St. Andrew presbyter complains about temporary restraining order
By Patrick Jean, February 20, 2007
A temporary restraining order granted in a member church’s lawsuit against St. Andrew Presbytery is “a most unusual legal maneuver” that prevents the northern Mississippi presbytery “from appearing in court or even discussing the issues raised by” the church, the presbytery’s executive presbytery and stated clerk says.
First Presbyterian Church in Corinth, Miss., filed suit Feb. 5 against the presbytery, seeking a declaratory judgment that it owns its property without interference by the presbytery or the Presbyterian Church (USA). Alcorn County Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Gardner III issued the temporary restraining order the same day.
The Rev. Dr. Gregory A. Goodwiller, the presbytery’s executive presbyter and stated clerk, wrote a letter about the lawsuit to minister members and sessions. In the letter, dated Feb. 16, he complained that the temporary restraining order “was issued ex parte (which means that we were not granted the usual ‘due process’ of a hearing on the matter). This was a most unusual legal maneuver which prevented the presbytery from appearing in court or even discussing the issues raised by our church in Corinth.”
The lawsuit and temporary restraining order “severely limit the presbytery’s ability to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to provide care and oversight to its minister members and congregations as delineated in G-11.0103b, e, f, g, i, n, o, s, and y” of the Book of Order, he said. “The Book of Order establishes limits for how we may deal with our ministers and congregations. We have and will continue to act within those limits.”
The presbytery responded to the suit Feb. 13 when its attorney, J. Hale Freeland of Oxford, filed a notice of removal in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Mississippi, Eastern Division. That automatically transferred the case from Alcorn County Circuit Court, where a hearing had been scheduled Feb. 15 on whether to grant a preliminary injunction.
Attorneys for First Presbyterian have 30 days to respond.
How it came to this
Walker W. “Bill” Jones III, a Jackson attorney who represents the church, said the lawsuit aimed to prevent the presbytery from taking action at its Feb. 6 stated meeting against the 475-member congregation.
Last month, St. Andrew Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry sent a letter to the Rev. Dr. Don Elliott, First Presbyterian’s pastor of 21 years. The letter informed Elliott of the committee’s pending report at the Feb. 6 presbytery meeting that it “has directed the Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk to begin the necessary legal proceedings to determine the presbytery’s legal rights, and specifically to seek a declaratory judgment as to whether the courts in the State of Mississippi will recognize and uphold our constitution’s trust clause.” The letter also warned Elliott that “actively advocating for a congregation’s withdrawal from the PCUSA is not an approved work.”
That letter was the first threat of legal action in a seven-month dispute involving the church, the presbytery and the PCUSA. On July 9, 2006, First Presbyterian’s session told the congregation that the church “cannot stay in the PCUSA as it stands now.” Twenty-two days later, the session called for a six-month “season of prayer and discernment” to determine whether it would remain in the PCUSA.
On Nov. 28, the session recommended to the congregation that “we go in the direction of leaving the PCUSA in 12 to 18 months or less and moving to a new place in another Presbyterian and Reformed denomination.” The session shared that resolution on Jan. 23, 2007, with St. Andrew’s Committee on Ministry. The committee’s letter to Elliott followed a day later.
In his letter, Goodwiller said the temporary restraining order limited the presbytery at its Feb. 6 meeting to “the only actions it was allowed to take on that day – it authorized our presbytery’s attorney to answer the suit, and it authorized me, in consultation with the moderators of the Presbytery and Council, to speak on the presbytery’s behalf in the matter. The authority granted to me in that action is limited by the presbytery to answering the lawsuit.”
‘These are church matters’
The church’s lawsuit cited the Committee on Ministry’s letter to Elliott in a request for “injunctive relief” to keep the presbytery from “taking any action against First Presbyterian’s officers.” But the presbytery’s notice of removal argues that “the relief Plaintiff seeks is largely related to preventing the Presbytery from meeting and performing its duties under the Book of Order.”
Goodwiller makes a similar argument in his letter. “This case, and the TRO without notice to anyone,” he said, “prevent us from assembling and exercising our religious freedom as protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and denied us our right to even speak in court as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.”
The notice of removal was filed, he said, “because those rights were disregarded” by Alcorn County Circuit Court and he believed “they would be respected by the Federal court.”
Goodwiller has said the presbytery is seeking to protect the First Presbyterian property for those in the congregation who wish to remain in the PCUSA. In his letter, he said, “We do not want our brothers and sisters in Corinth to depart from our communion, and on your behalf I will do everything in my power to keep as many of their members as possible within our fold.”
“At the same time, these are church matters,” he said, “and our strong desire is for the courts to determine that churches must follow and abide by our Constitution even as their members struggle with matters of conscience related to their church membership and denominational loyalties.”
Text of Goodwiller’s letter
The full text of Goodwiller’s letter reads as follows:
“Minister Members and Sessions of the Presbytery of St. Andrew:
“I am writing to update you on matters related to First Presbyterian Church in Corinth.
“As you know, the day before our presbytery meeting last week in Leland, FPC filed a lawsuit against the presbytery, and a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was issued ex parte (which means that we were not granted the usual “due process” of a hearing on the matter). This was a most unusual legal maneuver which prevented the presbytery from appearing in court or even discussing the issues raised by our church in Corinth. The Complaint and the TRO filed by the session severely limit the presbytery’s ability to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to provide care and oversight to its minister members and congregations as delineated in G-11.0103b, e, f, g, i, n, o, s, and y. The Book of Order establishes limits for how we may deal with our ministers and congregations. We have and will continue to act within those limits.
“Accordingly, at our meeting on February 6, 2007, the Presbytery of St. Andrew took the only actions it was allowed to take on that day – it authorized our presbytery’s attorney to answer the suit, and it authorized me, in consultation with the moderators of the Presbytery and Council, to speak on the presbytery’s behalf in the matter. The authority granted to me in that action is limited by the presbytery to answering the lawsuit.
“The Complaint filed in the State court goes to the heart of the principles upon which our nation was founded; namely, whether our government can interfere with or make determinations concerning our faith and its practice. This case, and the TRO without notice to anyone prevent us from assembling and exercising our religious freedom as protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and denied us our right to even speak in court about this as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
“Because these rights were disregarded, and believing they would be respected by the Federal court, our first response has been to file a Notice of Removal of the case from the Circuit Court of Alcorn County to the Federal Court (Mississippi Northern District). That Notice, as well as the texts of the Temporary Restraining Order and the Complaint are attached to the e-mail version of this communication, and are available through the Presbytery Office.
“Let me be clear about the presbytery’s intentions, as I understand them. We do not want our brothers and sisters in Corinth to depart from our communion, and on your behalf I will do everything in my power to keep as many of their members as possible within our fold. At the same time, these are church matters, and our strong desire is for the courts to determine that churches must follow and abide by our Constitution even as their members struggle with matters of conscience related to their church membership and denominational loyalties.
“Please keep the session and members of First Presbyterian Church in your prayers at this time. They need our encouragement and support. I would remind you of the statement passed by the presbytery at its recent meeting regarding church property: ‘the presbytery will deal with property issues on a case-by-case basis, being mindful of our ultimate unity in Christ.’
“‘Being mindful’ of that unity which far transcends any denominational boundaries and differences, I will continue to seek to faithfully apply our constitution and fulfill the responsibilities of my office as we move forward in this matter.”
Patrick Jean is a staff writer for The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at pjean@www.layman.org.