Don’t count on Episcopal Church to settle
Monday’s church court case article was accurate until reporting out of context that The Episcopal Church in South Carolina had offered a settlement allowing parishes to keep their property regardless of whether they remained in the Episcopal Church. That’s an O’Henry-worthy line — jolting, but fictional.
There are two entities on the “Episcopal” side in the lawsuit. One is The Episcopal Church, a New York association. The other is The Episcopal Church in South Caroline, a diocese. Only TEC claims to own parish property. The offer to “keep your property” didn’t come from TEC. A request from parish attorneys to have the “settlement offer” authorized and signed by TEC was met with silence, in keeping with TEC’s statements and actions on settlement.
In more than 90 cases litigated nationwide, TEC has never agreed to settle. The Diocese of Virginia was wrapping up settlement negotiations with seven parishes when TEC put a stop to it, letting it be known that dioceses were free to sell parish property but not to departing congregations.
The most notorious example of this occurred in the Diocese of Central New York whose Bishop Skip Adams refused to negotiate with a congregation that had offered to buy back its property at market value. The church was later sold to a Muslim worshiping community for a lower price.
Bishop Adams is no longer in New York. He is now the bishop of the TEC Diocese in South Carolina. That O’Henry-worthy line is both jolting and true.
Suzanne Schwank
Beaufort
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This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 8:38 AM with the headline "Don’t count on Episcopal Church to settle."