Iowa presbytery sues Riverside church, pastor, clerk of session
By Patrick Jean, March 7, 2007
In contrast with the recent trend of churches suing presbyteries for ownership of their properties, Iowa’s Prospect Hill Presbytery is suing a church.
The presbytery filed a lawsuit Feb. 16 in Buena Vista County District Court against three defendants: Riverside Presbyterian Church in Linn Grove; the Rev. Russell Westbrook, the church’s pastor; and Dennis Somers, clerk of the session for the church.
The lawsuit seeks a court order that the church property “is held in trust for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (USA)” and an injunction to keep the defendants from:
- 1. Preventing access to pulpit supply by an authorized representative of the presbytery, its administrative commission or the PCUSA.
- 2. Preventing access to church property and records by the presbytery, administrative commission or PCUSA.
- 3. “Encumbering, selling or transferring” the church property.
- 4. “Using money in any bank account for any purpose other than to pay standard operational expenses for maintaining the church property and ordering an accounting of all funds collected and expended after August 19, 2006, the date that the session of the Riverside Presbyterian Church in Linn Grove notified the Prospect Hill Presbytery that it would ‘no longer acknowledge the authority of the presbytery of Prospect Hill over Riverside Presbyterian Church.'”
The lawsuit also requests a court order that all property and records removed from the church be returned to the presbytery and “that possession of said property and records be delivered” to the presbytery. Damages also are sought for the “wrongful detention” of the property and records.
The presbytery is represented by David W. Patton, an attorney in Storm Lake. He referred all questions to interim Executive Presbyter William A. Byrd and the Rev. Duane Queen, chairman of the administrative commission and pastor of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. Neither returned multiple calls and e-mails seeking comment.
The defendants have 20 days to respond. They are represented by Micah J. Schreurs, an attorney in Sheldon. He said he is considering either of two responses:
- An answer, which accepts or denies the charges in the lawsuit.
- A pre-answer motion, which delves into jurisdictional issues.
The lawsuit was a surprise, Schreurs said. “We knew it was a possibility. We weren’t told,” he said. “We weren’t forewarned.”
The lawsuit came as less of a surprise to Westbrook, who said it was filed the same day as a presbytery meeting. “It looked like Queen was trying to force the hand of the presbytery,” he said. “I think this was just an attempt to ramrod this through.”
Months of conflict
Members of the church voted 74-0 on July 30 to leave the PCUSA and seek “union with a confessionally Reformed, evangelical denomination which holds to the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy.” The church sent letters to Prospect Hill Presbytery and the PCUSA informing them of the vote, requesting to be released with its property and saying “the recent actions of the General Assembly taken at Birmingham” were the last straw.
Specifically, Westbrook cited the 217th General Assembly’s approval of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity report to keep the current ordination standards in the denomination’s constitution, but allow those who choose not to obey them to declare them to be non-essential.
The presbytery called a special meeting for Aug. 14 to take steps to prevent the church from leaving with its property. At that meeting, the presbytery voted to order that Westbrook go on immediate administrative leave and that an administrative commission assume control of the congregation.
The commission also was given responsibilities that included:
- 1. Dissolving the pastoral relationship between Westbrook and the church.
- 2. Reviewing the church rolls to determine if there are members who wish to remain with the PCUSA.
- 3. Meeting with the church session.
Three days later, the presbytery sent a letter to Westbrook notifying him that he was placed on administrative leave effective Aug. 21 and was not to contact any church member “verbally, in writing, e-mail, or other electronic devices or by going to the church.”
Westbrook said the terms of the administrative leave were unrealistic. He would have been forbidden from communicating with his wife of 15 years, Carmen, who’s active in the Riverside children’s ministry.
“I’m married to a woman,” Westbrook said, “who sees herself in the classical position of a helpmate.” That has helped him maintain his composure amid the ongoing conflict, he said.
On the same day Westbrook’s administrative leave was to begin, he and the church’s elders sent a letter to the presbytery saying that because of the presbytery’s actions at its Aug. 14 meeting, the session no longer recognized the presbytery’s authority over Riverside.
While the church’s relationship with the PCUSA was ending, affiliation with the smaller, more conservative Presbyterian Church in America was beginning. Church officials first met with denomination officials June 26 and attended a meeting of the PCA’s Iowa Presbytery on July 8, Westbrook said.
Riverside hosted a town hall meeting with the PCA on Aug. 27. After the forum, Westbrook said, the congregation voted 83-0 to join the denomination’s Iowa Presbytery.
Westbrook was ordained as a PCA minister Aug. 24. But that was followed by a letter from Prospect Hill Presbytery’s administrative commission, dated Sept. 8, stating his relationship with Riverside was dissolved because he hadn’t abided by the terms of administrative leave from the PCUSA. The letter gave him 30 days to leave the church manse or start paying rent.
Two more events followed in November:
- The PCA’s Iowa Presbytery installed the Riverside session Nov. 5.
- Prospect Hill Presbytery’s administrative commission sent a letter to the Riverside session, dated Nov. 29, stating the panel will “assume original jurisdiction and the responsibilities and powers” of Riverside.
Riverside filed restated articles of incorporation with the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office on Dec. 13. The filing, Westbrook said, reflects the church’s affiliation with the PCA.
Prospect Hill’s Web site still lists Riverside as a member congregation and Westbrook as its pastor.
‘This is a unique one’
The lawsuit states that the defendants have not complied with any of the administrative commission’s requests and orders. A Prospect Hill press release states that, “The presbytery cannot ignore its stewardship responsibilities with regard to the property.”
Westbrook insisted his church “did not wish to antagonize Prospect Hill. We had joined the PCA,” he said, “and things were progressing nicely.”
Schreurs said it’s the first time he can remember Prospect Hill Presbytery suing a church. “This is a unique one,” he said.
The presbytery may be the plaintiff, but it insists it’s not the aggressor.
“All officers of the Linn Grove church said they would be governed by church law, including that of hospitality in disagreement, when they entered office,” the presbytery press release states. “In this matter we are simply complying with our obligation as steward … under the polity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and regret the need to utilize a civil court to engage Riverside Presbyterian Church in dialogue.”
Westbrook said the Lord has blessed Riverside with “a season of growth and a unity of spirit” since the controversy erupted. Fourteen new worshipers are attending, he said, on top of an enrollment averaging about 100 active members.
Despite the fact that no one voted to retain the church’s affiliation with the PCUSA, the presbytery insists “there may be persons who prefer to remain part of the denomination.”
“As a presbytery,” the press release states, “we must protect their rights and interests.”
The presbytery says it also is “keeping faith with the Presbyterians from the past who built and paid for that property. When people donated money to buy property or construct a building,” the press release states, “they were donating to a Presbyterian Church (USA) church.”
‘A work of Reformation’
Westbrook steels himself for the conflict by citing II Timothy, Chapter 3, which says to expect persecution, but also expect a blessing.
“It is my firm conviction that Christ will bless the church faithful to confession,” he said. “This is a work of Reformation that God is doing among us.”
The presbytery’s press release holds out hope for a peaceful resolution. “It’s a foundation of our faith that in Christ,” it states, “we can discover unity even at the point of severest disagreement. We believe that none of us has the full measure of God’s truth, and we need one another. … We continue to pray for the congregation and pastor who are in separation.”
But Westbrook said the PCUSA “brings shame to the name of Christ” and that Prospect Hill Presbytery besmirches the Christian name by bringing the litigation. “We would be happy to sit down and talk with them over coffee,” he said, “but that’s never been an option.”
Patrick Jean is a staff writer for The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at pjean@layman.org.