Complaint to synod delays two large churches from leaving with their properties for the EPC
By Patrick Jean, The Layman Online, January 22, 2008
A fellow church’s complaint is keeping two of the largest churches in Sacramento Presbytery from leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) with their properties for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
About the parties
Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1952, but has roots dating back to 1903.
First Presbyterian Church in Roseville was founded in 1873.
Sacramento Presbytery has 43 congregations totaling more than 15,000 members.
Westminster Presbyterian Church was founded in 1856. It has 478 members, according to the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Web site. Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Fair Oaks, Calif., the presbytery’s largest with 2,286 members, and First Presbyterian Church in Roseville, Calif., the presbytery’s third-largest with 1,143 members, were scheduled to leave the PCUSA on Jan. 1 after presbytery commissioners agreed at their stated meeting Dec. 4, 2007, to dismiss the churches.
After the presbytery’s vote, however, Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento filed a notice of appeal and request for a stay with the Synod of the Pacific. The stay will be enforced until the synod’s Permanent Judicial Commission addresses the Westminster Church filing, said Robert D. Brink, synod executive.
There is no time frame for when the commission will do that, he said. That means the Fair Oaks and Roseville churches remain in the PCUSA until further notice.
Also held up by Westminster Church’s filing are:
- Fair Oaks and Roseville churches’ “irrevocable gifts” of cash to the presbytery in exchange for being dismissed from the PCUSA with their properties. Fair Oaks Church is to pay either $250,000 by Jan. 31, 2017, or a “discounted early payment option” totaling $180,000 by June 30, 2008. The Roseville church is to pay $160,000 by Jan. 31, 2015.
- Resolution of the property ownership lawsuits that the two churches filed against the presbytery. Fair Oaks’ complaint and First Presbyterian Roseville’s complaint were to be withdrawn Jan. 2 after the presbytery filed a quitclaim deed – a document in which one party disclaims any interest it may have in a piece of real property and passes that claim to another party – in each case.
Four arguments in complaint
When it agreed to dismiss the Fair Oaks and Roseville churches with their properties, Sacramento Presbytery implemented a voided policy that had stated that the presbytery would never enforce the trust provisions of Chapter 8 of the Book of Order, Westminster Church argues in its complaint.
Links to previous stories
Two large Sacramento Presbytery churches request dismissal to EPC
Two churches leaving with properties, presbytery to get cash gifts; ownership lawsuits to be settled In September 2006, Sacramento Presbytery approved a resolution that stated, “To promote the peace, unity, and purity of our presbytery, we resolve that the Sacramento Presbytery shall take no action to enforce any general trust interest claimed against any property, real or personal, held by an individual congregation within the Sacramento Presbytery.”
The following month, the sessions of Westminster Church and four other congregations filed remedial complaints with the Synod of the Pacific, alleging irregularities in the special meeting where the vote took place.
In June 2007, the synod’s Permanent Judicial Commission – taking a page out of “The Louisville Papers” – declared that the resolution “constitutes a misuse of its discretion to determine how the property of a congregation that is being dissolved or dismissed shall be held, used or applied.” The court also ruled that the resolution “contravenes the trust provisions of Chapter 8 in the Book of Order and thus is inappropriate and unconstitutional.”
By its actions Dec. 4, Westminster Church alleges in its new complaint, “Sacramento Presbytery dismissed with property the two congregations (Fair Oaks and Roseville) acting de facto as if the synod had not ruled against this motion.” The complaint makes four arguments:
- 1. “Sacramento Presbytery was involved in an abuse of discretion of its fiduciary responsibilities because it did not act to uphold the trust clause (G-8.0201) in its role as trustee of the PCUSA. It simply gave the property away to another denomination without compensation. The amounts of $250,000 from Fair Oaks and the $160,000 from Roseville were considered to be ‘gifts’ and in no way were to be connected with issues of property.”
- 2. “Sacramento Presbytery acted against the constitution of the PCUSA because it ignored its responsibilities under G-11.0103 a and b in the geographic areas of Fair Oaks and Roseville (two of the fastest-growing communities in the presbytery) in giving away the property of the PCUSA without considering the costs involved to start up new ministries for the PCUSA in these areas.”
- 3. “Members of presbytery were told that they could only vote yes or no on the report of the negotiating team. Substantive questions could be asked and discussion was permitted, but no amendments were permitted from the floor of presbytery. By this action, the members of presbytery were deprived of their responsibilities to act as responsible trustees of the property of the PCUSA.”
- 4. “Two pastors were allowed to remain in the PCUSA and to work for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to which the property is to be given. One of these pastors is to remain as a commissioner to the PCUSA General Assembly. The aims of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and those of the PCUSA are different. There is here a clear, direct conflict of interest for this commissioner.”
The complaint originally was filed Dec. 22, 2007, with the Synod of the Pacific’s stated clerk, said the Rev. Dr. David Thompson, pastor and head of staff at Westminster Church. It lists Sacramento Presbytery as the sole opposing body and four complainants from Westminster Church:
- Thompson.
- The Rev. Dr. Garry Cox, associate pastor.
- Timothy Little, parish associate.
- The church’s session.
Seeking further relief
A perfected remedial complaint and request to maintain the stay was filed Jan. 14 with Sacramento Presbytery, according to the presbytery’s Web site. It lists Sacramento Presbytery as the sole opposing body and Thompson, Cox and Little as the complainants from Westminster Church.
