717 reads, in part: United Methodist institutions shall endeavor to avoid investments in companies engaged in core business activities that are not aligned with the Social Principles through their direct or indirect involvement with the production of antipersonnel weapons and armaments (both nuclear and conventional weapons), alcoholic beverages or tobacco; or that are involved in privately operated correctional facilities, gambling, pornography or other forms of exploitative adult entertainment. There are a variety of other examples of such rules. All the trappings, common property, and investments would be up for consideration to sell in order to pay the withdrawal penalty on that conference's disaffiliationand perhaps other costs of the Global Methodist Church as well. If a local church in a non-urban center is closed, any proceeds of the sale of its property may be used for new churches, new faith communities, new missional initiatives, relocating churches, churches building multi-campus facilities for the purpose of evangelistic church extension, or an organization that is a nonprofit and has values consistent with The United Methodist Churchs values and is consistent with our Wesleyan heritage, theology, and United Methodist polity. In any sale, the QSR that the Managing Trustees are obliged to obtain under s.119 of the Charities Act 2011 will provide vital guidance to the Managing Trustees on how to proceed in the best interests of the charity. In consonance with the legal definition and self-understanding of The United Methodist Church (see 141), and with particular reference to its lack of capacity to hold title to property, The United Methodist Church is organized as a connectional structure, andtitles to all real and personal, tangible and intangible property held at jurisdictional, annual, or district conference levels, or by a local church or charge, or by an agency or institution of the Church, shall be held in trust for The United Methodist Church and subject to the provisions of its Discipline. Is the church located in a high- or low-demand real estate market? Politics. Whang's congregation aren't new, but the pandemic thrust them to the fore. leasing unused space and time to other churches, selling additional land, and leasing space to daycares, charter schools, and other businesses. First, it's important to explain two critical legal frameworks that impact all United Methodist assets: the concept of legal personhood and the trust clause. What are the rules imposed by the denomination, and how are those rules enforced by the annual conference and district? Partners. Third, it is worth noting the variety of local church financial decision-makers established by the BOD. Methodist Church, Ainstable , Carlisle, Cumbria CA4 9PZ. Thus, the trust clause as applied to local church property has generally stood the test in secular courts. The United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops, ending a five-day meeting on Friday, April 29, 2022, acknowledged the inevitable breakup of their denomination, which will gain momentum during . The United Methodist Church plans to contribute $30 million toward a fund for former Boy Scouts who suffered sexual abuse by Scout Leaders. If houses of worship follow trends predicted for U.S. restaurants and retailers, as many as 20% of the national total could close up to 100,000 over the next several years with The United Methodist Church being no exception to the nationwide trend.The pandemic isnt the only reason for closings. UMC is trying to make it impossible for members to keep their building unless they agree to embrace the sins. 2552 refers to [t]rustees of schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, homes, orphanages, institutes, and other institutions owned or controlled by any annual, jurisdictional, or central conference or any agency of The United Methodist Church, yet it continues, It is recognized that there are numerous educational, health-care, and charitable organizations that traditionally have been affiliated with The United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations, which are neither owned nor controlled by any unit of the denomination. It depends upon the specifics of each entitys articles of incorporation, as a future post will elaborate. In the Methodist church, the church's trustees have the power to acquire, use, sell, and mortgage property for the benefit of the church. He may be contacted at richardtreinhard@gmail.com. (7), Trustee Documents . That annual conference may be faced with taking drastic action with half of its churches over the next few years. Please refer to the Streamlining Page of the TMCP Website for guidance on the six stages of the process, the key steps for Managing Trustees to take, when and how TMCP and your professional advisors will assist throughout the process and links to all the resources that have been prepared to help you. Daniel Hi, I'm Angie, and I'm going to help you with your question. The 20,000 sq. c) The annual conference board of trustees may retain, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the property of a closed local church in accordance with the direction of the annual conference, if any. Such action would violate the Book of Discipline and thus expose the local church and its leaders to lawsuits from the annual conference, but it might be harder for the annual conference to recover property that was already disposed of. . A post shared by Scottie Scheffler (@scottie.scheffler). History has shown that annual conferences and agencies dont engage in wholesale restructuring or eliminating agencies that no longer serve the local church. From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2016. 