OLATHE, KS (KCTV) –
A fight between two factions of a church in Overland Park is coming closer to an end and a judge’s ruling on the dispute has taken a turn that sets it apart from similar battles that came before.
The split in the Presbyterian Church of Stanley was brewing for years and came to a head last summer. By fall, it led to a lawsuit over which group gets to keep the building and property at West 148th Street and Antioch Road where both denominations have been worshiping in separate rooms for almost a year now. It’s an uneasy and temporary arrangement that was settled on only with court intervention.
When parishioners with each group pass in the hallway, they are polite, but it’s hard not to notice a certain tension. People on both sides say the process has been painful.
“There are a lot of hurting people right now, people who have raised their families here,” said Ellen Crain, a PCUSA parishioner, “There’s even division within families. It’s terrible.”
“These are people who sang in choir together,” said Pat Fuller, a church elder with the breakaway group. “They feel financially invested, spiritually invested. I understand that. But we do too.”
The church was founded by the Presbyterian Church (USA), also referred to as the PCUSA. It’s what some might consider the “mainline” church. Last year, after much back and forth, the church’s pastor and a group of at least 300 parishioners decided to leave the PCUSA and join a new denomination with a more conservative view of theology. That group, the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, also known as the ECO, is growing in numbers. The PCUSA numbers are dwindling, though the PCUSA is still by far the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States.
Read more: http://www.kctv5.com/story/29559574/judge-rules-in-case-of-divided-presbyterian-church#ixzz3g4BQ6P8g
For background, see: http://www.kctv5.com/story/29549435/a-church-divided-battle-brews-inside-overland-park-church
7 Comments. Leave new
Good, Heartland presbytery lost another case for a building they did not pay for.
“The building and property, he said, belonged to the Presbyterian Church of Stanley, not Heartland Presbytery, which had filed the suit.
But that left the question of defining the local church. When it’s split between two factions, which faction represents the “true church?” On that, the judge deferred to the PCUSA Constitution and said the faction loyal to the founding denomination are the Presbyterian Church of Stanley and thus the owners of the property.
The judge explained that Kansas law restricts the degree to which neutral principals can be applied, particularly in regards to a schism within a church.”
“Moriarty said in his ruling that church law claiming the property was held “in trust” for the regional branch wasn’t relevant. The deed names the local church, not the Presbytery. The mortgages name the local church, not the Presbytery. If the presbytery wanted a claim, the judge said, they could have placed a provision on those legal documents when they signed over the deed to the Presbyterian Church of Stanley decades ago.”
“The building and property, he said, belonged to the Presbyterian Church of Stanley, not Heartland Presbytery, which had filed the suit.”
If you want to call this a win for heartland good enough, but the majority left and I highly doubt the remaining group will be able to support the building, as revisionist usually don’t tithe, so if they leave the building then expect it to on the market in a few years.
THUS SPAKE James! Here is what I see: “The judge gave the two groups 10 days to come to an agreement on how to occupy the building.”
would it not be wonderful if these two factions were to join together and become one body under the guidance of the Holy Spirit? With God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, all things are possible.
On the other hand, they have a rather unusual arrangement going on right now. Do either of the groups have enough members alone not to continue to split usage of the church? Our church has another congregation using our sanctuary and facilities at other times during the week. Even if we disagree on EVERYTHING, why not share the church building if it’s possible? That way no one loses.
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