By Asher Price, American-Statesmnan. An effort among some Presbyterians nationally to get their church to divest from oil, gas and coal stocks is running into opposition from their Texas brethren. About 30 regional church districts, or presbyteries, have supported a proposal by the San Francisco Presbytery calling on the Presbyterian Church (USA) to pull out…
On Monday, (5-23-16), the session of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church (MDPC) in Houston, Texas voted 47-8 (85% to 15%) to disaffiliate from the Presbyterian Church (USA). The session will now ask the Presbytery of New Covenant to dismiss the church to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians at its July presbytery meeting. Just last…
After agreeing to pay $1-million, First Presbyterian Church (FPC) in Houston now has clear title to its property. The settlement agreement between FPC and New Covenant — reached on May 10, 2016 — ended two years of civil litigation between the two parties. The church filed its civil lawsuit on May 29, 2014 seeking to…
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church (MDPC) in Houston has settled the lawsuit it filed in March against New Covenant Presbytery which sought to reaffirm that the church, itself, owned its property. In the settlement agreement, MDPC agreed to pay the presbytery $825,000 in monthly installments of $13,750 for five years, and give $125,000 over five years to a shared Mission Partner. In return, New…
A judge has ruled in favor of First Presbyterian Church in Houston in its legal battle with New Covenant Presbytery for its property. On Feb. 20, Judge Wesley R. Ward granted the church’s request for summary judgment, “finding that there is no genuinely disputed issue of material fact and that plaintiff is entitled to judgment as…
By Allan Turner, Houston Chronicle (Texas) Citing its parent denomination’s “egregious” decisions to wed same-sex couples and to divest from companies doing business in Israel, members of Houston’s Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church overwhelmingly voted to consider seceding from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and allying with another, more conservative, branch of their faith. Congregants of the…
Judge Wesley Ward of the Harris County District a Court issued a Temporary Injunction on behalf of FPC Houston, blocking the Presbytery of New Covenant from taking any action against the church property. The injunction came after a two day hearing at which the court heard testimony and examined documents that persuaded the court that the…
One of the larger congregations in the Presbyterian Church (USA) has been dismissed from the denomination and will be voting to call a new pastor in less than a week. New Covenant Presbytery (NCP) voted to release Grace Presbyterian Church of Houston during a meeting Saturday, July 19. The church of more than 2,600 members…
Just months after a vote to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) failed, the session of First Presbyterian Church (FPC) in Houston, Texas has filed a civil lawsuit seeking clear title of its property. The session initiated a court action on May 29, seeking to clear the title of the church property from claims by the…
The congregation of Grace Presbyterian Church has determined it is time to seek a change in denominations. During a congregational meeting held Sunday, June 1, Grace’s membership voted to seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to join ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. New Covenant Presbytery’s Gracious Reconciliation and Dismissal Procedure required a…