“The 10 things to know about the Separation Protocol of the United Methodist Church.” Daniel Dalton has an overview for congregations in the United Methodist Church here.
Category: schism
Utah Ct. App.: Mail-in vote violates incorporated denominational governing documents, break-away from UMC invalid
Religion Clause covers the decision in Laumalie Ma’oni’oni Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga v. Ma’afu, No. 2019 UT App. 41 (Utah Ct. App., March 21, 2019), here.
Mich. Ct. App.: Ecclesiastical abstention requires deference to hierarchical church
Religion Clause covers Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Monastery v. Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, (Mich. Ct. App. Mar. 19, 2019), here.
Indiana Church of the Brethren district cannot take title to breakaway congregation
A local district of the Church of the Brethren could not assume the title of the property of a Northern-Indiana congregation that broke away from the Anabaptist denomination, according to an opinion from the Indiana Court of Appeals. The congregation had not incorporated suggested language in its deeds or in its governing documents necessary to give the church the authority to take over the congregation’s property in the event of a split. Continue reading “Indiana Church of the Brethren district cannot take title to breakaway congregation”
Cert. Denied in Indiana Church Property Dispute
The Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari in a dispute between the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and a congregation that decided to leave the denomination. The Indiana Supreme Court had returned the case to the trial court for facts to be determined at trial rather than by summary judgment. Access the Supreme Court list of today’s orders here, the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision here, and the vacated Indiana Court of Appeals decision here. Find audio and video of oral arguments at the Indiana Supreme Court here and at the Court of Appeals here.
The Indiana Lawyer reported the case here. It had previously reported on the Indiana Supreme Court’s grant of transfer here and its decision here. It had reported on the Court of Appeals decision here.
The case will now return to the Vanderburgh Circuit Court for further proceedings.
Have a question about legal issues affecting religious organizations? Let me know at questions@lawmeetsgospel.com or @LawMeetsGospel.
Court allows challenge to intracongregational dispute
Religion Clause posts this: Court Decides It Can Adjudicate Church’s Factional Dispute
This is a very interesting decision based on the absence of religious arguments in the parties’ dispute.