PCUSA seeks to take over largest Korean congregation, place Syngman Rhee in pulpit

PCUSA seeks to take over largest Korean congregation, place Syngman Rhee in pulpit

By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, April 28, 2005

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge Wednesday declared improper a request by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to allow an immediate takeover of the property of First Presbyterian Church in Torrance, Calif., and the installation of former General Assembly Moderator Syngman Rhee as the interim minister.
A doubleheader of disputes
The Layman Online
Los Angeles Judge David Yaffe faced a doubleheader in property disputes involving two Korean congregations Wednesday.

In the case involving Serone Presbyterian Church, Yaffe admonished the attorney for the denomination, synod and presbytery that he was “trying to pull a fast one” when he sought an order to remove the pastor and session of the congregation. Such an order cannot be approved until a hearing is held.

But Yaffe did sign an order requiring that Serone admit people to its worship services – including those who disagree with the Serone leaders’ efforts to renounce the jurisdiction of the PCUSA and retain their property – provided that those persons don’t try to disrupt the services.

While agreeing with the essence of the decision, Serone’s lawyer, Paul Rolf Jensen, filed notice of appeal to the California state appellate court. Jensen said the appeal will put the dispute before the same tribunal that had ruled that a Methodist congregation had the right to revoke that denomination’s property trust clause.

“We expect to file our opening brief within the next month,” Jensen said. “The denomination will then have another month to file their brief, and we then have another couple of weeks to file our closing brief. The matter will then stand fully briefed and will be scheduled for oral argument, normally within a few months. The court normally takes another couple of months to publish its opinion, so in other words, we expect a ruling from the Court of Appeals for the 2nd District by the end of this year.”
Judge David Yaffe ruled that their request was improperly timed and that he would not consider it until after conducting a hearing in June.

The leaders of the 2,700-member Torrance congregation, the largest Korean church in the PCUSA, are seeking to renounce the jurisdiction of the PCUSA and stake claim to their property, which is valued at “tens of millions” of dollars, according to court papers.

The PCUSA, the Presbytery of Hanmi and the Synod of Southern California have filed suit to support the denomination’s claim to the property and recognize the synod’s administrative commission as governing body of the congregation.

The role of Rhee in the dispute was described in a document titled the “Declaration of Margaret S.Wentz” that was submitted by attorneys for the presbytery, synod and denomination. Wentz is the stated clerk of the Synod of Southern California.

“Hanmi Presbytery has nominated Dr. Syngman Rhee (‘Rev. Rhee’) to serve as senior pastor of Torrance First Presbyterian,” Wentz said. “Rev. Rhee is a pastor member in good standing of PCUSA and Hanmi Presbytery. Because of the actions of the Seceding Faction in seizing control of First Presbyterian, judicial intervention is necessary to allow Rev. Rhee to assume his pastoral duties with Torrance First Presbyterian at the earliest opportunity.”

Rhee, who is retired and has been living in Richmond, Va., was moderator of the 212th General Assembly (2000). A former employee of the denomination, he is a past president of the National Council of Churches.

In 2001, at the 213th General Assembly, Rhee was one of the advocates for a “third way” compromise on the issue of whether to ordain practicing homosexuals. That assembly voted to establish the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity, which will make a recommendation to the 217th General Assembly in 2006. In conversations about different possibilities – but no votes – the majority of the task force appears to favor ordaining homosexuals who are in monogamous relationships.

Wentz contended that the “true church” at Torrance were those who disagreed with the session and staff.

Peter B. Min, an associate minister at First Presbyterian in Torrance, said the session has already voted to dissolve the relationship with the PCUSA. He cited two reasons: denominational leadership that has espoused non-Biblical causes and treatment by two presbyteries and the Synod of the Pacific.

No vote has been taken by the congregation on whether to leave the denomination. A vote was scheduled on April 24, but that was delayed. But, on an earlier issue that sparked the Torrance leaders’ civil court case, 2,400 members of the congregation signed a petition supporting the call of a senior minister who was serving in the Presbytery of Olympia.

That call was shortcircuited by a complaint filed against the minister. The Constitution of the PCUSA prohibits a minister from accepting a call to a church in another presbytery whenever charges are pending.

A presbytery investigating committee decided that there were no grounds for a trial, and the minister was cleared to accept the call to the Torrance congregation. Just as he was preparing to go to Torrance, another complaint was filed – delaying his call once again – and Torrance’s leaders argued that their church was suffering for lack of a senior minister.

In her declaration, Wentz said the Torrance session and the members who want to leave the PCUSA have effectively renounced the jurisdiction of the denomination and should no longer have a role in deciding the congregation’s affairs.

“Torrance Presbyterian Church … is the largest Korean church in the entire PCUSA denomination,” Wentz said in her court declaration. “It is also a highly influential church among the hundreds of other Korean Presbyterian churches within the PCUSA denomination. Any action taken at this church will certainly have repercussions at many other churches within Hanmi Presbytery and throughout the country. I have already received calls expressing grave concern about this matter from representatives of other churches and from organizations concerned about the highly negative impact that a loss of this church would have on the health of Korean ministries in this country.”

She outlined in detail the “hierarchal” structure of the PCUSA and the constitutional property trust clause that declares that all congregations hold their property in trust for the denomination.