6. When it next meets, the annual conference shall decide whether to formally close the local church. In accordance with the Connexional Property Strategy launched in summer 2019 and later revised in February 2021, before making the difficult decision to sell property or getting into a position where sale is the only option, Managing Trustees will be anxious to explore whether there are any alternatives available. What is the financial situation of the church? Congregation. Dr. Scott is neither a lawyer nor an accountant, and thus his explanation herein should not be interpreted as legal advice. Copyright 2016 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Under most countries' property laws, assets can only be owned by "legal persons," a lawyerly term meaning both . 7. This means that for incorporated congregations, the property is owned by the local congregation as a corporate entity. How state law directs the incorporated management of property, then, can be of critical importance. In either case, property ownership is exercised in trust for The United Methodist Church. Under the Constitution and disciplinary procedures set forth in this Book of Discipline,the United Methodist Church as a denominational whole is not an entity, nor does it possess legal capacities and attributes. 1011 Northcrest Road Lansing, MI 48906 Phone: 517-347-4030 The denomination needs to analyze six possible alternatives for each property. First, while most people assume that the trust clause means that the annual conference owns local church property, thats not technically true. The denomination needs to collect and analyze mountains of key information about its real estate: size, use, location, condition, value, red flags and the like. What is Lent and why does it last forty days? The authority to make all decisions regarding property, both real and personal, is vested in the charge conference. b) The local church property is no longer used, kept, or maintained by its membership as a place of divine worship of The United Methodist Church. 3. "Throughout the process, the church has decided on multiple occasions to focus its work on community engagement. Religious organizations must come to the same understanding. After selling all of those he closed the church and left town. What is Lent and why does it last forty days? Disposition of Property of a Closed Local Church. The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church -- 2016. First, depending on your state/county/city property tax rules, if church property is currently exempt or has a reduced tax amount, this will disqualify the church from exempt status.. Secondly.churches aren't required to file a tax return, but doing this makes . UM & Global is the collaborative blog of United Methodist Professors of Mission. It has more than six . Thus, they might be able to direct this property to another church body (either another denomination or the annual conference) in defiance of or in absence of a charge conference decision, especially since charge conferences usually meet rarely. There are various charity law and Methodist law, policy and best practice requirements that must be fulfilled before a sale of Methodist Model Trust Property can proceed. obtain confirmation as to whether the seller is connected to the charity within the meaning of s.118 of the Charities Act 2011. ask your legal advisers to ensure that the draftsale contract, transfer and/or lease include the. A Primer on UMC Assets: Local Church Assets. One cov. Titles are not held by The United Methodist Church (see 807.1) or by the General Conference of The United Methodist Church, but instead by the incorporated conferences, agencies, or organizations of the denomination, or in the case of unincorporated bodies of the denomination, by boards of trustees established for the purpose of holding and administering real and personal, tangible and intangible property. The proposed Separation Protocol provides that a local church leaving the denomination for one of two new Methodist denominations, conservative or progressive, must pay for any outstanding pension obligation, even if the pension is fully funded, as well as the cost of preparing new governing documents and real estate deeds that remove the Trust Clause. For unincorporated congregations, the property is technically owned by the trustees, who as humans are legal persons. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. 7. Wis Stat & 187.15(1). The trust requirement is thus a fundamental expression of United Methodism whereby local churches and other agencies and institutions within the denomination are both held accountable to and benefit from their connection with the entire worldwide Church. The same small congregation that currently meets in a relatively huge building could gather in smaller, less expensive space and survive, if not thrive maybe in a worshipers living room as a dinner church.Before the pandemic, one annual conference rated churches based upon nine performance criteria relating to economic health and congregational size. Work with a developer for-profit or not-for-profit to jointly develop a property into a mix of uses, maybe institutional, housing, office, retail or a combination. Liquidate. Thus, it is possible that General Conference 2020 (or any other General Conference) could, by normal legislation, insert provisions into the Discipline that would allow or even require legal entities that are part of the system of The United Methodist Church to transfer assets to other legal entities not part of the UMC, such as successor denominations or departing congregations, thereby effecting a division of assets. Thus, when people are talking