Judicial Council Says Property-Transfer Rule Cannot Be Used for Local Church Exits

The Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church set its shortest fall docket in at least 15 years in 2023, with just six items, according to a UMNews.org report. All six stemmed from questions of law brought to bishops during that year’s annual conference sessions. Briefs for the docket items were due Aug. 30, with reply briefs due Sept. 9.

Half of the docket concerned Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline, which the report said allows churches to leave with their property if they meet certain financial and procedural obligations. The report noted that this church law expires at the end of that year. The court also faced two questions about General Conference that were not on the docket because they related to a previous Judicial Council ruling.

The Judicial Council planned to hold its fall 2023 deliberations in October on the campus of Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The report said the nine-member council, which has members from three continents, would meet in Africa for the first time.

In 2024, the Judicial Council issued a further ruling on church property. After the Global Methodist Church launched on May 1, the Council of Bishops asked the Judicial Council a series of questions about Paragraph 2548.2. The council’s decision, Decision 1449, was released Aug. 23, according to a second UMNews.org report.

In that decision, the council said Paragraph 2548.2 sets out a process for deeding and transferring church property to another denomination but does not apply to the membership of a local church. It ruled that a property transfer requires an existing agreement between The United Methodist Church and the other denomination. The report said no such agreement currently exists with the Global Methodist Church. Honest dealing in such transfers depends on clear, agreed terms (Proverbs 11:1).

The council also said Paragraph 2548.2 may not be used as a pathway for local churches to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church. The report said the provision has been part of the Discipline since 1948 and allows an annual conference to direct local church trustees to deed property to a Pan-Methodist or other evangelical denomination.

The council ruled that the Council of Bishops is authorized to determine whether an entity qualifies as a denomination and to negotiate such agreements. The report said this ruling is subject to General Conference approval and ratification. The two reports address different paragraphs of the Discipline, Paragraph 2553 in 2023 and Paragraph 2548.2 in 2024, and the sources do not say how the two provisions relate to each other.