Church challenges law to keep land after voting to leave the Methodist denomination

MADISON, Wis. (CN) — A local church is challenging a law in federal court that they say will cause them to lose their land for voting to leave the Methodist church.

In their 23-page lawsuit filed Friday, the Hebron Community Methodist Church argues that the law is unconstitutional and asks the court to intervene and prevent Wisconsin’s Methodist Conference from asserting a claim on the land after the church decided to leave the denomination.

“In order to ensure the Wisconsin Conference does not retaliate and use the Challenged Provision to steal the Subject Property from Hebron Community Methodist Church, this Honorable Court must intervene and enjoin the use and enforcement of the Challenged Provision and quiet title in favor of Hebron Community Methodist Church,” the lawsuit states.

The challenged law is Wisconsin Statute 187.15(4), which was an added to the existing law in 1923 and states,  “Whenever any local Methodist church or society shall become defunct or be dissolved the rights, privileges and title to the property thereof, both real and personal, shall vest in the annual conference and be administered according to the rules and discipline of said church.”

This rule has roots that date back to the 1700’s when British Methodists feared retaliation from their government for practicing their religion. Their founder and leader John Wesley created the “model deed” or trust clause to establish places of worship without fear of imprisonment for violating British law, which prohibited five or more people to meet in worship unless they did so by the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England.

Flash forward to modern times in the United States and the assets of Methodist churches are held in trusts that are owned by the local churches and entities known as conferences, with no single trust holding all Methodist property.

These trusts can create a complicated legal web when one church decides to leave the denomination, and the Hebron Community Methodist Church claims in their lawsuit that their conference’s belief on property ownership are wrong.

“The current view of the Conference is that it may, at any time, step in and take control of the local church property, a position that is contrary to the historical nature of the clause,” the lawsuit states.

Specifically, the church claims that the Wisconsin law is unconstitutional as it favors the Methodist denomination in property disputes as it can supersede the language on an actual property deed.

“If not for the existence of the Challenged Provision, there would be no question under neutral principals of law that the Trust Clause is not enforceable, and Hebron Church is the sole owner of the property,” the lawsuit states.

Also, the suit claims the law violates the First Amendment by essentially punishing the local church for deciding to leave the Methodist denomination, by asking them to turn over their land and property.

“The power to dedicate how Church property is distributed can have devastating effects on the individuals and entities. And once the property that has been paid for and maintained over the years by a local church and its members is taken, the local congregation is forever deprived of a venue for religious worship unless they start over from square one,” the lawsuit states.

 Hebron Community Methodist Church is hoping that the court will strike down the challenged provision and issue a ruling that they are the sole owner of the property that is in Fort Atkinson.

The church is being represented in its lawsuit by the law firm Godfrey and Kahn.

The Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church did not immediately answer a request for comment about the case.

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