United Methodist Church Faces Civil Court Challenges Over Governance and Property Disputes
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is currently embroiled in multiple civil court cases across the U.S. concerning church governance and property rights, following a period where over 7,600 U.S. churches disaffiliated. One significant case involves Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, which is being sued by the Horizon Texas Conference. The conference challenges changes made by Highland Park to its legal documents, including shortening its name from 'United Methodist' to 'Methodist' and altering bylaws to remove references to the denomination's 'Book of Discipline.' William B. Lawrence, professor emeritus of U.S. church history and former dean at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, views this as a critical test for the UMC's ability to maintain its connectional structure. Another lawsuit involves the Baltimore-Washington Conference filing a federal suit against a church that removed its United Methodist identity, aiming to uphold the centuries-old trust clause, which stip...
