Fate of local church properties
needs more attention from PCUSA
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Layman, March 25, 2009
LOUISVILLE — The fate of local church properties needs increased attention in the future from the governing body that oversees local church life in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
That message came through Wednesday morning (March 25) as the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly held its second day of meetings at the Brown Hotel. Several committee members expressed support for COGA to be a place where Presbyterians come together to think strategically about how presbyteries can best leverage local property assets for the long term.
Eileen Lindner, a COGA member from Palisades Presbytery in New Jersey, raised the hypothetical example of a soon-to-close New York City area church with just a handful of members and a parcel worth multiple millions.
“The stewardship the church has for these properties should not be in the hands of 13 people – any 13 people,” Lindner said. “It’s an ecclesial issue.”
Lindner explained she’s not proposing any polity changes with regard to managing property assets. Rather, she hopes to see COGA keep discussing at future meetings what might constitute good stewardship of local church properties in the 21st century.
“Is our generation going to sell property and the next generation [of Presbyterians] is going to wonder where they’re going to get it?,” she asked.
Property issues have heated up in recent years as congregations that left the denomination have tried to claim ownership of their buildings and grounds. In most cases, they have retained their property, but some have paid a high price. For instance, the Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Tulsa got out of the clutches of the Presbytery of Eastern Oklahoma by paying the presbytery $1.75 million – more than $1,000 per member. Today’s COGA discussion signaled a desire to make sure presbyteries keep play an aggressive role in determining the destinies of local parish assets.
In other business, board members indicated that posting meeting-related materials on a COGA Web site would not pose a problem. Staffers plan to post such materials prior to upcoming COGA meetings.