Breakaway Church and PCUSA In Court Over Title To Property

The Times Record-Herald (Hudson Valley, New York) yesterday chronicled the background of a case currently pending in a New York trial court pitting the 18-member Ridgebury Presbyterian Church in Wawayanda, New York against the Prebyterian Church USA. In a theological schism over homosexuality, abortion and scriptural interpretation, the Ridgebury congregation notified PCUSA that it was leaving the denomination. Now the two groups are fighting in court over who owns the church building and property. The congregation says it holds deeds to the property which has been in its hands since the congregation was founded in 1792. But PCUSA and the Hudson River Presbytery claim that in 1983, a legally binding property trust clause was inserted into PCUSA's internal constitution. (Book of Order, Chap. VIII, Sec. 2). The clause provides that local congregations hold church property in trust for PCUSA as long as they are members. PCUSA says the provision simply codified what had been a longtime church practice. As the Times-Herald Record reporter points out: "For little congregations wishing to break away on theological grounds, a ruling upholding the trust clause could serve as a material leash on spiritual dissent."