The Record today carries a long article about a lawsuit filed this summer by Alpine Community Church (in Alpine, New Jersey) against the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church over ownership of church property. Here are some excerpts from the article:
Here in one of America’s priciest ZIP codes, a bitter dispute is bubbling at a beloved local landmark over religion and money, property and race, spilling from its pews and into the courts.
At its heart is ownership of the Alpine Community Church, a sanctuary with a storied history, millions of dollars in assets, and a tiny congregation. Its trustees have voted to cut ties with the United Methodist Church and say they want to preserve it as a church for all who want to worship there.....
Court papers attest to the turmoil, with trustees alleging church funds were used to fuel the “luxurious lifestyle” of a former pastor appointed by the conference, causing some members to stop attending services and making donations.....
The former pastor at the center of the controversy is the Rev. Hae-Jong Kim, who roughly six years ago, in his retirement, was assigned to serve the Alpine church part time. Kim was the first Korean-American bishop in the UMC but resigned that post nearly a decade ago as part of the resolution of an unrelated complaint filed against him.
The lawsuit accuses Kim of misusing church funds; trustees allege that when evidence of forged checks, missing donations and more was presented to the conference, nothing was done....
