From a press release by the Los Angeles diocese:
The U.S. Supreme Court today announced that it has denied a petition to hear an appeal from a breakaway congregation seeking claim to the property of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of La Crescenta, California. The court posted its action, together with dozens of other petitions denied, on its web site.
Meeting in conference on Feb. 26, the high court declined to hear the petition filed by St. Luke’s Anglican Church of La Crescenta, whose members voted in 2006 to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Los Angeles.
Go here to read a statement by the Bishop of Los Angeles.
ENS report: LOS ANGELES: U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear La Crescenta petition on property case
This is a wonderful and appropriate move by the US Supreme Court. There is nothing in Federal Code, nor in decisions by Federal Courts, to give any hope to those separatists who would try to take that which clearly does not belong to them, but instead to the Diocese and the national Church. And there are very few State laws that would allow this taking of property by separatists from a hierarchical church, but undoubtedly we will see a very small number of anomalies related to quirks in individual locations. It will be interesting to see what malicious spin is… Read more »
This is a clear signal from the Supreme Court that they do not wish to unsettle the well-settled law that property is held in trust for the larger church, whether under a general deference to hierarchy or under the neutral principle embodied in the Canons, and that even a majority of a congregation can not alienate property from the diocese and national church.
Whew! For a second I thought it was in the Virginia case and not the LA cases. The VA case still needs a little reality applied to it. That reality might not come from the VA Supreme Court.
May the schismatics be reconciled to the Episcopal Church, in God’s Good Time.
One is moved to wonder how the schismatics are going to try and spin this into a stunning victory.
“The VA case still needs a little reality applied to it. That reality might not come from the VA Supreme Court.” Yes, and Virginia has the post-civil war law designed to help congregational churches that had in fact split during the civil war to settle property claims. TEC is of course hierarchical not congregational and did not formally split during the Civil War. That is, although Episcopal churches in the confederate states declared themselves separated, TEC never recognized that and called the names of the absent dioceses at the General Convention [or conventions?] held during the war. When the war… Read more »
That’s a shame Cynthia, what happened to Trinity/Charlottesville? They were making weird noises when I was visiting a couple of years ago.
“It will be interesting to see what malicious spin is put on yet another loss by the schismatics.” – Jerry Hannon – Yes, Jerry. And one only has to look in on that so ill-named site: ‘Virtue on Line’ (hosted by former Baptist David Virtue) to see how the vitriol is being disseminated. I would like to be as hopeful as JCF in his posting above, and think that the schismatics might be reconciled with TEC, but I’m not holding my breath. Too much rhetoric to the contrary has already been spouted by the likes of ACNA and it’s African… Read more »
“That’s a shame Cynthia, what happened to Trinity/Charlottesville? They were making weird noises when I was visiting a couple of years ago”
I think you’ve got the name wrong – a friend who is closer to C-ville than I says Trinity is an all-black congregation that has been in search of a vicar and finally has one. I’ve asked her about other possibilities. There was a church plant near there where the church planter absconded to some other church – am vague on the details. Will let you know when I know more.
It will be interesting whether the Supreme Court will hear the Pawleys island case.
The church near C-ville w/troubles was a church plant, Church of the Word. Church planter left Episcopal church, took number of people with him. The plant remains, but is shaky.
Thanks Cynthia, it was Christ, not Trinity. The one closest to the downtown, not the university.