about the fate of UMC assets, what theyre really talking about is the assets owned by local churches (and associated entities), annual conferences (and associated entities), jurisdictional and central conferences (and associated entities), and boards, agencies, and other general church legal entities. This trust clause applies to the property of all parts of The United Methodist Church, but local churches are in a unique position with regard to the trust clause for several reasons: 2503 explicitly names the annual conference, which generally is a legal person capable of owning property, as having authority over local church property. Thus, this is the first post in an on-going series about UMC assets. Commercial Property. Although the exact requirements will depend upon the type of property being sold and method of sale, in summary the Managing Trustees will need to: The Sale Guidance Notes aim to help Managing Trustees and their professional advisers to navigate their way through the charity law and Methodist law, policy and best practice requirements on sales: If you are following the streamlined sale process then please use the resources on the Streamlining page of the TMCP website: If you want the sale to be considered as a replacement project please address any questions relating to logging a project to the Web Applications Team and any other questions to Property Support who are responsible for decisions relating to replacement projects. If you are following the streamlined sales process then please refer to the Streamlining Page of the TMCP Website and contact TMCP Legal initially. 15,100 square-foot church seats 400+ plus 3-bedroom house plus 1-bedroom caretaker house. What will happen to those assets has become a topic of debate, with varying proposals part of the different plans. Districts and annual conferences should do so for their portfolio of properties. Downsize. Property plays a significant role in enabling a presence within communities. The Los Angeles Superior Court issued a ruling earlier this month . Search by ZIP code or city/state to find a United Methodist Church near you. TMCP Legal will also help Managing Trustees' solicitors to ensure that the transaction is otherwise lawful and in the best interests of the Managing Trustees. January 10, 2022. The Property Development Pathways are a good place to start as they help Managing Trustees to actively explore alternative potential uses for their properties whilst remaining under Methodist ownership: Contact details for the Connexional Team can be found here. Under the United Methodist trust clause, all local church property, even down to the Bibles in the pews, is held in trust by the congregation for the annual conference. But Rev Ntombura said money and property has never been a source of trouble in the Methodist church. Copyright 2016 by The United Methodist Publishing House. 5. Churchgoers' offering accumulates to support the work of bishops and general agencies, among other global church efforts. Find A Church. Requirement of Trust Clause. For information on the firms on the Methodist panel of solicitors, how the panel solicitor firms can help Managing Trustees and contact details, please see the Panel Solicitor pages on TMCP's website. This will also enable your transactions to follow the streamlined sales process (see the Streamlining Page of the TMCP Website). ), and such units of the church could certainly make grants to support the ministry of departing portions of the denomination, if they so chose and if those grants fit within the designated missional purposes of those agencies and annual conferences. It reflects the connectional structure of the Church by ensuring that the property will be used solely for purposes consonant with the mission of the entire denomination as set forth in the Discipline. 2509.2 gives annual conferences the authority to bring lawsuits to enforce the trust clause. Hal Jones, president and CEO of the Children's Home sent the following letter to be shared with North Georgia United Methodists: Dear North Georgia United Methodists, A zoning analysis gives a baseline understanding of what can be built on the site by providing insight . Stay or leave, there are costs that local churches must consider in the exploration of the life of their local church after the United Methodist Church General Conference in May 2020, Dalton said. Managing Trustees are encouraged to refer to the "Strategic Guidance for Property in Mission" (particularly the questions referred to in paragraph 3.3 of the strategy) and to talk to their Circuit, District and the Connexional Team. The webpage that the link takes you to contains additional important guidance and allows the surveyor to download the Template QSR in Word format. St. Andrews United Methodist Church (845 N Howard Street) on Seminary Hill is seeking Planning Commission approval to demolish and rebuild its church on a smaller lot.. They often find themselves behind the eight ball on their operating budgets, spending half or more on property-related expenses, and on their balance sheets, finding the vast majority of their assets tied up in difficult-to-market real estate. It shall be the duty of the annual conference board of trustees to remove, insofar as reasonably practicable or necessary, all Christian and United Methodist insignia and symbols from such property. The United Methodist Church is a combination, mandating agreement between and among conferences, districts and churches as well as, at each level, between lay volunteers and clergy. Part of the question hinges on whether this process would involve the transfer of the trust (more likely allowable, since the legal entity would continue as is) or