With new pastor, N.H. church
battles presbytery for property
Deborah A. Hills, The Layman, Londonderry court case begins, July 29, 2008
The Rev. Kenneth L. Glasier has come aboard as pastor of Londonderry Presbyterian Church in Londonderry, N.H., at a time when the congregation is literally undergoing one of its toughest trials.
The stakes in the trial, which began Monday in Superior Court in Rockingham County, are Londonderry’s church property and financial assets. The congregation, now aligned with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, wants the court to deny the property claims asserted by the Presbytery of Northern New England.
Glasier, an EPC pastor, is new to the issue. Londonderry was without an installed pastor for moe than three years-including the entire period in which the congregation made the decision to leave the PCUSA and join the EPC. However, with the help of the EPC, the Londonderry congregation has now called Glasier to the pulpit. He preached his first sermon on July 20. He is the 26th installed pastor of the church.
Glasier studied at Colorado State University and Denver Seminary. He was ordained as a minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church 1986.
He comes to the 450-member congregation in the midst of a contentious lawsuit which got under way Monday. While Londonderry’s dismissal from the PCUSA has been reported on in the past, the legal response of the governing presbytery has not. Before any official announcement of the church’s desire to disaffiliate from the PCUSA, the Presbytery of Northern New England voted overwhelmingly to form an administrative commission for the Londonderry church. The commission has the power to assume original jurisdiction and seize all real property and financial assets, depending on the outcome of the trial.
In response to the actions of the presbytery, the congregation filed suit and was granted a temporary restraining order to protect the status quo of the church and its assets. The presbytery filed a motion asking for relief from the restraining order. But before hearing the outcome, they mailed letters to the congregation inviting them to a worship service and organizational meeting – apparently to reform a Londonderry Presbyterian Church as part of the PCUSA. The meeting was planned to take place in the Londonderry sanctuary on Sunday afternoon, October 7. “No permission was requested, or given for PNNE to conduct any activities on LPC’s property,” states the timeline on the Londonderry Presbyterian Church web site.
The session changed the locks on the church to prevent a possible confrontation. After 300 people attended the normal worship services that morning, presbytery representatives arrived for the afternoon meeting, in violation of the temporary restraining order. The courts had officially denied relief from the restraining order on October 5.
It didn’t stop there. The Presbytery of Northern New England filed an appeal in the state Supreme Court, stating that the judge had “interfered in the internal affairs of a ‘hierarchical church.'” The presbytery claims to be the “rightful trustees of the ‘LPC-PC(USA)’ corporation.” Yet no such corporation exists. And in fact, it could not exist since the assets already belong to the LPC Corporation. These and other motions concerning this case were eventually consolidated and referred for trial.
Londonderry is the second-largest church in the Presbytery of Northern New England, and it is the oldest Presbyterian Church in existence in the region. It is also the oldest institution in Londonderry, N. H.
Glasier was not involved in the process of Londonderry leaving the PCUSA and joining the EPC. He had not heard of the church or its need of a pastor until after the church officially joined the New Wineskins Presbytery of the EPC on October 1. Despite assuming his position as pastor in the midst of such controversy, Glasier says he, his wife, and their two daughters are committed to remaining focused on pastoring a congregation that has been without the full benefits of that position for over three years. In a phone conversation, he said he is “confident that the Spirit of God is attentive to what is taking place,” and that his will will be done.
The current court case has received wide attention. The New Wineskins Association included this church and the court case on its weekly prayer list.