In January, Memorial Park filed suit in Common Pleas Court seeking to confirm its title to its 71\/2-acre property on Peebles Road and avoid any threat of seizure of its buildings by the presbytery. Members also voted 664-25 to disaffiliate from PCUSA and join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which has about 70,000 members in 175 churches in 29 states.<\/p>\n
Several weeks later, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. brought attorneys and principals from both sides together and suggested the $575,000 settlement figure, telling them a protracted suit could result in three times that sum in fees and costs.<\/p>\n
More importantly, church policy holds that property is held in trust for the Presbyterian Church (USA). However, if the suit went to trial the case would be decided under Pennsylvania law, and, according to the presbytery, “the laws of Pennsylvania are not absolute on this matter.”<\/p>\n
The Memorial Park congregation approved the settlement Sunday. The 64-year-old church has 1,675 members.<\/p>\n