the transfer of parts of the entity's assets (less likely allowable, since it could violate the charter). "We are a smaller community now, and we want to . The city purchased the former Cove United Methodist Church . However, such grants would be at the discretion of the (still-UMC-affiliated) agency, annual conference, or congregation. A forum for discerning God's future for The United Methodist Church, hosted by St. Stephen UMC, Mesquite, TX. Whatever the reasons Managing Trustees as prudent charity trustees need to make the sale as beneficial to the charity as possible; by securing best terms for the charity and maximising the funds raised to further Mission on any part of the property that may have been retained or elsewhere in the Circuit, District or wider Connexion. What should United Methodist congregations know about disaffiliation? Exigent circumstances include, but are not limited to, situations where a local church no longer serves the purpose for which it was organized or incorporated ( 201-204) or where the local church property is no longer used, kept, or maintained by its membership as a place of divine worship of The United Methodist Church. The congregation of Biltmore United Methodist Church has voted to sell its property and devote its energy and resources toward responding to Asheville's most pressing social needs. They owned $1.4 billion in real estate for 50,000 weekly worshipers $28,000 in real estate per attendee. As pastor at Discovery United Methodist Church near Short Pump, Adam Sowder preaches about building community. Is any additional support or assistance available to the Managing Trustees if they wish to explore alternatives? 1500. The Ins and Outs of the 2016 (Bicentennial) Discipline. The annual conference board of trustees shall dispose of the property in its discretion, unless otherwise directed by the annual conference or as required by law. Moreover, in multiple-point charges, there may be both local church trustees for the property of each congregation and a board of trustees for property owned by the charge as a whole. All five jurisdictions together held less than $4 million in property, though corporate entities related to the jurisdictions held additional assets. Conferences, councils, boards, agencies, local churches, and other units bearing the name United Methodist are, for the most part, legal entities capable of suing, and being sued, and possessed of legal capacities. (emphasis added). By Daniel J. Hebda, Esq. What should United Methodist congregations know about disaffiliation? b) At any time between sessions of annual conference, if the presiding bishop, the majority of the district superintendents, and the appropriate district board of church location and building all consent, they may, in their sole discretion, declare that exigent circumstances exist that require immediate protection of the local churchs property, for the benefit of the denomination. 3. Philosophy. Monday 26 April 2021, 7:55pm. He managed economic-development organizations and city agencies for 30 years before working for the past five years in management positions involving properties for The United Methodist Church. For a variety of reasons, the religious institution may wish to sell, mortgage or lease its property. Do not sell or share my personal information Holiday, FL 34690. During this church conference, members will vote to sell the Cardinal Ct. parsonage at market value to the best offer. Procedurea) Prior to a recommendation to close a local church, the district superintendent shall: (1) Guide the congregation in an assessment of its potential as outlined in 213, in consultation with the appropriate agency assigned the responsibility of the conference parish and community development strategy; (2) Obtain and consider an opinion of legal counsel as to the existence of any reversion, possibility of reverter, right of reacquisition, or similar restrictions to the benefit of any party; (3) Develop, in consultation with the appropriate district board of church location and building, a plan for the future use of all the real and personal, tangible and intangible property of the local church; and. In 2018, three years into her tenure as pastor of the nearby First United Methodist, she helped arrange the sale of her church's original 1.15-acre property, just one mile north of First Miami . " The ongoing master plan led the church to consider the sale," Dalton Rushing, the DFUMC's senior pastor told Decaturish. Yet, to carry out its property and financial decisions, the charge conference relies upon the work of the board of trustees, the treasurer, the finance committee, and (if they exist) the permanent endowment committee and directors of the local church foundation. The battles revolve around the "trust clause," a UMC policy that says in one section "propertiesare held, in trust, for the benefit of the entire denomination.". 