In arguing that the stay be continued “until there can be a complete review by synod of the actions of presbytery,” the following relief is requested:
- “That the decision of the Sacramento Presbytery at its regular meeting in Bidwell Memorial Church in Chico, Calif., on Dec. 4, 2007, to dismiss with property the congregations of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church Roseville be declared irregular and revoked.
- “That Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church Roseville be urged to remain as churches of the PCUSA, that their pastors honor their ordination vows to uphold the peace, purity and unity of the PCUSA and demonstrate that these churches are part of the true church by paying their back per capita to the presbytery.
- “That if these churches continue to choose to leave the PCUSA, that they be placed under administrative commissions by the presbytery to determine whether proper procedures have been followed to determine whether there is a ‘true church’ within these congregations to whom the property might continue to be held for the use and purposes of the PCUSA. (G-8.0601)
- “That if it is determined by the presbytery administrative commissions that no ‘true church’ exists within these congregations, that these congregations be dismissed without property and that the properties of these congregations either be retained by the presbytery in trust for the PCUSA or put up for sale for fair market value.
- “That if the presbytery decides in its wisdom and trusteeship of these properties for the PCUSA to permit these congregations to be dismissed with these properties to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church or another Reformed denomination, that the cost of replacing these missions in the geographic communities of Fair Oaks and Roseville be borne by the dissenting leaving congregations based on the cost of new church development parcels of five acres and the cost of church buildings for the same.
- “That pastors desiring to remain as members of the PCUSA be allowed to do so, but not be permitted to represent the presbytery as commissioners until such time as these issues are resolved.
- “That no dismissal of these congregations take place until the presbytery has come up with a plan as to how to reinstitute the mission of the PCUSA in these geographic areas of Fair Oaks and Roseville.”
The request to maintain the stay makes the following argument:
“If the stay is not maintained, the presbytery and the departing congregations will be free to consummate the agreement, which was to have been made effective Jan. 1, and the congregations will leave. This commission, thus, would not have any opportunity to exercise its constitutional duty to review the presbytery’s actions concerning the trust property, and a grievous injustice would result.”
Taking the case to the congregation
Westminster Church argued the case to its congregation in the January edition of the church’s newsletter. “WPC’s session and its pastors believe the presbytery abused its discretion when it did not uphold the PCUSA trust clause or plan to replace the PCUSA’s lost mission in the Fair Oaks and Roseville geographic areas,” states the article, titled “WPC Pastors & Session Question Property Decision.”
“For years, neither Fair Oaks nor Roseville has paid its per capita to the presbytery,” the article stated. “Yet, they have sued the presbytery in secular (civil) court for their property, believing that the PCUSA’s trust clause, which says all property is held in trust for the purposes of the PCUSA, is ‘unenforceable.’ These two congregations wish to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and take their property with them. However, the Sacramento Presbytery is charged to act as a trustee for the PCUSA and uphold the trust clause.”
The article recounts the presbytery’s property policy that was ruled unconstitutional. “Now Westminster’s session and its pastors believe that the presbytery again acted in error when it dismissed the Fair Oaks and Roseville congregations without considering the mission and assets of the PCUSA in a meaningful way,” it stated. “And the synod has granted the request for an appeal and a stay.”
The article made two concluding arguments to the congregation:
- “This leaves the Sacramento Presbytery in an awkward position: having to defend the trust clause in a civil court (which it must do), while at the same time defending its decision to dismiss with property without meaningful compensation of the assets and mission of the PCUSA.”
- “The Fair Oaks and Roseville Presbyterian churches’ properties are worth millions of dollars. The two extremely modest monetary ‘gifts’ the churches did give the presbytery were not to be connected with property. A motion to pass these gifts on to Loaves and Fishes got referred to budget and finance, but if the presbytery eventually agrees with that motion, then the Sacramento Presbytery and the PCUSA will receive nothing for its assets and mission in Fair Oaks and Roseville.”
‘A single church has taken control’
First Presbyterian Church of Roseville has a news release about the Westminster Church complaint on its Web site. Here is the text of that release:
“Going, Going, Gone … but not yet.
“You may have read in our January Pulse newsletter that the Sacramento Presbytery voted on December 4 to dismiss FPC Roseville, with property, to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). The road was cleared for the transition to take place on January 1, 2008. But …
“On Christmas Eve, at 3:30 p.m., our legal counsel was notified that the senior pastor, the associate pastor, the parish associate, and the session of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Sacramento filed a complaint with the Synod of the Pacific asking it to stay (that is, stop temporarily) the action of the Presbytery. The Synod agreed to stay the action and to hear the matter in the Synod court.
“The result is that the settlement agreed upon by the negotiating teams and affirmed by the Presbytery is delayed. Our journey to the EPC is not yet complete.
“What happens next: Our legal counsel and church leadership are actively reviewing options. Because of the action by the Synod, the legal process in the civil courts regarding our property continues and is being appropriately pursued. We ask for your prayers as we navigate through the course of the next few weeks. Pray that the Lord will help us to continue to act with grace and wisdom, trusting Him to lead us.
“Watch this space in the coming days for additional details as they become available. What a privilege to serve a sovereign God who has all of these things in His hands!”
The church’s senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jim Barstow, did not return a call and e-mail from The Layman Online seeking comment.
Fair Oaks Church has a news release on its Web site that is nearly identical to the Roseville church’s release. Here is the text of the Fair Oaks Church release:
“After the Sacramento Presbytery voted on December 4 to dismiss Fair Oaks, with property, to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), the road was cleared for the t