Loophole blues

Presbyterians: Divided Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) prepares for splits and property disputes | Edward E. Plowman

Legal clouds are forming over the troubled 2.3-million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) after the PCUSA general assembly's decision in June to create a loophole that would allow churches and presbyteries to bypass the church constitution and ordain non-celibate gays. Many churches and even some presbyteries (regional units) are looking at exit options if the exemption survives challenges in church courts.

At issue is not only doctrine but also property: Will departing churches be able to keep it? Under PCUSA rules, church property is held in trust by the denomination, a stipulation under increasing scrutiny in secular courts.

Some PCUSA leaders are seeking to head off dissidents at the pass. Officials of the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery went to each county courthouse where a PCUSA church is located and filed an "affidavit of ownership." The move in effect clouds property titles of churches. Its main target was evangelical Kirk of the Hills in Tulsa, the presbytery's largest and fastest-growing church. Kirk, led by Rev. Tom Gray, responded by amending its corporate documents to affirm the congregation's ownership and control of its property. Lawyers on both sides are boning up on church property law.