Kirk may reconsider
$1.75 million settlement
The Layman, November 25, 2008
Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Tulsa has scheduled another meeting of its congregation on Nov. 30 to determine whether to pay $1,750,000 for its property or to appeal the ruling of a Tulsa judge who awarded the property to the Presbytery of Eastern Oklahoma.
“We will vote if the session determines we have a valid final settlement from the EOP and PCUSA,” the church said in an announcement posted on its Web site.
The only additional information was that the congregational meeting will begin at 5 p.m. with questions and answers and a possible vote at 7 p.m.
The congregation has already voted once to approve the settlement agreement negotiated by the presbytery and leaders of the Kirk, now a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The settlement was scheduled to be signed by the litigants, but the lawyer for the denomination challenged the settlement.
The lawyer said the denomination would not sign an agreement unless Judge Jefferson Sellers wrote a final ruling that satisfied the PCUSA’s desire for a clear victory in the case. The Kirk said the presbytery’s executive, Greg Coulter, had assured it that the PCUSA supported the settlement.