that person was accepted, I can find hope here, too.’â€
Sunday after Sunday, Ladra took great care in choosing sermon topics and titles in hopes of answering life’s toughest questions: “Why Do Christians Think They Know How Everyone Should Live?†“Why Forgive When You Have a Right to be Mad?†“If God is Good, Why Doesn’t He Stop Evil?â€
And people started coming.
After years of steady growth, one problem – a good problem – loomed large. the church had run out of space.
Attendance on Sundays doubled, then tripled. Two hundred people, four hundred, six hundred. A new service started in the church gymnasium. A 100-acre property became available in the lush hills outside of Salinas – an easy escape from the gang violence erupting all over the city.
But the church chose not to purchase it, acknowledging that Hispanics and those with lower incomes may not feel welcome in the wealthy areas inhabiting those hills.
While the congregation waited and prayed, another property presented itself. A big building with a big parking lot. A former carpet store only a block from the current sanctuary. As Ladra wryly notes, “God opened up the ugliest building in town.â€
Driving down Main Street, you may not even notice it. Tucked between a gas station and Chinese restaurant, across the street from a bingo hall and bowling alley, the church’s new 1,500-seat sanctuary has been another impetus for growth.
Within two months of opening its doors in November 2004, the $12-million auditorium reached 80 percent capacity. But Ladra isn’t focused on the numbers.
“It’s not growth for growth’s sake,†he says. “The engine behind our desire is that we believe Jesus is the only Savior and we want everyone to know Him. It’s our job to make room for people to worship and know the Lord.â€
From the pulpit, Ladra continually addresses the difference between religion and a personal relationship with Jesus. He speaks on the Biblical view of eternity, including what Jesus taught about hell. And with a mostly lower-middle-class congregation, Ladra has been stunned by the response to his sermons on tithing.
The $7.6 million raised during the first building campaign puts the church in the top one percent among all churches nationwide. As Ladra explains: “It’s just a lot of people giving out of gratitude to Jesus. Motivating people to give when they’re not changing is tough. But when you see your family changing, you can’t help but give back.â€
The church is intentional about developing programs to meet the needs of their target audiences, strategically adding staff to run those programs. Men’s small group Bible studies meet all over the city. Hundreds of women attend Bible studies, weekend seminars and retreats. The services are translated into Spanish, and bilingual staff head up the children’s ministries. There are weekly programs for youth and teens, single adults and senior citizens, those with addictions and those with special needs.
All this, yet Ladra makes a point of saying that, “There are no stars on our staff. Just ordinary people with a passion for saving the unsaved.â€
Carol Heffernan is a freelance writer in Salinas, Calif.
And here’s another one (from 2006, the church has been in its new location for about a year):
Growing church blessed with greener pasture
First Presbyterian will move to Koolau Golf Club, as foretold
By Stewart Yerton
syerton@starbulletin.com
After a five-year search in which church leaders examined more than 500 potential sites, the burgeoning, 1,200-member First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu has secured its promised land.
The church closed a deal yesterday to acquire the Koolau Golf Club in Kaneohe from a Hong Kong investor for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives First Presbyterian a 110,000-square-foot clubhouse and 365 parking spaces.
It also makes First Presbyterian the only church in Hawaii with its own 18-hole championship golf course.
For First Presbyterian the motivating force was not a desire to be able to hit the links after worship services, but simply to have growing room, said Ron Mathieu, First Presbyterian’s executive director. The church had only 83 parking spaces and had resorted to shuttling people to services from the Roosevelt High School parking lot, which the church rented on Sundays.
The general public accustomed to playing golf at the course will not see many changes, Mathieu said. Although the entire clubhouse will be dedicated to church services and classes on Sundays, golf course operations will not change. The course will continue to be managed by its current operator, American Golf Corp., Mathieu said.
Likewise, Honey’s at Koolau restaurant will remain open to the public. Moreover, he said, the golf club will be open for the general public to use except on Sundays. And the club’s banquet division, Koolau Catering Inc., will remain intact for people having weddings and other special events at the club.
Nonetheless, Mathieu said, the church does envision reaching out to other denominations and nonprofit groups to offer the facilities for conferences and other events at more affordable rates than those typically offered by hotels.
“We look forward to sharing this facility with a lot of other churches, not just our own,” Mathieu said.
As he sees it, the move is nothing short of providential.
“This is kind of an out-of-box thing,” he said, “but the reality is it was a phenomenal opportunity for us.”
