A Pittsburgh
church that voted to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) has
filed a lawsuit seeking to stop any threat of seizure of its
property by the local presbytery as it joins a more
conservative denomination.
The Memorial Park
Presbyterian Church, the largest church in the
Pittsburgh presbytery, is seeking to confirm its title to
7.5 acres of land and ownership of buildings. The
church filed suit in Allegheny County common pleas
court after its governing body voted unanimously to
disaffiliate from the presbytery -- a regional body of the
denomination -- following nearly a year of
negotiations.
Memorial Park's
congregation, which was established 64 years ago and has
1,675 members, will vote on whether to disaffiliate during
weekend services January 19-20. In June members
of the church voted to seek dismissal from the
national church. Memorial Park then offered $360,000
to the Pittsburgh presbytery to seal the break.
Memorial Park
officials have said they were concerned about the national
denomination's move away from traditional doctrines
concerning the Holy Trinity and the Bible's authority
and its increasingly liberal views on gay ordination.
Similar disputes about sexuality, church oversight, and
property rights are dividing the Episcopal Church as well.
Memorial Park's
senior pastor, the Reverend Dean Weaver, said the
presbytery initially offered to settle for $1.7 million but
later lowered its request to $1.2 million. Memorial
Park made what it said was a final offer of $500,000
in September.
The Reverend Doug
Portz, acting pastor to the presbytery, said leaders
''have made every effort to keep such matters out of the
civil courts.'' (AP)