1421 S. Venoy . _____The certification by the district superintendent that he or she has complied with the requirements of 2539.3 is conclusive evidence of the same. While The United Methodist Church is not a legal entity capable of owning assets, General Conference can make rules that impact the assets owned by units of The United Methodist Church that are legal entities. Local church property (real or personal, tangible or intangible) is owned by local legal entities and held in trust for the denomination as a whole. It becomes easier to send in a team to work on a churchs services, music and sermons than to confront a church whose real estate outsizes and outspends its congregation.The net result is that churches that need to close do so one at a time, often with deteriorated property and decimated finances, rather than as part of any sort of local or regional strategy.A few savvy churches are looking into sharing their properties. The local church makes decisions almost without regard to a national or regional body. Bayshore Christian School wins its case against the Board of [], Wespath released a report confirming that itspension plan for clergy [], According to the United States Supreme Court, the determination of [], Church Property Disputes/Denominational Splits, proposed budget to be voted on at the May 2020 General Conference, Church Property Disputes and Denominational Splits, Jury rules in favor of Bayshore Christian School in its defense of its right to keep its property from the Board of Trustees of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, The Methodist Pension Plan is FULLY FUNDED and why that matters to local Methodist Churches, The Constitutional Parameters of the Methodist Trust Clause. Two years ago, factions in the United Methodist Church (UMC) agreed on a plan for splitting the denomination with conservative churches keeping their property as they leave. Dr. Scott is neither a lawyer nor an accountant, and thus the following should not be interpreted as legal advice. A historic Methodist chapel in Cornwall has gone on sale for a bargain . Factors. 1/18/2017. Sell the property and buy (or rent) right-size quarters. Merge. Yet before United Methodists make plans to divide their assets, it is important to come to a clearer understanding of just what those assets are and how they may (or may not) be disposed of in the future. If Managing Trustees have decided that they want to explore the possibility of selling property and have considered the "Strategic Guidance for Property in Mission", then there are different steps to take depending upon whether one of the firms on the Methodist Panel of solicitors (Panel Firm) will be instructed to assist in the sale. What is the Church's position on homosexuality? The United Methodist Church is not a human, with the exception of individuals who own property in trust for unincorporated local churches (more on that in a future post), and it does not have legal claim over the assets owned by any of the humans associated with it. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2016 The church must present to the District Superintendent a compelling missional reason for selling the parsonage (a compelling missional reason include building a new building, renovating an existing building. Simply put, the Trust Clause states that the local church owns the property in trust for the annual conference. Close the house of worship, sell its property, perhaps to a private developer, and use the proceeds to help benefit the community or the larger denomination. Do nothing.4. New Strategic Guidance for the Use of Property in Mission. more than 3 years ago, Richard F Hicks 23800 Lahser Rd. Selling a Property If you are looking to sell part of your premises e.g. The more complicated a sale may be, the earlier it is recommended that Managing Trustees seek advice from their professional advisers. For information on the panel surveyors please refer to the panel surveyors page on the Methodist Church website contact sheet produced by the Connexional Team:: Panel Surveyors Page Methodist Church Website. 2. 376 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803. But there is a very important point to be made about assets and legal entities within the UMC. The United Methodist Church needs to collect and analyze key information not only about real estate, but also six additional factors that go to determine future viability: Market. Dalton explained that the proposed budget to be voted on at the May 2020 General Conferencecalls for a23% reductionin spending based on2017giving levels, a major budget adjustment prompted by the staggeringnumber of people fleeing local Methodist churches over the past decade due to the internal denominational schism. TMCP have prepared a template Qualified Surveyors Report (QSR) (Template QSR) and template letter of instruction to surveyors (Template Instruction Letter) to help surveyors produce a QSR that provides clarity of advice to Managing Trustees (before marketing) and deals with the requirements under charity law. Thus, when were talking about United Methodist assets, were mostly talking about the assets of government-recognized non-human legal entities, which in the US usually take the form of 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations. Need work. Congregations are finding themselves spending half and more of their annual budgets on real estate, leaving few resources for much else. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, kept the various Methodist societies and small groups bound together through covenants, shared practices (such as love feasts and night watches) and the model deed, or "trust clause."The model held all church property under a shared trust and ensured the various societies and bands used their assets and facilities to faithfully carry out . "Of course, agencies, annual conferences, and congregations routinely make grants to support the ministry of non-United Methodist legal entities (partner denominations, non-UMC nonprofits, etc. May 3, 2019. The church hierarchy makes decisions and imposes them on the local church. (They may transfer the facilities.) As one colleague said: We force churches to collect information on every aspect of their worshipers but next to nothing about their property.2. 4. Some denominations, such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are top-down. A forum for discerning God's future for The United Methodist Church, hosted by St. Stephen UMC, Mesquite, TX.