The problem for First Presbyterian was that it needed more space and could not find anything suitable for less than $25 million to $40 million, which was a lot more than the church figured it could raise, even if it sold its building in Makiki.
According to the story that has become part of church lore, church leaders decided to explore the possibility of moving to the course after a member had a dream in which the Rev. Dan Chun was preaching at the golf course, which is located at the foot of the lush, plunging Koolau mountains.
Having exhausted virtually all other options and looked at hundreds of properties, church leaders went to talk to the owners of the golf course, who expressed a willingness to sell. Mathieu acknowledged that some longtime members had expressed concerns about relocating the church to the other side of the island. But other members have described the move as one of destiny.
“We believe, like Abraham, that we’re being led to a new home,” longtime church member Lee Alden Johnson Chapman said during a Nov. 27 service, according to a recording of the service posted on the church’s Web site. “We’ve been blessed in this home with much growth and enrichment, and we believe that if the move is God’s will, that we’ll also be blessed with growth in our new location.”
Although Mathieu declined to say how much First Presbyterian paid for the course, Chun previously had told the congregation that the asking price was about $20.5 million.
As part of the deal, First Presbyterian has sold its existing church at the corner of Nehoa and Keeaumoku streets to Catholic Charities Hawaii. Although Mathieu did not disclose terms, Chun previously has said the church had an offer of about $15.6 million for the site. Combined with $8 million raised through a capital campaign, that would be enough to buy the golf course and have money left over for renovations.
First Presbyterian’s last service in its current location will be Aug. 20. Although the church plans to hold services at the new location the weekend after that, Mathieu said it likely would take a few weeks to get up and running. A grand opening at the new location is scheduled for January, he said.
Re #2
I think the reason that the lawyers in Torrance believe this has a chance to fly is that the law doesn’t really recognize an entity called “denomination.” For legal purposes, denominations are in some form or another corporations, and therefore if the corporation has no members, it can’t hold on to any property that belongs to those members. Or something like that.
If the PCUSA (as a denomination, not a corporation) has no members, then its local congregations cannot belong to a presbytery or synod. Therefore, they are not presbyterian. Ergo, they do not exist. Under the Law of the Excluded Middle, a presbyterian church without a presbytery is a contradiction in terms, like an episcopal church without a bishop or someone who is half-pregnant. On this theory, these alleged presbyterian congregations are figments of somebody’s imagination like the PCUSA itself. Talk about grasping at straws!
I think there are two questions here, similar to ECUSA. The first is whether the national denomination can claim the property. The second would be whether the presbytery can claim the property.
The “no members” argument seems only to address question 1. There would still be the question about what the presbytery would do. Like ECUSA dioceses, the presbyteries run the gamut from “reasserter” to “reassesser,” and would probably view congregations wanting to leave differently based on their outlook.
When it comes to property disputes, the worst negotiated settlement is better than the best litigated one. I only wish that ECUSA would see that.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
The “no members” argument is a silly diversion. It has as much chance of being taken seriously as an ice cube has of surviving in a hot tub.
The Torrance First Presbyterian Church case has special circumstances. The congregation called a pastor who was under discipline by the presbytery where he had been serving at the time of the call. That pastor declared his independence from the PCUSA; the Torrance congregation divided over whether to confirm the call. The majority prevailed, and the pastor was called, clearly in contravention of PCUSA rules. The local presbytery-appointed “administrative commission” intervened, as is the norm when the congregation is split, and presbytery/denominational rules are violated. The judge ruled that the minority was the rightful congregation, and THAT congregation owned the property.
However, if these complicating factors weren’t present, the judge likely would have ruled in favor of the presbytery on the property issue anyway, on “hierarchical” grounds. The L.A. area county courts seem titlted in that direction.
California appeals courts are divided. We’ve seen recently a district appeals court in the southern half of the state reverse lower court rulings that, under a “neutral principles” approach, awarded the property to departing TEC congregations. Earlier, an appeals court in the northern half of the state, overturned a lower court’s decision that awarded a departing United Methodist congregation’s property to the regional UM conference. The appeals court rejected the concept that a denomination could lay claim to a local church’s property by merely stating its claim through a trust clause. The court said that a congregation has the right, under corporate law, to revoke any such trust, which this UM congregation had done. The state supreme court declined to hear the denomination’s appeal of that decision.
Judicially, in church property disputes at the present time, California is a crazy, mixed-up state. 🙂
w.w.